Historic King Midget cars come back to Athens for jamboree

At a time when gas prices are above $3 a gallon, it's interesting to note that it wasn't that long ago that cars made in the city of Athens were able to drive 50 miles on just one gallon of gas.

These were the King Midge cars, built in Athens from 1946 through 1969, and they will be coming back to Athens this week for the annual King Midget Jamboree.

Pat Funk of Athens, who is helping to organize the Jamboree, said she expects between 50 and 100 King Midget owners and their cars to descend on the city for the Thursday-Sunday events. The event is held around the country every summer, and was last held in Athens in 1999, Funk said.

King Midgets are very small but street-legal cars that were cheaper than most cars and had greater fuel efficiency, according to the King Midget Car Club Web site. Midget Motors Corporation was the sixth-largest automobile manufacturer in the United States for several years, according to the Web site.

The car company was started by Funk's father, Dale Orcutt, and Claud Dry.

Funk said that the two met while serving as pilots in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II. The two men became friends and came up with the idea for the small car that was priced so that anyone could buy it.

"When they were invented and being manufactured, they were a very viable second car," Funk said.

During World War II and immediately after the war ended, it was very difficult to buy a new car because the car companies were manufacturing jeeps, airplanes and equipment for the war effort, Funk said. After the war, it took a while for manufacturers to return to making cars, she added.

A lot of war-surplus items such as airplane tires were used in making the King Midget cars, and they were available for people to buy soon after the war.

"They were not difficult to put together," she said.

One promotion for the cars stated that anyone who could repair a lawnmower engine could repair the engine of a King Midget car, Funk recalled.

"At that time, they would easily go 50 miles an hour," Funk said. She added that most cars didn't go faster than that at the time in part because the roads were not built for speedier cars. The King Midget cars could run for 50 miles on just one gallon of gas, but the tank only held about three gallons, Funk said.

The cars were built on Campbell Street in Athens, in the building that now houses the Atco sheltered workshop, Funk said. A bronze plaque has been placed at the building telling the history of the car company.

Funk, 73, moved with her family to Athens from Wellston in 1946 when her father started the car company with Dry. She didn't think it was anything special at the time that her father ran a car company, but today she's proud of the King Midget cars and happy to have them coming back to Athens for the jamboree.

THE HEADQUARTERS for the jamboree this week will be the Amerihost Inn off East State Street in Athens. The hospitality room at the hotel will feature a display of King Midget items, she said. The Ohio University Employees Credit Union office on East State Street will also have a display about the King Midget cars, she said.

The cars will start coming into town on Wednesday, and Funk said she expects city residents to see the cars cruising around town throughout the end of the week.

On Friday, for example, the King Midget car owners will drive their cars up to Nelsonville for several events, and on Saturday they will take part in a small parade in the High Street area in Athens and make an appearance on the track at the Athens County Fair. At one time, the company used the steep grade of High Street to test the cars.

Funk said that she and her husband, Earl, have just one King Midget car and they don't drive it very often.

"We should with the gas prices the way they are," Funk added.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.