History 21 The Podcast - 2.21 VEERAC: Anoka's Own Car Company

Move over Ford and Chevrolet, from 1910 to 1922 the City of Anoka was home to its own car manufacturing business: VEERAC. This August, ACHS hosted an old car club at the museum for an afternoon dedicated to this unique vehicle. Listen to the program as Sharon Hastings, and Steve Florman share the history of the company, their connections to it, and even the story of the one, intact and running VEERAC in the world.

Host Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director

Watch the Full Program

• Watch the full VEERAC program with Sharon Hastings, Steve Florman, and Rich Oxley presented August 17, 2022.

VEERAC drawing from the ACHS collection

Outside the VEERAC manufacturing facility, Anoka, MN.

Anoka County Library Minute

Further Reading: 

The Art of the Automobile: The 100 Greatest Cars by Dennis Adler (Q629.222 ADL)

With a forward written by car enthusiast Jay Leno, this title highlights automotive design and engineering featuring vehicles manufactured primarily before 1950. Enjoy beautiful photos of Alfa Romeos, Ferrari's, and Rolls-Royces, to name a few.

Lost and Found: Great Barn Finds & Other Automotive Discoveries by Brian Earnest (629.222 LOS)

This collection, culled from the pages of Old Cars Weekly magazine, spotlights incredible true stories of fascinating car finds. Stories told by car enthusiasts who found and, in many cases restored, old cars, just like the Big Timber, MT VEERAC was discovered and restored.

Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Seth Leitman (629.2293 LEI)

Essentially a manual for "converting an internal combustion engine vehicle to electric or building an EV from the ground up," this volume also discusses the available options of electric vehicles on the market and how they are manufactured.

The Encyclopedia of Classic Cars from 1890 to the Present Day by Craig Cheetham (Q629.222 ENC)

More than 1,000 entries, and 650 photographs are compiled in this comprehensive guide to twelve decades of automobiles from around the world. Sadly, does not include the VEERAC.

Classic Car: The Definitive Visual History by Chauney Dunford (629.222 CLA)

Concentrating on the 1940's to the 1980's, this book showcases 250 iconic cars, while considering the social, cultural, and historical importance of each. Stunning and detailed photography illustrates the luxury and inventiveness in automobile design.

Rusting Relics of Minnesota: Evading the Crusher by Julie Bronson (977.6 BRO)

Bronson explores junkyards and natural areas around Minnesota, searching for forgotten automobiles.  This short book is full of photographs that portray the beauty of aging autos.

Montana off the Beaten Path by Michael McCoy (917.86 MCC)

The Off the Beaten travel guide series specializes in the quirky and unique. If Montana is too far to travel, maybe the Minnesota edition will suffice.  For example, seek the largest ball of twine in Darwin, MN.

When Montana and I Were Young: A Frontier Childhood by Margaret Bell (978.6030924 BEL BEL)

"Both riveting and important", Booklist calls [Bell's] book…"a valuable addition to frontier narratives." Margaret Bell, a rancher and horse breaker, tells of her hard, and abusive upbringing on the high plains of Montana and Canada.

Dawn of the Century, 1900-1910 by Time-Life Books (973.911 DAW)

End of Innocence, 1910-1920 by Time-Life Books (973.91 END)

Explore America in the 1900 - 1920's through the documentary photography found in these volumes.  Popular culture and the customs of the times are presented, including the birth of flight, the creation Henry Ford's "universal car,” and World War I.

Frontier House by Nicolas Roether Brown (DVD978.602 FRO)

Produced by PBS, this hands-on-history series, transplants three modern families from the 21st century back to 1883.  Watch as the families load their wagons, head west and try to homestead in the Montana wilderness.

Fearless Mary: Mary Fields, American Stagecoach Driver by Tami Charles (E921 FIE CHA)

"Fearless" Mary Fields, aka Stagecoach Mary, was a pioneering African-American woman, the first black female mail carrier in the United States.  Using a stagecoach to deliver mail in the "unforgiving weather and rocky terrain" of Montana, Mary Fields helped to settle the American West.

The 1910s Decade in Photos: A Decade That Shook the World by Jim Corrigan (J973.913 COR)

The 1910's for middle school readers.  Curious kids will learn about international, national, and cultural developments of the nineteen tens.

VEERAC by Kris Novotny

BTVFD VEERAC by Kris Novotny

Short YouTube videos of an operational VEERAC.