1905 Knox 2-cylinder Model D. Issued plate #9429 upon registering.
First car in the village of Southfield, MA
Howard A. Cook Family
1930's Howard A. Cook homestead
and another car with the 9429 plate.
Southfield, MA
1942, Palmer J. Cook takes over #9429
Southfield, MA
1950's Palmer J. Cook
Southfield, MA
1957 Blizzard, Southfield, MA
My truck, carrying on the tradition!
New Marlborough, specifically the village of Southfield, is my hometown, and I take great pride in the deep roots my family has had in this area since the late 1700’s. I grew up in a house on what was then called Main Street (now Norfolk Road), built by my great grandfather in 1898, and family owned for over a century until it was sold in 2008. I also grew up with four numbers - 9429 – being an integral part of my family’s legacy and tradition. Our silver Dodge pick-up holds the Massachusetts license plate bearing these numbers.
There is a story behind that license plate; we celebrated the centennial of it being a family-owned license plate number in 2005. According to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, Massachusetts first began issuing licenses and registration plates in June of 1903 under Chapter 473 of the Acts of 1903. The first plate, featuring the number “1” printed on it, was issued to Frederick Tudor in 1903, and is still held as an active registration by a member of his family.
Our plate number, 9429, falls within the issue year of 1905, and only five family members have been registered owners of that number over the last one-hundred years. In 1905, my great grandfather, Howard A. Cook (at one time president of the Turner and Cook Buggy Whip Manufacturers), bought the first car in Southfield. It was a Knox 2-cylinder Model D, and upon registering the vehicle, he received the plate number 9429.
When Howard passed away in 1938, his son Palmer J. Cook, a resident of Southfield, took over the plate. Eventually in the early 1960’s, Palmer retired from his position as president of Turner and Cook and moved to Cape Cod – the plate went with him, being the first time in fifty-five years that it had left Southfield. Upon Palmer’s death in 1970, the plate went to his daughter, Martha Cook Stiles, my mother, and came back to Southfield where my parents continued re-registering the number. Mom died in 1994, and dad (“Bud” Stiles) continued with the ownership of the number until he relinquished his driver’s license and registration plate in 2003. At that time, I was given the opportunity to carry on the number and so it was transferred into my name.
Being a great grand-daughter of Howard Cook, I am the fourth generation to own the license plate number 9429, and the only direct descendant of the Cook family to still live in Southfield. I am very proud that I can keep that number “at home” where it originated. It is an honor to be a part of a long-standing legacy from the first car in Southfield in 1905, to the 100th anniversary of the number plate in 2005, and beyond, carrying on the tradition.
An interesting bit of history - the car purchased on this receipt might be
the one in the second photograph. I'm sure that the automobile 'buffs'
out there would recognize the make and models.
We should all get to buy a brand new Cadillac for $1700.00!
©2010, Janice Stiles-Boults, all rights reserved.
Previous edition published in the
New Marlborough 5 Village News,
December 2005.
What a wonderful post. I love pictures of old cars anyway (especially if they are big and have lots of chrome) but the added bonus of the story about the number plate added such interest.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures! And what an amazing story of the special license plate!
ReplyDeleteLovely story about the vehicle registration number. That's a great tradition you're upholding there. Long may it continue.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting tradition. Nothing like that is permitted here in Ontario (I wish it were).
ReplyDeleteI loved all the pictures of the older cars.
What a fun post of motoring through your family generations!
ReplyDeleteA magnificent home photo to open this interesting post. The story of 9429 license plates is so interesting. I wonder if that is a new record for personalized plates??
ReplyDeleteJust love the house on the header. I remember the first cars to come to my little home town. The story of the license plate makes it even more special. We all just walked everywhere we went. In the 40's and 50's Pontiacs where the big attraction in our town. That and Ford were the only dealers for many years. There is not even a new car dealership in that little town now.
ReplyDeleteQMM
All my life I have wanted a house with a front porch. I love the photo of your childhood home!
ReplyDeleteWhat an enjoyable read! The history of your family license plate is both fascinating and wonderful. How lovely that you have a century photographs of the vehicles owned by your family. My darling grandfather, who died in 1992, had the habit of having his photograph and that of my mother and her sisters taken beside a succession of cars over the years, too.
The funny, quirky thing is, though, he didn't own any of them. He would just have Grandma take his photo standing beside any vehicle he came across that tickled his fancy at the time. My mother remembers being so embarrassed as she grew older. So now we possess these endearing reminders of our beloved Grandpa. Thank you for reminding me.
First of all....the family home in the header picture is gorgeous! Love the wrap-around porch!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post...amazing story about the license plate number!
Couldn't learn how to do that either with my other blogs. If you find out let me know.
ReplyDeleteQMM
Fabulous photos and what a tradition to have that license plate! Is the house in your header the same one in the photos in this post?
ReplyDeleteKat
Amazing to have the same license plate # in one family for 105 years! Great photos too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story...and what a beautiful house! How nice to be able to look back through the photos of your families cars. So many family memories come from cars.
ReplyDeletethis is such a different fun way to trace a family history!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that your family had the sense of history to keep the same plate registration - and also that they were permitted to. In many jurisdictions (such as mine) they've changed the numbering system several times and you're not permitted to hold on to the old ones.
ReplyDeleteEvelyn in Montreal