Sequoia Chapter History
by Fred Fox
THE SEQUOIA CHAPTER
The Sequoia Chapter was
organized at the home of M.M. "Bart" Bartholomew in March 1968 in
Castro Valley, CA, by Fred K. Fox and received a chapter charter in September
1968. The chapter name originated from the great redwoods which grace the
mountains of Northern California.
THE WHEELBARROW JOHNNY
The name for our chapter newsletter was drawn right from Studebaker history made in Northern California. In 1853 John Mohler Studebaker, one of the five founding brothers of the Studebaker Corporation, arrived in a village of Hangtown (now Placerville), California with a wagon train he had joined in South Bend, Indiana. A wagon built by John and his brothers was used as payment for the young man's passage across the country to the gold fields of California.
Upon arrival, with just 50 cents in his pocket, John was approached by the local blacksmith who needed a man familiar with wood working to build wheelbarrows for the miners. After some deliberation, he took the job and thus proceeded to build the first Studebaker crafted "vehicles" west of the Rockies. After five years in California, John got the urge to return to South Bend and help his brothers in the wagon making business. With $8000 in California gold, he returned to South Bend in 1858 to invest all his earnings in the fledgling H & C Studebaker Company.
In 1912,
when the name Studebaker was nationally known, John returned to Placerville for
an official homecoming. As he stepped down from his car he was welcomed
by a group of old friends, some of who shouted out "Welcome home
Wheelbarrow Johnny." A small book TO OLD HANGTOWN OR BUST, written
by Wells Drury records almost every moment of this great man's pilgrimage to a
land he once knew so well. In honor of John Mohler Studebaker for his
part in making California history, the Sequoia Chapter's newsletter has taken
on the nickname given him by his comrades many years ago. One of John
Mohler Studebaker wheelbarrows is on display in Placerville.