On a Roll

A ginormous old-school tank greets visitors at Wings + Wheels: Crawford Memories in Motion, which opens today at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. The World War II “half-track” tank is one of several items making its debut at the exhibit. “It had machine guns on it at one time,” says Angie Cochenour, the museum’s marketing director. “But they’ve been removed for safety reasons.”

Wings + Wheels features more than 100 cars, planes, and motorcycles that were originally owned by the venue’s namesake, Frederick Crawford. As president of an auto-parts manufacturing plant during the first half of the 20th century, Crawford amassed tons of vintage vehicles -- including a 1911 Hupmobile, which was touted as the most reliable car ever made. It’s part of the display, and “It still runs,” says Cochenour. “You can still take it out and drive it.” Also on view: turn-of-the-century car ads and a rare Wedell-Williams aircraft, which award-winning aviator Roscoe Turner piloted during the Cleveland National Air Races in the ’30s. They’re all a testament to Crawford’s dedication to anything that moved, says Cochenour, who points out that he’s the only person, besides Henry Ford, inducted into both the Automotive and Aviation Hall of Fames. “It was his industry that made him active in preserving the vehicles of yesterday,” she says.
Sundays, 12-5 p.m.; Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Starts: Sept. 2. Continues through March 31, 2007