Elmer Lovejoy, a “genius with tools.” He ushered in the auto age to Laramie
Elmer Lovejoy (1872-1960) was widely viewed as “one of Laramie’s busiest and most distinguished mechanics in the past half century,” according to Laramie reporter Vandi Moore. In addition to introducing his “horseless carriage” as the first automobile built west of the Mississippi River, he made many other contributions.
Around the time of his planned 1950s retirement to California, Lovejoy met with Moore, a writer for the Laramie Boomerang, to reminisce about his years in Laramie. Her resulting article appeared in the December 5, 1952, issue of the paper—quotes from Lovejoy come from that article.
Early Years
Elmer Floyd Lovejoy was born in Lake County, Illinois, to George W. and Candace Amanda Winters Lovejoy. His mother died within a few months. As a young boy, Elmer developed “consumption,” a dread disease which we call tuberculosis today. To escape the humidity of Illinois, it was decided he should move to the drier climate of Wyoming. According to Laramie native Nancy Mickelson, Elmer’s stepmother, Libby Haines Lovejoy, was the niece of famed Albany County Sheriff N.K. Boswell. It was to Boswell’s ranch on the Colorado border that Elmer came to recover.
On April 1, 1883, 13-year-old Elmer, accompanied by his father, headed for Laramie. Elmer not only got better, he got well! During his second year in the west, he entered school, graduated from Laramie High School, and enrolled at UW. Three months after entering college, Lovejoy left school to work as an apprentice at the Callahan planing mill. He learned the trade so well that he was hired towork on construction of the Edward and Jane Ivinson mansion (now the Laramie Plains Museum) as well as St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral.
Moore writes that when the planing mill folded in bankruptcy, the young construction worker went to North Park, Colorado, with a ten-horse freight wagon hoping to find work there. “It took us a week to get there,” Lovejoy recalled. “I got a job right away on the Gillette ranch over there. Made pretty good money, too, for those days. I got $30 a month and my room and board. I was always foolin’ with machinery, so they put me to work repairing the ranch machinery, and I never did a bit of regular ranch work.”
Trip to Chicago
Having developed a burning desire to visit the Chicago World’s Fair, 20-year-old Elmer bought himself a bicycle with his ranch earnings. He planned to ride it to the fair. Mickelson, who is related to Elmer, has provided details of his trip to Chicago which began on September 19, 1892. The fair was meant to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Columbus “discovering” America. Lovejoy arrived in mid-November; however, the fair missed the intended opening year—it did not open to the public until May 1, 1893.
His plan was to travel about 80 miles per day. It took him five hours to make the first day’s 50-mile run to Cheyenne. “Elmer is a good wheelman,” extolled the Boomerang, which was following his progress at the time. The long trip took him to Omaha and then north to Chicago along railroad routes and the trails or roads alongside them. Mickelson says Woodbine, Iowa, 46 miles east of Omaha, was a rest stop for Lovejoy. There he became acquainted with local saddle and harness maker, Peter Oakley, his wife Hester, and their eight children. One of those children was 15-year-old Nellie.
On his return trip in February 1893, Lovejoy probably reconnected with the Oakley family and Nellie. What we do know, says Mickelson, is that a correspondence between Nellie and Elmer began. Even though Lovejoy had just opened a bicycle repair shop in Laramie, he made several trips back to Woodbine to court Nellie.
Nellie’s family joins the newlyweds!
On August 26, 1895, Elmer met the westbound train in Cheyenne that carried his bride-to-be, Nellie Oakley. She had a letter from her parents giving permission for her to marry Elmer—she was now 18. They were married the following day. Within four years, she was joined in Laramie by the entire Oakley family. Nellie’s sister, Mabel, worked in Lovejoy’s novelty shop. It was at the shop that Mabel met George Trabing—Mickelson’s grandfather.
Other members of Nellie’s family also worked in Elmer’s businesses. Her father and brother Harry were partners with Elmer in 1909 when they opened the Laramie Saddlery and Harness Company at 317 South Second St. (where the Wyoming Women’s History House is located today in a new building). Jessie, another brother, worked for a time as a mechanic and chauffeur for Lovejoy. Basil Oakley, her youngest brother, also worked for Elmer. Nellie’s three sisters also married and settled in Laramie.
Goes into business
Elmer’s first job upon returning to Laramie from Chicago was that of mail carrier. Moore notes that he served as one of the early carriers soon after local service began. Even while carrying mail, Lovejoy’s mind was on mechanics, and he opened a bicycle shop, where he did repair work on the side. After a year of walking with a mail bag, he left that job for the bicycle shop which he operated as Lovejoy Novelty Works.
The Lovejoy Novelty Works began on the second story of the post office located at 315 South Second St. It then moved to 301 Grand Ave. where the Connor Hotel is currently located. The next move was to Second and Garfield Streets in the Collins building at 116 Garfield St. From there, it moved to the Lovejoy-Naismith building previously occupied by Central Grocery. Its best-known location is 412 South Second St., a building still standing.
A local advertisement about Lovejoy’s business says, “We Repair Everything in the Home.” Apparently, it wasn’t just bicycles that Lovejoy tinkered with.
Garage door invention
In 1917 Lovejoy invented an automatic garage door opener. He filed for and received U.S. patents for his openers in 1918 and for an improved version in 1921. He also secured a Canadian patent for his opener in December 1918. He considered seeking similar patents in Italy and Mexico, but ultimately decided against that because of costs. His patent submissions were necessarily very precise and well-illustrated. He noted that electrical power is required only when opening the door; the closing is caused by using counterweights and gravity, an economic savings. For safety, both of his later applications included a brake drum and shoe to stop operation when the power stopped.
Map and road improvement
One of America’s first road maps was published in 1912 with Lovejoy’s help. It pointed out places of interest throughout Wyoming, but more specifically in the Laramie area. As President of the Albany County Good Roads club, Lovejoy was a strong advocate for making the roads passable for tourists and others. He saw good roads as attracting tourists and dollars to Laramie. He also strongly supported automobile races, often piloting and guiding racing cars on their cross-country races through Albany County.
hrough automobile and bicycle inventions, Lovejoy literally propelled Laramie forward to national recognition. His position and prosperity in Laramie came just in time for the introduction of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway which ran through Laramie. Lovejoy’s mechanical skills were undoubtedly useful for those early motorists navigating the Laramie valley.
In 1912, Lovejoy worked with the National Highways Association to correct their recently printed map, which showed Laramie as being on one of the transcontinental highways, but with no provision for marking the route from Omaha to Cheyenne, and that the route from Denver to Laramie by way of Fort Collins was omitted. He also suggested that the map show the proposed route from Laramie to Yellowstone National Park by way of Douglas, Casper, Lander, and other points.
Laramie Bicycle Club
His love of cycling led Lovejoy to help organize the Laramie Bicycle Club. The club’s rules say it was organized August 15, 1891, but an American Heritage Center (AHC) photograph shows a banner stating the club was “organized August 26, 1882.” The club claimed to be the oldest bicycle club in the Rocky Mountains. Membership application cost $1.00 and annual dues were 25 cents.
Lovejoy was a major influence in sustaining the popularity of bicycling locally. Through his shop, Lovejoy sold, repaired, and built bicycles. To promote the recreational sport, he constructed a “bicycle built for two” tandem bicycle and rode with his wife Nellie around the town of Laramie. Lovejoy’s shop was the center for all mechanical and transportation needs. Notably, he sold “Crescent” brand bicycles. An AHC photo shows a towering stack of about 20 packaged bicycles being pulled on a trailer by Lovejoy in his Locomobile steamer auto.
Amateur Photographer
Lovejoy was an active amateur photographer, taking shots of local buildings, events, andlandscapes. He photographed the Sand Creek and Libby Creek areas, Fire Company hose cart races on Grand Ave., the Dale Creek trestle, various club members, fishing and hunting scenes, and Laramie homes. Other photos depict train wrecks, the Lovejoy Novelty Works and Trabing Grocery stores, and Old Main at UW. Later, he shot 3 rolls of 16mm motion picture film depicting UW homecoming parades and commencement exercises, and a 1939 local pet parade.
Other endeavors
The Laramie Republican in 1905 proclaimed, “Among the most prominent and indispensable businessmen of the city is Elmer Lovejoy, owner of the novelty works and bicycle hospital on Second Street, who has a reputation all around Laramie for ‘mending any old thing,’ and the reputation has been well earned. It is said that whatever Elmer cannot fix should go to the scrap heap—from a $4,000 automobile to a wash boiler, and when he finishes it there is every indication that it has been well fixed.”
The 1907 newspaper story goes on to say that Lovejoy opened Laramie’s first automobile rental business. It also credits him with selling the idea of an electric lighting plant to Dolly Curtis, proprietor of the hotel in Walden, while he was on a trip there.
The paper also stated, “Mr. Lovejoy has grown up here in Laramie, is a genius with tools, and has tilted up a wonderful novelty works. His heavy machinery is driven by gasoline engine, among the other contrivances being an air compressor where he stores air to be used in inflating bicycle tires, automobile tires, and for making a tremendous heat from gasoline flames for brazing and welding. His shop is a curiosity, and his store contains a well assorted stock of sporting goods, phonographs, and bicycle supplies.
“Mr. Lovejoy handles the Edison talking machine, and there are frequent concerts of choice selections on that favorite instrument. One seldom thinks of going fishing or hunting that Elmer is not consulted for some reason, and he himself makes a valuable member of the parties when business will permit. The ‘fix any old thing’ motto adapted by him as an advertisement has spread to surrounding towns, and he is often called away, in dead of night, to repair some break that demands immediate and pressing attention. ‘Let Elmer fix it.’”
Lovejoy was not only a successful inventor and businessman, but he also believed in community service. He was a Laramie City Council member, active on the Fire Department, Park and Cemetery, Streets and Alleys, Police, and Sewer committees, reported the Laramie Republican.
Retirement
Lovejoy lived and worked in Laramie until 1953. Moore said, “Laramie’s grand old man of mechanics put away his tool chest and, with his wife, departed for the warmer climate of Santa Ana, California, in which to spend his sunset years.”
Lovejoy’s inventions and interests did not stop when the modern automobile outdated his own horseless carriage. “I always like to tinker,” he confessed to Moore, “and I’ll probably keep right on tinkering, even though I’m retiring.”
By John Nutter
Source: Collection of Nancy Mickelson Caption: Elmer Lovejoy (1872-1960)
Source of both photos: American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
Caption: Elmer Lovejoy hauls a wagon load of Crescent bicycle kits to his store using his “horseless carriage.”
Caption: Patent application by Elmer Lovejoy for an automatic garage door opener