Local history: 1950s driving contest gave teens a full ride to college
It wasn’t easy to drive a car as big as a boat — especially when the motorist could barely see over the windshield.
In the 1950s, the Akron Automobile Dealers Association sponsored an annual contest to find the best teenage driver in Summit County. The competition was open to local high schools that offered driver’s training programs for students.
“We have been seeking for a long time for a safety program that would be competitive,” auto dealer E. John Lehman, secretary and manager of the association, explained in 1951. “We believe this is it.”
The grand prize was a full-ride, $1,600 scholarship (worth about $18,500 today) to the University of Akron. Yes, kids, you could attend four years of college for $1,600 in the 1950s. Runners-up received savings bonds: second place, $250; third place, $100; and fourth place, $50.
The contest, which included written exams and road tests, encouraged “skillful, courteous and safe driving” among youths in an era before power steering, seat belts, air bags, blind-spot monitors, backup cameras and pre-collision systems.
“It is hoped that through a program such as this a long-range program for teenagers can be instrumental in being of lasting value toward individual responsibility on the highway,” Lehman said.
Obstacle course at Akron airport
Nearly 300 seniors from 14 high schools entered the inaugural competition in 1951. Based on preliminary test scores, 54 students advanced to the next round, where the field narrowed to 27 finalists.
The championship was held May 24, 1951, on an obstacle course at Akron Municipal Airport. Spectators watched from bleachers as students maneuvered giant automobiles through a grid of stanchions, railroad ties and painted lines.
“The obstacle course at the airport was a corker,” the Beacon Journal reported. “Drivers had to park cars parallel similar to meter parking and were timed and graded as to clearance they left. They also parked, backing into a stall for which they were timed and graded for clearance.”
Points were deducted if a driver grazed a stanchion or parked too far or too close to the curb. Another test involved driving around a figure eight where lines had been painted 9 feet apart. If a tire touched a line, points were deducted. Another test involved driving along a zigzag course of lines painted 9 feet apart.
As it turned out, competitors had the hardest time driving a straight line.
“The one that got most of them was the test in which they had to drive cars forward, keeping one front and one rear wheel on a painted line all the way,” the Beacon Journal noted. “They had to stop within a certain distance of a finish line, then back up with front and rear wheels again always on the painted line.”
When the dust settled, Central High School senior Christine Cummins, 18, won the UA scholarship and bragging rights as Summit County’s best teen driver.
She scored 914 points out of a possible 1,500, edging Central classmate Glenn Litscher, who scored 901½. Third place went to Alex Alexeff of Barberton High School and fourth went to James E. Singer of North High School.
The auto dealers honored the students with a “victory banquet” that evening in the ballroom of the Mayflower Hotel. Cummins’ win disproved “the old saw about women drivers,” the Beacon Journal declared before mentioning the “stunning pink dress” that the auburn-haired girl wore to the reception.
Organizers announced that the contest would become an annual event.
“The hope is to have as many schools as possible in the county to take up student driving programs and to make more of them eligible to participate,” Akron Chamber of Commerce official Harry Dietz said.
Other winners in driving contest
Other students who won full-ride scholarships to the University of Akron were Kenneth McGarr, Central High School, 1952; Richard Swartzman, Ellet High School, 1953; Kenneth Harris, North High School, 1954; John Lehman, Buchtel High School, 1955; and Beverly Saylor, Tallmadge High School, 1956.
The Junior Chamber of Commerce took over as sponsor in later years, awarding prizes to the top-scoring boy and girl in the Teen-Age Roadeo. With the loss of big money from auto dealers, the UA scholarship was discontinued and prizes were reduced to $100 wristwatches and $50 savings bonds.
Rounding out the decade were driving champions Paul Parks and Eleanor Stalnaker, both of Green, 1957; Eddie Davis and Phyllis Scott, both of Central, 1958; and Bruce Lee Burke and Janice English, both of Central, 1959.
Akron Municipal Judge Thomas M. Powers hailed driver’s education for teenagers as “fundamentally the best approach to traffic safety.”
“It’s rare when one of these trained youngsters appears in court,” Powers said. “They seem to learn an attitude of responsibility as well as driving skills. That’s a big thing. Too few persons have a feeling of responsibility behind the wheel.”
Over the years, though, driver’s education classes vanished from schools’ curriculum as cash-strapped districts made budget cuts. Akron schools last offered the courses in the mid-1990s. Private companies stepped in to fill the void, providing instruction to novice motorists.
We can all agree that there’s still a need for “skillful, courteous and safe driving” among today’s youths. Judging by what we see on the roads, many adults could also use a lesson.
Who wants to set up an obstacle course at the airport?
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
More: Children’s book shares triumph and tragedy of 1936 Akron spelling champ MacNolia Cox
Local history: Whoosh! Goodrich developed escape slide for jets
More: Who was Paul E. Werner? Akron preservationists propose name for new Route 8 bridge
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron auto dealers held contest to find best teen driver in 1950s
