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Ask A Kansan is a podcast where we're amplifying, connecting and uncovering stories across Kansas.
Every week, Gus and Sydney sit down with the people who actually make this state run — museum directors and ranchers, founders and historians, zookeepers and woodcarvers. From Kansas City to Kinsley, WaKeeney to Wichita, we go where the story is.
You'll leave each episode knowing something you didn't about the state we call home. It's not a history lecture and it's not a business show. It's a real conversation with a Kansan worth knowing.
New episodes weekly. askakansan.com
Ep72
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Cold Open Car Show Photos
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[00:00:00]
Tanner: All right. So I have, uh, related today's episode, kind of a cold open for us. today's episode is a car guy, and I'm always amazed when I go to car shows, like, uh, the Lead Sled was just here- um, you know, beginning of the month. as a photographer, I don't often go to a event and get outshot. The amount of people, guys, that will go up to cars and take every single angle of the car-
Sydney Collins: Oh, every angle with their cellphone
Tanner: I'm like, what are you doing with those photos? They, their, their phones have to be full of just photos and, I, it just, it always amazes me at, at car shows.
Sydney Collins: When, I think when we were cleaning out my grandpa's place, I think we did find albums full of just pictures that he took at car shows. For sure.
And we're like-
Tanner: I love the passion ...
Sydney Collins: "Grandpa."
Tanner: I mean, our guest today is, is just a shining example of, of a car guy that, that has passion and stuff like that. And, the passion of, of someone's that's put the time into [00:01:00] refurbishing a car is, is great to see.
Tanner: Welcome to Ask a Kansan ...
Sydney Collins: a podcast where we're amplifying, connecting, and uncovering stories across Kansas. And you may notice something a little different today. Tanner. So Gus is on vacation. We needed to record, uh, this episode to finish out our education month, and so Tanner, was nice enough to sit in the hot seat, this time around.
So thank you, Tanner- for coming with us.
Tanner: No problem. I think, uh, today's episode is a great ending to our education month.
So, we have Matthew Tyler Miller-Wells on. He has a h- uh, wears a lot of hats. Um, he works for McPherson College currently. I will let him [00:02:00] introduce all the things that he has done. Um, but he is just one of those people that exudes passion, and you will see that. We will laugh a lot. We will all learn a lot- about the automotive industry that I had no idea. so without any further ado, here is our conversation with Matthew
Sydney Collins: How's it going? Feel like we haven't seen you in forever
Matthew Miller-Wells: I know now that I'm working at the college, I hardly come, like, much further north than Walmart.
So, like, now I'm driving out here, it's like, "Goodness, this... I haven't realized how long it's been since I've driven, like, this side of town."
Sydney Collins: It's so fu- I- so I live in McPherson.
So I commute the opposite way that you do every day now.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I thought it was gonna be a more dreary drive.
Sydney Collins: No.
Matthew Miller-Wells: And I've really grown to appreciate it.
Sydney Collins: Minus all the construction right now.
Matthew Miller-Wells: It- that's getting a little aggravating. '
Sydney Collins: Cause it's like, for one, like, just if you're gonna make it one lane, just make it for the whole, whole thing between Lindsborg and McPherson. It's so irritating.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Get going- ... and you gotta back
it back down.
Sydney Collins: 'Cause it's [00:03:00] like one lane. "Okay, now you have two again. Okay, one lane. Okay, now you can have two again. One lane. Okay, now you can have two again. Just kidding, one lane." Like-
Matthew Miller-Wells: The, the, the benefit being, of course, now that driving becomes a strategy game of all right-
Sydney Collins: It does
Matthew Miller-Wells: how much I can get away with. Can I get in front of that truck before it narrows?
Sydney Collins: It
is. It really is. It's like life, like, it's like the opposite of Frogger. It's kind of, a little bit.
Matthew Miller-Wells: And then you celebrate and then you remember, like, "Hey, man, it's like 8:15 in the morning." Like, "What are we doing?"
Sydney Collins: just calm
down.
Meet Matt Miller Wells
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Tanner: Well, can you introduce yourself?
Matthew Miller-Wells: Oh, I probably should start with that, Um, so I'm, uh, my name's Matthew Tyler Miller Wells. We'll just do Matt. I've got too many names.
Sydney Collins: I feel like you, you missed a name though, didn't you?
Matthew Miller-Wells: Yes, Delano. I was gonna say. The, the middle name. So we're just gonna say Matt.
Sydney Collins: I
think that's so funny that Delano's the middle name.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Yep, Gotta, gotta go overcomplicate things. But no, so Matt Miller Wells is my name. I live here in Salina. I have lived in Salina since, what, July of 2021. Um, but I work over in McPherson College now as of May [00:04:00] of this year as their associate director of automotive studies.
And you graduated from there, right?
Yes. I'm a 2020 alum. I, I like to brag that I had, like, the easiest- final semester of college ever. It was just submit the thesis, here's the diploma, stand up in your living room. Eh. Congratulations. But no, honestly, um, yep, a 2020 alum. Loved every minute of my time at McPherson.
So when the opportunity arose to, uh, be able to join their staff and help out with a number of things that are coming down the pipeline, I, I jumped at the bit. I had to pretend like I was very stoic, very professional. Like, "Let me make sure that, like, this is a proper career move."
Sydney Collins: "This is a good fit for me."
Matthew Miller-Wells: Meanwhile I'm, like, spinning and, like- screaming in the garage, right?
Military Roots Moving Around
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Sydney Collins: Where are you originally from?
Matthew Miller-Wells: So my family, we were a military family. Okay. From the time that I was, I think, three is when my dad joined up. Um, so I was born in Annapolis, Maryland, like right on the Chesapeake Bay, just about. Um, but I've lived everywhere. Kansas, technically speaking, is where I've spent the most amount of time [00:05:00] collectively. But I've been everywhere. Um, I think I sent it over to you guys, but if I remember right, it's... So born in Maryland, Dad joined up with, in North Carolina in '99. So from there it was North Carolina, Kansas for about a year and a half- uh, Missouri for about a year and a half. Went out to Germany for just shy of three years. Went to Alaska for about two and a half years, and then my dad finished up his time at a very small Rock Island Arsenal, a little island right in between Iowa and Illinois. And then after that, did a year of school in Kentucky, and then in 2016 finally moved out to the Leavenworth, Kansas area.
That's when I started going to McPherson, and that's... that, that, that's sort of the chunk of time over the last 10 years has been largely in Kansas.
Tanner: So moving around that much and being in auto, be- you know- loving, loving automobiles, I, I, I think of most people that are in your position as someone that spent a lot of time in one garage, in grandpa's garage or something like that.
How did, how did, uh, your love for automobile-ia become such a- passion?
Falling for Volkswagens
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Matthew Miller-Wells: So [00:06:00] it's really funny 'cause it wasn't something I realized until later. I'd always loved cars since I was a little kid. My grandfather was a Buick salesman, so he was always getting-
Sydney Collins: Oh. You know- I love that so much. ...
Matthew Miller-Wells: uh, I lo- I have an inna- just a deep, undying love for like a early '90s LeSabre or Park Avenue, 'cause like that was his, that was his era.
Right. So he was always bringing home cool dealership promo material. I think he brought home like a, a blanket for the Chevy SSR, like that retro pickup truck- when that came out. That sold me. And then, you know, moving around a lot, we... I didn't have like Pee-Paw's Garage. No one in my family was super automotive-oriented, so I did a lot of growing up on, like, video games.
You know, uh, uh, Diddy Kong Racing, Need For Speed, even Down to Pole Position. But when I was a kid, when my dad was a drill sergeant in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, we had a '68 Beetle, which was hilarious that there was this big, burly, angry, you know, drill sergeant stepping out of this rotted '68 Bug. But I loved it to pieces. We ended up having to sell that, when we moved to Germany, and then while we [00:07:00] were in Germany, we bought another Volkswagen. We bought a-
Sydney Collins: I would hope so.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Yes. So we bought a '63 Beetle. It was a Herbie the Love Bug replica. And I think that was the moment that I was like, hook, line, sinker, here we go. Loved that car. S- you know, did a lot of sitting in that car. Dad's deployed to Afghanistan. You know, everyone's in the house. I'm like, "I'm gonna go sit in the car in the garage. I don't know about you guys." Like... And so, you know, learned to drive stick on that car in high school, and I think that's what really took it off from there.
So it was- I did a lot of my self-discovery with automobilia right around the time that my dad retired from the Army. Like, right when I first started learning to drive, got to drive the Beetle, and that was when I was like, "Okay, I wanna start paying attention to this stuff." Full disclosure, I had no idea what I was doing.
I had no mentor. I barely could be trusted with cleaning spark plugs on, on the Beetle. But it was enough for me to start exploring that interest. So when I was in school in Kentucky and I wrecked the Volkswagen and got a C in accounting and realized that I did not wanna be a business major [00:08:00] anymore- that's when I discovered McPherson College and opted to head out that direction and actually pursue automotive restoration as a, as, as a career.
Starting at McPherson
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Matthew Miller-Wells: How was it going into McPherson College with that background of loving automobiles versus you have these probably Kansas kids who grew up in their dad and their grandpa's garage?
Like, how was that compared?
Utterly intimidating. Uh, you know, it's... You go in, and what's really cool about McPherson is it's not innately Kansas kids. Matter of fact, I- it's great. I have access to, like, the demographics and everything now. Oh, I love this now. But a lot of students from California, Ohio.
There, there's an inordinate, inordinate amount of people from Ohio. Um, not as many from Kansas as you expect. So all different walks of life. You get, you know, a lot of kiddos like me, uh, you know- talking as a, you know, as a former student, a lot of kiddos like me that, you know, maybe their family had a car, but, you know, they're going in there 'cause they're trying to learn.
And then by comparison, you had, "Oh, my grandfather has been collecting pre-war Lincolns." And so, uh, they've had [00:09:00] all kinds of access to whatever, and they're showing up in really cool stuff. And I, it, it at first was terrified. I was like, "There's no way. Like, I don't know what I'm doing. All these people have a pretty decent idea of what they're about.
They kinda know what they're talking about." I was just learning some basic stuff. But what was so great about McPherson was me being a blank slate, I think, was probably better than me coming in with a lot of preconceived notions. So, you know, professors were able to sort of take and mold and shape that and help me discover what I was good at, what I enjoyed but maybe not necessarily wanted to do professionally, and then the things that, okay, like, just that's, I'm glad that that class is over and done with.
Right? So something that many would assume would've been a hindrance was actually one of the strongest, one of my strongest suits was not really knowing anything before I got there.
Building The Garage Museum
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Sydney Collins: Now you've graduated, you, um... Can you tell us a little bit about your time at The Garage?
Matthew Miller-Wells: Yes. so I graduated during the pandemic.
For a l- about a [00:10:00] year and a half after that, I was doing restoration on Datsun Z cars. Okay. Um, that was a great opportunity. I'm by no means, like, I love working on cars and making them run. I don't like doing it for money. I like doing it- on my own. But it was, it was a fun experience. But I would keep calling folks at the college and say, "Hey, you know, what's out there?
I will lick floors for $15 an hour- ... if it brings me back to Kansas." Plus, my wife's family has lived in Kansas since, I think, 2005. Oh. And so there was a, there was a lot of motivating factors wanting to come back. And then I finally got a phone call from Amanda Gutierrez, and she said, "Hey, something is happening in Salina.
I think they're putting a museum together. Contact these three people." And so shot some emails out and just said, "I went to McPherson College. You know, I'm really wanting to come back to Kansas. I understand that there's something going on, and I'd love to know about it." And they reached back out to me, and with this really lucrative idea at the time of a museum with rotating exhibits and interactives.
And- my whole senior thesis when I was at McPherson was [00:11:00] about automotive video games and museum interactivity. 'Cause I-
Sydney Collins: Oh my gosh. ...
Matthew Miller-Wells: I grew up as, as... Well, exactly.
Tanner: The perfect fit.
Matthew Miller-Wells: E- exactly. I was, I was over the moon. I was like, "There's no way this is legit." But, um, my senior thesis was over, automotive video games, and the black sheep kiddos like me, that we didn't have Pepa's '57 Chevy- or a garage to stumble into, and so I did a lot of my learning on, you know, d- was it Rush 2049 or Pole Position or Forza Horizon? Like, that's how I understood, that was my relation to automobility. And so I wrote my paper on that about, you know... There's a whole tangent. I'll-
Sydney Collins: no, it's totally fine
Matthew Miller-Wells: probably get into that later. But anyway, it was the... I was able to directly plug my thesis into this idea at The Garage, and it was a good enough, sounded like a good enough opportunity that I loaded up my life into the back of a retired funeral car and drove nonstop from Atlanta to Salina and set up shop out here. Um, I was their education director for, it would've been five years this, this year. And I joke that it wasn't so much wearing [00:12:00] multiple hats as it was balancing the rack off the tip of your nose- all the time. And it was- frankly, an amazing experience to be able to start at this museum from scratch. Frankly, none of us had any idea what we were doing, and I think that that was one of the most fun opportunities there, that there was nothing, no museum theory or no idea of what should be done in an automotive museum, that we could just do whatever we wanted. So, you know, building the space up and saying, "Hey, we don't have to own any cars.
We know enough people that we can just build these exhibits up- based on what we wanna see for a few months, and then kick them out and bring a whole new set in." And so you're playing with, um, what you're gonna teach people, and what kind of music you're gonna play, and, oh, do you wanna put these interactives over here, you know?
so like for example, we have, or they have I should say now, virtual reality simulators for painting and welding. You know, it's really... It's a lot more difficult today than it was 40, 50-plus years ago to be able to stumble [00:13:00] into a shop and learn a thing or two about- vocational arts. And some people, it's hindered them to the point of inactivity, that they would rather not do it at all 'cause- they don't understand how to set the machine up, or it's really expensive, and then your arm hair's on fire 'cause you don't know what you're doing, you know? And these are, I mean, I mean, that was, those were all thoughts that I had as a student at Mac of like, "I have no idea what I'm doing. I almost don't wanna get into this, but I have a grade, so I have to." But for people that want to learn, there was no outlet. There was no third space for that. So, these VR simulators, we get people in the door with the promise of cool cars, and there's a beer wall that you could drink a beer and look at cool stuff, and maybe you can learn something while you're there.
You put on the headset, right? And you're learning how to paint, or you're learning how to put a bead down, and you're seeing in real time, minus the smells and the cost and time constraints of preparation, what you're actually doing, what you're accomplishing. And so getting to seal it, see that in real time, you know, you have young kids that are going up against their parents that have been in the business for 30-plus years, and they're [00:14:00] actually duking it out on this machine.
It was so much fun to see. Then also there was, you know, the stories, you know, the, the different kinds of cars and different kinds of e- education you're bringing in. You know, the, the folks with pre-World War II cars are drastically different from the customs people- ... are drastically different from the people that just own yellow vehicles, right? And so every exhibit brought its own challenges, logistically, educationally, whatever. But also that was the most fun of it, is that you went into work knowing that things were probably gonna be a little insane for a bit, but you just embraced it. And, you know, some days we wanted to go at each other's throats, and other days, you know, you embrace it.
And it was, it was so much fun.
Making Car Museums For All
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Tanner: I was, when, when that started, I, I'm not a, a huge car guy and, and I, my thought was rotating exhibits every six months.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Uh, four
months. Four. Just about, yep.
Tanner: And I just thought, " No way can this, can you guys keep it going." Like, uh, I hoped that it would, and I'm glad it did.
[00:15:00] But, and you guys have, they, they, you guys, have, have blown it away with what you've brought into that space and, and it's different every time, and- And it's, um-
Sydney Collins: Well, the creativity of it. Like, who would've thought an entire, like, museum space could be filled with nothing but yellow cars? Yep. Like-
Tanner: And make it interesting to people- And make it interesting
that don't really, don't really have a huge love- for what's under the hood- Oh, or something like
Matthew Miller-Wells: that.
And
that's, I think that that's a, a mis- not a mistake, but a misstep that a lot of automotive museums make, is they try to make car museums cool for car people. I don't have to convince a car person that any of this stuff is worth it.
Every member of their family that has been dragged there against their will- I've gotta be able to capture them. Right? 'Cause there, there always is. And that was what's helpful, is that, like, I was the, the quote-unquote car guy there. And, you know, obviously our, the, the board of directors had a bunch of collectors and enthusiasts- in their own right, but a lot of the other directors and leadership, it's not that they didn't care about cars, but it didn't have that spark the same- Right ... way that it did for other people. So if I'm pitching something or another about how cool this thing is, and I can't [00:16:00] capture the thoughts and interest of everyone else in the room in the first 10 seconds, well, this exhibit's gonna flop. And that resulted sometimes in wanting to rip my hair out of, like, I'm trying to get this point across here. But it w- that was also a, a strong suit, that it forced me to rethink how to approach educationally teaching people that this stuff is worth it. So, like, the yellow exhibit, right? I can talk until I'm blue in the face about how interesting this Plymouth Road Runner is with this, engine and transmission combination, whatever.
People care more about the fact that the guy had owned it since it was new, when he brought his daughters home from the hospital. That's gonna be the connection. Rather than the actual technical aspect and showing off how much I know or what have you.
And so admittedly, when we first started, I even had my own reservations of there's no way I'm gonna be able to keep doing this for more than a year or two.
But then it got to a point that the cars were the smallest part of the operation. I knew that at a bare minimum I could find about 30 vehicles for anything. My job then was trying to get that number to 40 and trying to [00:17:00] find those other bits and pieces that would make a show stand out.
McPherson Program Explained
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Sydney Collins: So now you're at McPherson College.
Yay, this is amazing. What's the difference about, like, okay, you went to school there, now you're in a leadership role where there's eyes opened. You have plans of like, "This is my experience in school. I want these students to have this experience." Like, h- how's that been to-
Tanner: Can we also tag on maybe just tell us a little bit about- McPherson Auto Restoration and- Yes ... and the program itself.
Sydney Collins: Very much so.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Yes. No, it's, it's... You know, when you surround yourself with it, it's very easy to forget that some people have no idea- that this place exists. So McPherson College is the only school in the country that offers a four-year Bachelor of Science in Vintage Automotive Restoration Technology, and there's a number of other focuses that come from that, too.
So, you know, obviously, there's the restoration side we discuss. Also, you know, you could have an emphasis in design, in history, in communications. So, to backtrack, back in 1976, a [00:18:00] gentleman that worked for the college by the name of Smokey Blue recognized even 50 years ago, "Hey, we're starting to run out of people that know how to do quality restoration work on old cars."
And you know, the '70s, the idea of collector cars and these clubs that were forming, like, they existed, but I mean, even back then, it was like, okay, we're starting to run out of the old breed of people that really know what they're looking at. And so he put forth all these Model Ts and Model A's and other pre-war cars, and it started off as a two-year, like, technical program of like, you know, they would spend a semester restoring a Model T and then send it on its way, and it would help fund the program and keep it going. Well, by the 2000s, um, after a, uh, feature, that's it, with, uh, Jay Leno on his show- Oh, 'cause Jay Leno is an avid, you know, collector. He had heard about the program, invited some of our faculty onto the show, and shortly after that, we had enough interest, it was growing enough to turn it into a four-year program.
So rather than it just being like, you know, a group of these tech guys- in [00:19:00] this one building in the corner of campus, now it is a well-rounded four-year group. You know, some students don't always agree with that. Like, "You know, I'm here to work on cars. Why am I learning history of witch trials and algebra?"
Oh, But in the bigger picture-
Sydney Collins: History of witch trials.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I joke about it. Unironically- Ooh ... one of my favorite classes while I was there. It was actually so fun.
Tanner: Mine was Intro to Gangs at Wesleyan. Oh. Best class I ever took.
Sydney Collins: I should have stayed in college?
Matthew Miller-Wells: It's, it's, It's n- it's not so much about the subject as it is the critical thinking behind it, right? Um, but that's exactly it, that it was an opportunity to create well-rounded students that could think critically- and know what a job well done looked like depending on what car you looked at. Because a lot of these coach-built vehicles or low-production number cars, there is no restores guide.
There is no parts aftermarket. So, you know, you're trying to train people so that way when they're confronted with those problems in a shop, they don't just throw their hands at it or just sort of MacGyver the car to get it out the door, you know. They know what a job well done looks like. And [00:20:00] so for the last 50 years, that is what McPherson College has been boasting.
It's not the only thing that the college does, but it's- Arguably one of the better known things- at, you know, just hiding in this little town in central Kansas.
Tanner: Got Jay Leno interested. He's been there multiple times.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Yes. I mean, so many people.
Sydney Collins: I mean, there's a car hanging from the ceiling of their new-
Matthew Miller-Wells: Two, matter of fact.
Sydney Collins: Two cars hanging from the ceiling-
Tanner: That looks pretty cool coming over the bridge ... of their new building.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Oh, it's amazing. And I mean, that was only completed about a year or so ago.
Industry Demand Expansion
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Matthew Miller-Wells: So McPherson College, and by extension the entirety of this, this industry, is at a really unique inflection point. Those that got into the industry post-World War II, it's, they're not getting any younger unfortunately. And there's a lot of, you know, even restoration shops, aftermarket parts suppliers and manufacturers that these guys are in their 70s, 80s, even their 90s, and, you know, they want to retire, or they're working themselves quite literally to death.
And no one is willing or able to take over their businesses. So there's a huge focus on, all right, [00:21:00] what's gonna happen to the industry going forward from here? And by extension, a great problem that McPherson College has now is so many people are interested in this now. We have so many students that are trying to apply for the program.
Maybe they're getting into the college, but we don't have enough room in the program. Templeton Hall itself, I mean, we have one lab that's sharing space for four different classes. You know, you've got chassis and drive train and electrical and engine tuning kind of all happening in one place. Great problem to have, that we have so many people trying to come in that we're running into constraints with class size and shop space. And so, in preparing us for the next 50 years, we're doing an expansion. You know, trying to connect to our facilities building and add a second story while repairing, you know, Templeton Hall to facilitate this growing interest. Um, there's an incorrect notion that young people, or that no one wants to learn about old cars anymore, that young people have no interest, that this, the, you know, they're more interested in the new stuff and the street takeovers, and no one cares about, you know, the concours [00:22:00] level stuff, and it, it's blatantly untrue.
What we're running into now is a logistical problem of trying to, A, get people to hear that programs like this exist, and B, get them the quality education that they need to be released into the world and make an impact and keep automobilia going.
Careers Beyond The Shop
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Tanner: Are there m- some misconceptions on what a degree like this can offer post-graduation?
Uh, what, what are some things that you wish people knew about that?
Matthew Miller-Wells: so for those that are completely unfamiliar [00:23:00] with McPherson, yes, um, there's, I mean, I know even when I was accepted as a student, everyone in my family thought I was gonna become a grease monkey. They were like- "You're leaving," 'cause it, like, there's like, "You're leaving this school that you were gonna get a, you know, a business major, an Asian studies minor, you were gonna travel, and you're gonna go work on cars now?
Like, what's going on with this?" Until they visited the program and they see the things that are happening there, and they see how McPherson sets student up for success. Internships and post-grad employment is a guarantee. If you don't get something, then you have not looked hard enough. McPherson, the automotive restoration program actually does an annual career fair where they will invite 30-plus employers that are begging for interns, or they're looking for post-grad employment, whether it's just general shop help, or if it's targeted, you know, help with- paint and body or mechanical or assembly. You know, they're looking for competent help. And these career fairs, I mean, we cap it at about 30 to 40 people. You know, I'm- ... I think I looked at a spreadsheet. I have over 300 contacts that I know [00:24:00] of that are reaching out to us trying to find help. A big part of my job now is trying to help clean this up and, you know- not serve so much as a middleman so they can get in contact with people, but- it sounds like a m- a made-up number, but it's true. About 98% of students have a job within six months of graduating. Most seniors have something lined up by the time they hit spring break. I mean, uh, whether it's job prospects from previous internships or they're in talks with someone, it may not be their forever home, but they have something that they know that they're gonna be able to do by the time they, they leave. even when I was a student, I did three internships all three summers that I was there. Uh, interned once at the college for their Pebble Beach project. Uh, another I was, I got to live out in Naples, Florida, working at a museum out there, and an amazing experience. And then in the other summer, I, um, worked at a Volkswagen shop in North Carolina.
I opted to go for a well-rounded experience. I wanted to hit all different kinds of job positions. Some students do shops all three years or whatever comes down the pipeline. And even with the pandemic, [00:25:00] I think by the time I, quote-unquote, "graduated," I had j- a job almost immediately. Didn't stay there very long, but, you know, that and then I think a month after I graduated, I got the job at the Datsun shop, and I was set up for a year and a half. So it's, the help is needed, and McPherson, I think, does a fantastic job of trying to find placement. Now we're trying to clean things up so it's a little bit easier for employers to reach out to us, for students or alumni, for that matter, to be able to, try to find the help if they're looking for a change of pace, as well as opening up, you know, not just shops but, you know, looking at archival work. Um, there are students and friends of mine even that have, gotten into, you know, insurance work with Hagerty Classic Vehicle Insurance.
Sydney Collins: Oh, I never even thought about that.
Matthew Miller-Wells: They went into social media and marketing for, like, an auction house, right? It's, it's a kaleidoscope of opportunity when you talk about vintage cars. Um, it's not just working in a shop building Restomods or Concours level, whatever it may be.
Sydney Collins: I would've never even thought about, I need someone who actually knows about, you know, classic cars to [00:26:00] work at an insurance company. That never-
Tanner: Or an auction house.
Sydney Collins: Or an auction house.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Or, I mean, there's even students that, I know of people that are, uh, that have graduated that now work for General Motors in their he- um, in their heritage division, maintaining, uh, the concept vehicles. I mean, as far back as 1939- Right ... some of the first ones they did. Or they work in their design division. You know, like, actively contributing to automotive design.
Sydney Collins: That's wild. I think there is, there used to be one guy that we used to work at the museum. He got a job as just... got a job on, like, the East or West Coast just maintaining someone's collection.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Oh so that was, um, Calvin Cassada. Calvin. he, he got hired, like, I think two months after the museum opened- just to maintain a collection of, you know, million-dollar pre-war cars- and Italian concept cars.
What's funny is-
Sydney Collins: Like, that's like his dream job.
Matthew Miller-Wells: He has moved back, and he took over my position. Oh, no way. Yep. He, he missed, he's got family in Manhattan.
Sydney Collins: Okay, cool.
Matthew Miller-Wells: So, you know, he was eager to come home, and another McPherson student took that job in, in Pennsylvania.
Sydney Collins: That's amazing. That is crazy. [00:27:00]
Matthew Miller-Wells: And it's, it's amazing what is hiding out there.
I mean, even in Salina, I mean, there, I'd like to think that I have a pretty good idea of some of the cars and collections that are hiding out here, and every so often, someone will go down the road that I didn't know about. I mean, it is, you have to be borderline blind to not see how much culture and automobilia there is.
And specifically how to, you know, when you take a look at employment, how much more there is besides just working on the car.
Bringing Back T Build Team
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Sydney Collins: So, back to one of my original questions. Now, you've been a student- now you're in kind of administration position. Are there things you're l- excited to, you know, keep doing that you did as a student or are there things that you're excited to tweak a little bit?
Matthew Miller-Wells: Uh, it's, it's been fun. I've been joking with, um, you know, coworkers. It's, it's fun. There's a fine line to tiptoe between I'm now a staff member of the college- and I was an ornery student, and I did silly stuff. But I think what I'm excited for is, you know, as There's some of the stuff that I, you know, that I [00:28:00] did as a student that I certainly wouldn't condone anyone else to do.
But- I, I only graduated six years ago, and so a lot of those memories are still vivid enough that I remember what it's like, y- you know, maybe some of the gripes and grievances I had, or some of the things that I really enjoyed doing when I was a student there. Um, one key example is the T Build Team. Are you familiar with the T Build that the college does?
Sydney Collins: N- yes and no.
Matthew Miller-Wells: So, you know, program starts, it's usually five or six students and a Ford Model T, '26 Ford Model T in pieces just scattered around this space, and in a matter of minutes it goes from bits and pieces to a running, driving automobile. Um- Wow ... the record, last I heard, the record was five minutes and 15 seconds-
Sydney Collins: No way
Matthew Miller-Wells: to build a car. Yep. and so it took a break for a couple of years for a few reasons, but mainly, staff constraints. We were getting so heavily- Right. focused on the Pebble Beach car that we just effectively didn't have the time to organize a team, keep up with practices, and let the car go all over the place.
And so coming back on as a staff member, I'm [00:29:00] reestablishing the T Build Team. Um, I know for many people, myself included, that was one of my first introductions of the college and of the program, and it's just, it's incredible to see. It doesn't have to be a lightning fast build. Uh, most of the builds I've seen in the past are right around that, you know, eight to 10-minute mark, which is still way too fast to build a car.
Sydney Collins: To build a car.
Tanner: Three minutes difference.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I mean, it's like, "Oh, it's only 10 minutes. That's so slow." No, it's not. Like, that's insane. But, looking to reestablish that with just a couple of events to sort of, you know, baby step- get it going this year. But it's little things like that that I think promote connection to the program. Because when students are walking on campus and, you know, you're just doing classes and you're going through the slog of life, and you're a young person and, you know, building your brand and figuring out who you are, it's easy to get jaded with the idea of just, "I'm at school," you know? So trying to reestablish those things that made me excited to be a student and create a sense of identity to relate myself to the college so that way when I'm out and about wearing the shop shirt with the logo on, I'm remembering, like, I'm not just me, I'm also an [00:30:00] extension of this program that I've been, inducted in.
And, you know, it feeds back into that connection, right? It makes people proud to be of the college and of the program. So, you know, doing the T Build Team again, trying to create programs and invite keynote speakers to campus for workshops, and just ways to make McPherson this automotive cultural hub or cultural destination, right? That, you know, when people think of- automobilia, that should be one of the first names that people think about. And for most it is, and for some people they're still learning, right? But, that and with freshmen and, you know, with the, the class is growing larger and while we're still doing this expansion, you know, it, it, people can't get into every class that they wanna get into, right?
Those first couple years. So again, it's easy to get disconnected when you're not in Templeton all the time. So another part of my job is also making these workshops and fun events, so that way- those underclassmen that are still finding their footing still feel some sort of connection. So matter of fact, right before I got [00:31:00] here, I was taking a look at the schedule for how to drive a Model T. You know, if you're gonna be working on them, it's kind of probably a good idea to know what it is you're doing and how they operate. And so for people that have never been around a car that old before, to now be like, "You're gonna learn how to drive this semi tractor automobile," you know- it's, I, I think that'll be a lot of fun.
Sydney Collins: That's cool.
Tanner: I think one of my first, interactions with the, the program was, through Zane Krall, Todd Krall's- Yes. Um, And, uh, I remember I was friends with Devon and, and we'd go over to the, hi- to Zane's garage, and there was just shelves of parts. And one day I asked, I said, "What is this?"
And he said, "They're all Model T parts." And in my head, "Who's-" "How do you have a small business-"
Sydney Collins: Who has that many Model T's?
Tanner: Oh, And he said, "Well, it's, it's McPherson College." And, um, you know, the, the, the students would come up and purchase parts from him.
Um, and I think he was probably doing it at a heavily discounted, um, to, to, to help support the program.
Community Support Scholarships
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Tanner: So my question after that is, is how does, the community, maybe the [00:32:00] community McPherson, um, or just the car community support, um, outside of- the college level support?
Matthew Miller-Wells: But- There is an overwhelming amount of support for, for those that know. Um, whether it's, you know, benefactors that are actually donating to the program to help in buying tools or, um, help fund scholarships.
I mean, matter of fact, I, um, earlier, what, last month, I went on a, the Franklin trek. The Franklin is a, you know, air-cooled car that they made out in Syracuse, New York, basically like almost 100 years ago. I think they stopped making them in the mid-'30s. But this club for the last 72 years now has been meeting every year on the East Coast just dawdling around.
And, you know- You go for, for tech courses, you drive your car, get to meet other owners. But I forget how many years now they've done it, they offer a scholarship, where if you get the scholarship, you also get invited to the trek. And so I went out on this trek. There were not quite 10 students I don't think, but close, that received a scholarship or owned a Franklin automobile, and they were out there, and we're in Hartwick, New York, or Oneonta, New [00:33:00] York at Hartwick College, messing around for a week.
And, you know, there were, there were two students that brought two non-running Franklins.
Parking Lot Rebuilds
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Matthew Miller-Wells: And in the parking lot, I love this, in the parking lot in about two or three days time, both cars ran and drove-
Sydney Collins: No way ...
Matthew Miller-Wells: and started participating on the trek. Uh, one of them-
Sydney Collins: That is so funny
Matthew Miller-Wells: ... one of them had not driven in 25 years.
It was amazing that they're sitting there and they're listening to Hank Sr., and they're rebuilding a Franklin in a college parking lot. And for, for me as a, as, as an alum, you know, and having been in this industry for a bit, I'm just like, "Oh, this is just business as usual." Like, I've seen this all the time.
But for some of these people, they're like, "What do you mean that this person under the age of 70 knows what they're doing with this thing?"
Car Community Support
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Sydney Collins: I, I feel like that mentality is across almost all... There's lots of different car guys. Like, it's not just one car guy. There's the racing guys. There's the guys that show.
There's the guy... My brother's the guy that races. And so I went to my first race to watch my brother race, and I, when I tell you, when it, it is literally like everyone is in your corner-
no matter what. So, like, [00:34:00] for instance, when w- it was in Oklahoma. M- he called my mom the night before and said, "Hey, grab the extra turbo out of the shed and bring it with you."
And they, and they were able to get this guy's turbo that blew or something like that- in his truck the next day so he could race. And I'm like, "This is wild."
Scoring Parts Haul
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Matthew Miller-Wells: Oh, And, and by that extension, those that are familiar with the program and just like seeing young people in, you know, involved, I mean, there's been more than a few deals cut on projects or parts.
Um, th- one story comes to mind that there was a gentleman in just outside Galva, Kansas, that he had a machine shop. He passed away, and they were clearing out the property. And, you know, day one it opens, and some students come back and they're all excited. They're like, "Hey, they're selling some of these things for below scrap value."
Like, a buddy picked up a motorcycle for 50 bucks-
Sydney Collins: Oh my gosh
Matthew Miller-Wells: ... and got it running, like, by the end of the semester. Of course. And so we went out there, and they had a trailer, like a double wide mobile home, full of new old stock car parts, like '50, '60s.
Sydney Collins: Oh my goodness.
Matthew Miller-Wells: And they said, "Hey, you know, whatever you [00:35:00] don't take we're just gonna throw out."
And we're like, "Well, we don't care if it's good or not, we want the parts." So it was hilarious. There was a convoy of maybe a dozen of us that were, uh, cars in varying states of repair. I think one guy, his transmission wouldn't leave first gear, but he was screaming all the way from college campus to this guy's property outside Galva to load up. And we got there. There was a ditch and a, like a back loader next to this double wide, and we got everything out, and we watched them take the back loader and flip the trailer into the ditch. And so anything that wasn't taken- I, I think I even took a Commodore 64 computer out of the guy's trailer, 'cause like, I was like, "Everything's coming out."
Like You know?
Young Enthusiasts Thrive
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Matthew Miller-Wells: But, um, it's, folks are so excited to see young people still care about this stuff, and that's where I get, not irritated, but it, I get really excited almost when I hear people say, "Oh, young people don't care," 'cause I'm like, I would- Oh, I'd love to prove you wrong. It's, it is more difficult to get into it as a young person, you know, financial constraints, knowledge constraints now, but it is still out there, [00:36:00] and folks are still wanting to learn this stuff. And so as soon as people see the passion, not, not all the time that you can get a deal, right? But folks are very quick to provide what help they can. Yep.
I
Scholarships And Debt
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Sydney Collins: wanna hit on the scholarships one more time. 'Cause you guys have, like, nine or 10 scholarships, plus other scholarships that you can get from, like, SEMA and some other- bigger, um-
Matthew Miller-Wells: Oh, so many, I mean, clubs, you know, private donors-
you name it. And s- the college also has a debt forgiveness program, and I feel bad that I don't know all the, all the details behind it, but-
Sydney Collins: You've only been there a couple months. It's fine.
Tanner: Just starting.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I'm, I'm still catching up, right?
But e- effectively, like, you, you take a job or get on this payment plan, and there's, I th- I wanna say I saw the number that over 40% of the most recent graduates from class of '26 graduated with zero debt.
Sydney Collins: That's amazing.
Matthew Miller-Wells: And it's, you know, so the college does do quite a lot to try to help people out, and they also encourage, you know, go out and look on your own, or apply for scholarships even if you don't think you qualify.
Like- I think I got a, a scholarship from the Model T Ford Club that covered, [00:37:00] like, most of my books for a semester. Simply because I just, I like talking about the Model T Ford. And that w- that was enough for them, right? They just wanna see the motivation and the excitement and the promise that, like, it's gonna keep going when they're gone.
Path To Pebble
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Sydney Collins: So, um, you've mentioned Pebble Beach.
And can you, one, you're about to go to Pebble. but two, can you, um, there's a whole documentary about the McPherson College going to
Pebble. It's
Matthew Miller-Wells: The Path to Pebble.
Sydney Collins: The Path to Pebble- which I just love. Can you tell us about that project and kind of what you guys are doing this year?
Yes, so, you know, as always, you know, the college was looking for ways to make, uh, make a splash, make an impact.
And, you know, even in the, in the mid-teens, folks knew about McPherson, but we were looking for that next step up. What is really going to elevate the, the legitimacy, you know, really boast, like, what we do here? 'Cause for many people, we're just a school in Kansas that works on cars, and they don't know anything past that.
So, what came down the pipeline was a '53 Mercedes [00:38:00] 300S Cabriolet. Beautiful car. For a while it was the most expensive car post-World War II. I think 1953 it was 10 grand, which- ... a Lincoln was maybe six- Six ... at that time. So a very, very luxurious, expensive car for the time. It was purchased by a private owner in 2016 with the idea that within eight years it was going to be on the field at Pebble, not even winning, but just a student-restored car for the first time is going to be on that golf course in Monterey, California.
That was the goal. And, you know, when we first took a look at the car, it, it f- was really not in bad shape. You could tell it was an older restoration, you know, she showed her age, but, you know, ran and drove okay, you know. But, still, we took it down to bare bones. Matter of fact, my first internship was being part of that disassembly and documentation team of stripping the car down to bare metal and seeing just what we had to work with.
And it wasn't as bad as it could've been, but it was a little bit worse than what we thought- like any project. but the idea was it was going to be [00:39:00] sort of staff administrated, right, but largely student-led. There would be a group of students, maybe a different group every semester or every year. We're going to restore a car to Pebble, or to Concours level, you know, qualifications.
Concours Level Details
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Sydney Collins: And for people that don't understand, it's not over-restoring a car and not skipping steps, even when you know that no one's gonna see anything. So for example, seat covers, right, the leather seat covers that go on the car. On the inside they put particular codes on there just as they're producing the car.
That's what they did back in the Mercedes plant in Stuttgart in 1953, right? No one's gonna know whether or not that's there but you, right? But you still put it on there 'cause that's how it's done. So, and you document it and you put the car together and put it on its way. Or sometimes it means not the wrong way, but maybe not doing things the most modern way.
You know, f- for example, maybe there's some part that could be painted or something that could be done differently that by modern standards, like, you would do that on a car if you're just restoring it for driving or whatever, [00:40:00] but even if it's not the most up-to-date way, if that's how the car left the factory in 1953, that's the way that you're gonna be doing it.
And so teaching that, of like, yes, you could go further and you could make this a lot better, but that's not how it came, so you have to do it how it rolled off the floor. And to some people, that may not sound like that big of a deal, but when you're working with a, you know, a borderline coach-built car like a '53 Mercedes, I mean, that's a lot that you have to teach and go through.
And, you know, you're doing research and documentation to make sure that that's exactly how it's done. You know, students are reaching out to other shops that have restored a car just like it for notes, and, "Hey, we ran into this," like, "What are your thoughts on that?" And, you know, inviting specialists in to help out with understanding maybe how, like, the top goes together, but, like, the students are still the ones doing it.
Pebble Beach Triumph
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Sydney Collins: And so even with the pandemic, and, you know, things getting shaken up for that first year, we still got on the field by 2023. And at, not only do we... Getting accepted to Pebble is, like, probably one of the hardest things. That was [00:41:00] victory enough that the car was accepted, not from politics, but of its own accord, that it was that good of a job. Not only that, but the car actually got second in its class in post-war luxury. One thing to get on the field, another thing to actually place for your first time as a student-restored vehicle. Had never been done, had been completely unheard of, and here we are rolling across the podium with that car.
Tanner: What was the reaction of, you know, you, you've talked earlier that the older generation- loves to see the newer generation. What was the reaction?
Matthew Miller-Wells: It was, uh, so I was, uh, obviously I wasn't there. I was-
Tanner: Okay ...
Matthew Miller-Wells: working, I think. But um, it was, from what I heard, a crowd. I mean, just a full crowd of spectators along with the judges. I mean, they're not pulling any stops out. They are judging this like any other car on that field, you know, and you have students talking to them about the, the choices made or, you know, why this is like this, or, you know, have you done this, can you operate that? You know, they're going through it the same as any other collection or shop would. And when the car actually wo- I mean, it [00:42:00] was I, I, I wish I could have been there. Just seeing the excitement from, I mean, I knew people on the project- that were just beaming. There was the crowd there. I know that I was celebrating like a madman just here in Salina, that I was like, you know, even though I, like, I as a student played a very small part in that, but I was still like, "Holy crap," like, it was, it was there.
But it was, it was like, "Oh my word, it's, it's there," like it, it did it, and the fact that it got second in class for me, I think really, that really spoke, it was a testament to th- the job well done. If it had gotten first in class, you know, there's that thought lingering in the back of your mind.
I'm like, "All right, maybe it's just 'cause, you know, it's McPherson College." But second in class, knowing that there were notes taken of things that could've been different or maybe just one car had more provenance or more- status than another, still, like, it, it felt, I don't think you could've gotten a result more real from, from it being there, performing beautifully.
I mean, it did the tour. It did all the appearances, in the area, and to still place on the field
Monterey Car Week
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Sydney Collins: So now you're about to go to [00:43:00] Pebble now. What are you taking, what's, what's that journey
look like this time?
Matthew Miller-Wells: So,
the college is not taking anything. Um, we always go every year, um, just as a, as a, as an experience-
for the students. You know, they get to, they usually get to do student judging or participate on the judging teams.
Sydney Collins: Oh, that's cool.
Matthew Miller-Wells: There's other events out there as well. Like, I'm really excited, I get to, I've been invited as a judge for the Concours d'Lemons, which is the sort of- spoof concours event of, like, you know, you have the, the, the, the, Concours d'Elegance on, at Pebble Beach.
It's like, you know, the very fine, like, Super Bowl of car shows, right? Finest of the fine. And then you have Concours d'Lemons, which is, "I have a diesel powered Oldsmobile- ... and it is in way too good of shape." And so, um, that's what's so fun about the kaleidoscope of automobile is that I love, I, I love all kinds of cars, and I have an immense appreciation for, you know, pre-war luxury or cars that carry a lot of provenance, but I absolutely love the mundane on a personal level.
I think that there is nothing more real than having, like, an everyman car. You know, 'cause everyone's [00:44:00] relationship to the automobile is different. And they, they really, like, they call that Monterey Car Week, 'cause there's so many other events that go on relating to the car that just about everything is touched on.
All the auctions are out there. There's, there's Lemons. There's, um, Concorso Italiano, which is all predominantly, like, Ferraris and other Italian cars. And so we take students out there to experience all of that. Some of them are, um, they've received scholarships from the Piston Foundation, so there's, like, other events associated with that. In terms of restoring another car for Pebble, I don't know if the college will ever do that. The, the folks that were behind that project, namely, um, Brian Martin, who's been on staff for, I think- ... 17 years now, superhuman levels of involvement. I don't know how the guy slept for most of those- ... seven or eight years on that project. So, you know, if we'll do one again remains to be seen. I think, you know, we always have cars that are worth, that would do very well at other concours or other things around the country. Whether we're gonna set ourselves up for another Pebble remains to be seen. But, regardless, even if it's not our students there, [00:45:00] the amount of alumni from the last, I mean, 50 years, right, you know, they're everywhere.
We always do a big alumni picture, right, every year, and it's always-
Sydney Collins: Oh, fun.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I mean, I don't know how many people were there, but it's gotta be close to 100 people- ... of, of folks that are either advisory board members or big donors of the program, or people that have graduated. And they're there now representing their shops or representing the collections that they work for. So student or not, the, the impact is there.
Program Future Tech
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Matthew Miller-Wells: What, is kind of the future of this program, or have you gotten that far yet?
Oh, well, that's what we're on the forefront of. I mean, we've already been here 50 years. I think there's a lot of people that would argue that they could not imagine that automobile collecting or restoration would go this far, especially as the narrative of what a car is and what technology we see in the future, like, where that's going to go.
But based on the challenges that the industry faces now, based on the, the zeal of, you know, people young and old trying to do something to preserve these cars, and even the, the [00:46:00] cars that are now hitting collector status, you know, there is going to be a growing demand. There's no way around it. And so we're taking a look at growth and also trying to identify, you know, like what are areas that we can pay attention to.
So like, I mean, again, it's only been six years since I've graduated. In that six years they've started really taking a look at CAD design and 3D printing as micro production for super niche parts gets really, difficult. You know, taking a look at like, okay, like here is a way to get around it. Not saying that we're converting to completely that because we're still gonna use, you know, Bridgeport milling machines that probably saw service on the USS Texas in 1946 or what have you. Um, because that's what's out there in the real world, in the shops that a lot of students are gonna end up. So it's, you know, still teaching, you know, the, the quote-unquote old school way, right? But also taking a look at the technology that is coming down the pipeline to hopefully help answer some questions.
So it's, I think it's just as much a question of culture, of, you know, what is the, what is the thought, what [00:47:00] is in the zeitgeist of automobility- just as much as it is like trying to get people in the door. Right. So I, I think, you know, sh- short answer made long, it's not slowing down. If anything, it's speeding up, and I think people are incredibly excited to see that there's places like McPherson College that are able to answer that call really in the best way.
Visit And Car Show
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Tanner: Where can people find more about McPherson College if they're interested?
Matthew Miller-Wells: Social media, we're, I think we're starting to finally play catch-up on that again. Uh, Instagram is just mcautoresto. I think you can find us by the same name just about on Facebook. Major events that are, you know, pay attention to social media for community events that- I or by extension we will be putting out there. The, number one thing that you should know about though is the annual car show that we host. Yep. First weekend in May every year. Think it's in-
Sydney Collins: It literally shuts the whole town down.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Yep. Well, shuts- shuts the college down.
Sydney Collins: Not that I have any grievances with that since I live there. But-
Matthew Miller-Wells: It's, um-
Sydney Collins: It is a fun time ...
Matthew Miller-Wells: it is nothing short- 'Cause
Sydney Collins: it's graduation [00:48:00] weekend ...
Matthew Miller-Wells: it is, it is Mecca-esque- is the only way that, it is a proper, pilgrimage- It is ... to, to come to McPherson's car show. Um, you know, alumni and other people are bringing out the vehicles, you know, like what you would see at Pebble Beach- are coming out to Mac as well. I think the tally last year was somewhere shy of 500 cars- if I'm not mistaken. The, the number always goes nuts every time I hear it. But it's the, you know, to be able to get an experience of the culture right here in Kansas, you've gotta go to that show.
Sydney Collins: I do wanna say I saw auto restoration day, if people wanna visit the program- is November 13th. So I believe is what I saw on the website, so.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I, I may have to double-check on that- We'll have to double-check that ... 'cause I know, 'cause I, I made a mistake on our own calendar today. I, like, started booking events and I was like, "Wait, no, that's not an assessment day- like I thought." But-
Sydney Collins: So, but there is a day where you can come visit the program.
Um-
Matthew Miller-Wells: I think even homecoming, which is- And homecoming, I think October 2nd through 4th of this year. I, I wanna say that we do something then as well. But again, pay attention to socials- 'cause we know people wanna visit. We get contacted all the time- of people wanting tours, and, you know, with [00:49:00] classes and my own schedule, I can't always facilitate.
But definitely pay attention to social media.
Hearse And Projects
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Sydney Collins: Do you still have the funeral car?
Matthew Miller-Wells: so not that one. I have another one, though.
Sydney Collins: You have another one now?
Matthew Miller-Wells: Um, I, I, I cannot seem to escape my love for, I call them one-way limousines. But, um- Limousines no, so I, my, um, my '94 Fleetwood Federal was retired.
It went to another, another guy that was gonna continue with it. But I just picked up from a, a funeral home that just retired it, they have been the one owner its entire life. I got a '98 Cadillac Deville- ... Eureka Coach. I picked it up in Eureka, Kansas, believe it or not. Of course. Um, so it, uh, it got retired for some mechanical issues that I should hopefully have straightened out by the end of this month maybe, and, um, that one will probably be for sale.
I've got some of my other car projects- that I'd rather be working on, and as much as I love hearses, like this one isn't-
Sydney Collins: But you're kind of known for that guy that drives the hearse around town.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I know. It, it... Well, it's, what's funnier still is that there's still, like, three other people that own hearses in Salina alone.
Sydney Collins: That's true.
Matthew Miller-Wells: That I'm like, "Oh, like, there, [00:50:00] there's another one. Okay." But no, it's... I, I love funeral coaches, just this one is not, like, my favorite by any means. So I'm gonna move that on to someone that wants it more than I do.
Sydney Collins: So but right now you have a '73 Malibu?
Matthew Miller-Wells: So I've got the '73 Malibu, which has been a dream car of mine that, that is the one that I'm way more excited to be working on.
But the hearse was a way too good of a deal to say no. I had a, a, a casket salesman friend, um, that- he's a... A, a funeral, funeral home equipment salesman notified me about this car, 'cause he works with this home. And he said, "Hey, you need to get this before I do." And I said, "Done. Okay." Uh.
Tanner: He's got a hearse dealer.
Sydney Collins: You have a hearse dealer, you have a casket guy.
Matthew Miller-Wells: I've, yep, I've got, I've got connections.
Sydney Collins: Please,
do you have a plot guy too that you-
Matthew Miller-Wells: Not yet.
Sydney Collins: Not yet? Well, you should get a guy.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Give it, give it time. I'll find someone probably, but. But yes, I've got, I've got the Chevelle, I've got my little motorcycle, and then I've got the, the hearse.
But uh, the Chevelle has been something I've been chasing since high school, and so I'm really [00:51:00] excited to get to work on that one.
Sydney Collins: What does your wife think of your random collection?
Matthew Miller-Wells: To a point, she's given up. Uh. No, so I have... It, it's, it's a fin- Like, you know, the hearse I had to ask permission for, but she recognized that one was also a good deal.
I very much was one of those he who dies with the most toys wins. I used to be that kind of person. And eventually I got overwhelmed. And so, you know, we joke that she'll come up to me and she'll say, "Hey, um, I kinda, you know, did a little bit of an impulse buy. I found like this thing for $40." It's like, "Oh, I had an impulse buy too."
And you're kinda looking at like the- hundreds of dollars of parts in the garage. You're,
Tanner: If you need to apologize though.
Matthew Miller-Wells: In advance, sorry, darling.
Sydney Collins: Oh, shoot. I love that.
Host Wrap And Thanks
---
Sydney Collins: Well, thank you so much for- just being here.
Matthew Miller-Wells: Thank you for having me. Um, I, I was very excited to be invited on here. I joke a lo- like I've lived a lot of places. Kansas has hands down been my favorite. You know, I used to, I've, I joke that I've only done two things that I can say are like 100% right, and that was, [00:52:00] you know, getting to meet and marry my wife and um- Good job ... and getting to, to go to McPherson College, come back to Kansas.
Um, you know, again, I've lived a lot of places, gotten to experience a lot of things, but nothing beats driving out into a field somewhere and just sitting there for 15 minutes.
Tanner: You know, I think we, we often hit on just our favorite episodes are the ones that the people that are passionate about what they do. And Matthew is just, he's a wealth of knowledge, of car, [00:53:00] car knowledge.
Sydney Collins: It's insane.
Tanner: And the amount of misconceptions that I went into before about the program and things like that- he, you know, debunked all of those, and then just, just seeing his passion and how much he, he loves for cars and, and to be able to see him now be able to teach that- I think it's, it's really awesome.
Sydney Collins: I wanna meet his parents. I'm so curious. I'm so curious. I just want a whole documentary of just, like, his life growing up.
Lives, like, he was a teenager in Germany, and then he went to Alaska. And then he, like, he's lived all over.
Tanner: Yep.
Sydney Collins: But he still comes back to Kansas, and so I'm just so curious about, like, everything-
Tanner: I'm glad that he hit- ...
Sydney Collins: Matthew ...
Tanner: he hit on that at the end. That was one of his, one of the, the pre-questions that we have.
You know, he just said how much he loves coming to Kansas, and he, he, he talked about, I think, when he was in college, how he can just from any direction just drive, I think he said 20 minutes outside of McPherson- and just sit. And, you know, that really resonated with me. I love just going out in Kansas and just getting away and just [00:54:00] being able to just take in how quiet it is sometimes, so.
Sydney Collins: But especially around McPherson, we do that a lot. That's how we get our ditch flowers. All right.
Kansas Car History
---
Sydney Collins: For today's segment, we've got Kansas History, Car Edition. So I couldn't find any, like, fun,
quirky stories, but I did find some stories. This is where I troll newspapers.com. If you do not have a, subscription to newspapers.com, highly recommend you do it. It is a very fun free time, uh, pastime. So I did find one from the McPherson Daily Republican, so straight from McPherson.
Tanner: Okay.
Sydney Collins: Um, which is the runaway automobile, um, does lots of damage yesterday.
So this is from February 19th, 1923. There was a lot of excitement on North Main Street, um, at about noon yesterday caused by the antics of a runaway automobile that traveled a distance of over a block, which is so funny, 'cause if you think, if you, if any of you live in McPherson and you think North Main Street, it's really just, like, your [00:55:00] main Main Street.
North is very in quotations here. Uh, it's smack dab in the middle of the town where... Anyway, sorry. Um, all right. tra- distance of over a block without a driver before coming to a hasty stop at the result of a, of its inability to go further than the plate glass windows in the Malt, uh, Maltby Furniture Company store So basically it hit a window and it stopped. It's just fancy words of saying that. Okay. The car, a Maxwell owned by Frank Brown, of near Conway, uh, was standing in front of the Kansas Motor Co. at the corner of West Marlin and North Maple. Mr. Brown, had just had the tank filled with gasoline. Um, having trouble with the starter- ... he used the crank. Uh, the car happened to be in, in low, and when the engine started, the car plunged forward. [00:56:00] Uh, Mr. Brown managed, managed by hanging onto the headlight to swing over the fender and clear the car, and fortunately escaped injury. The car continued at the s- at a speed said to be have been about 12 miles an hour along the south, curb of Marlin Street, until it got to the McPherson Citizens Bank corner, where the right front...
This is so specific.
Tanner: It is.
Sydney Collins: It's so specific. It's like they just printed the police report. Where the right front wheel struck the metal crossing approach and turned the wheel to the north. The car continued across Main Street, hit the 12-inch curb in front of the Maltby store, climbed it and plunged into the plate glass front, wrecking two windows, uh, one demolished, and the tires on the front wheels were torn out, or torn on the broken glass.
The radiator [00:57:00] was also punctured. It required the services of a wrecking crew, um, to get the car off the sidewalk. It's so innately, like, precise.
Tanner: Uh, the swing from the headli- or the fender- over the headlight and... it is. And, and you know this was, this was big news that day.
Sydney Collins: Oh, this was the town, this was the talk of the town in 1923.
Matthew Miller-Wells: for the week by then.
Sydney Collins: Talk of the, talk of the town that day.
Tanner: At least the guy was from Conway.
Sydney Collins: Poor, poor Frank Brown.
Tanner: He didn't have to come... He was probably
just coming
in to fill it up. He- he wa-
Sydney Collins: He was. I wanna know what a Maxwell looks like. Is it like a kind of a 1920s... I wi- I- See, we should have just done this with, uh- With Matt?
with, with Matthew. And been like, "Tell us what this is."
Tanner: I mean, I'm sure they were not, uh, you know, they, cars back then were a lot heavier, so, um- Oh,
Sydney Collins: All right. This is from the Wichita Eagle. Nine- uh, February 14th, 1948, Runaway Automobile Careens into House. A driverless runaway car left its parking [00:58:00] place in the 2500 block on Wilma about 7:00 PM Friday, and traveled in a wide semi-circle to strike a house at 1426 Schwitzer, Schwitzer?
Sure. Uh, Drive. I think it's more funny that I love they say it left its parking place.
Tanner: Right. Like they-
Sydney Collins: It left its- Parked its- It just, it just upped and walked away.
Tanner: See, but that's the difference between this one and the last one. That one told us how it happened. This one, it just poof, just left.
Poof.
Sydney Collins: It just, it just left its parking place. The 1940 automobile, owned by Chester, Eastman of 2502 Wilma, so he's parked in front of his neighbor- or he's parked in front of his house it looks like.
Tanner: Yep.
Sydney Collins: Had been left with the motor running, and Investigator Albert, Albert Nolan of the police department, oh, said Investigator Albert Nolan of the police department, somehow the motor slipped into gear, the car crossed [00:59:00] five intersections and one island in the street without mishap except to skin a fender on a tree, and then crash into the home of Robert J. Legree at the S- Schwitzer, oh gosh, I'm struggling today. At the address I said before.
Tanner: Yep.
Sydney Collins: Investigator Nolan said that the vehicle hit the ni- the right corner of the house and knocked a hole in it, uh, pushing the si- the siding in about three inches before coming to a stop. Uh, damage to the car was confined to crumpled front fenders and a smashed radiator.
Tanner: You ever seen that meme of, uh, the woman out there with her, uh, vacuum cleaner, vacuuming the- Oh,
Vacuuming like the grass ... vacuuming the grass so she can watch the- So she can watch- ... the drama down at the neighbor. The, that's you. You would be sitting there vacuuming-
Sydney Collins: That was, oh, that's 100% me ...
Tanner: watching the, watching the drama.
Sydney Collins: That is 100% me.
Tanner: Made it sound like it went in a semi-circle- In my back room ... but it crossed several streets, so I mean, this was- I,
Sydney Collins: that's what I'm confused about. It [01:00:00] did a wide semi-circle, but crossed five intersections. Some c- uh, how, how-
Tanner: Right
Sydney Collins: five intersections?
Tanner: That's a, that's a big, uh, a big semicircle. I guess wide semicircle,
Sydney Collins: Oh, okay. Anyway. Okay, last one. This one's a little close to home. Salina Journal. uh, May 13th, 1962. They didn't believe his car stolen car story is the name of this one.
Tanner: Didn't believe his stolen car story.
Sydney Collins: H- they didn't believe his stolen car story. Ray Lee Kuchen, Kuchen, uh, 37, of Abilene, reported his car was stolen, but Salina Police didn't buy his story. They charged him with leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an incident in connection with a hit-and-run accident. Uh, police said Kuchen's car was going west on South Street early Saturday morning when it hit a parked car owned by Phyllis M. Moet, [01:01:00] um, of Salina. The collision knocked the Moet car over the curb and into, what is it?
Tanner: Asbury Hospital.
Sydney Collins: Oh, goodness.
Tanner: And this is right- by the Masonic Temple.
Like m- Salina Regional used to be Asbury, so.
Sydney Collins: Yep. Asbury Hospital Emergency Drive. Um, the hit-and-run car, then smashed into a second car owned by Paul Brown, kn- um, knocking it 30 feet into the front of the home of Mrs.
J.A. Simpson. This is, like, one thing after another. Okay. J.A. Simpson of 308 West South. extensive damage was done to all three cars. Kuchen's was found abandoned. When Kuchen attempted to report the car stolen, police asked him if he was driving the car at the time of the accident. At first he denied he was, but later admitted, uh, admitted it, police say.
Um, his r- police court hearing, [01:02:00] um, has been set for Wednesday. Um, he was released on a $20 bond.
Tanner: Wow. that was, uh, basically all happened between the Masonic Temple and, and, uh, the, the hospital.
Sydney Collins: And the hospital.
Tanner: You know those big houses right behind Sonic? Oh. That's kind of- the houses that got hit.
Sydney Collins: Okay.
Tanner: Um, so.
Sydney Collins: That makes more sense now. Well, there's your fun little car stories. I, I mi- I wanna dig more and see if I can find any more fun one, like, uh, fun ones that are a little bit more off-kilter, but-
those are the ones
I got for
today.
Tanner: I, I mean, they, they were, they were interesting.
Uh, you can, you can definitely tell as what was a '62 and then, uh, one in the '50s- and one in the '30s or whatever. You can definitely tell that the, the progression of, or the degression of jou-
Sydney Collins: Journalism?
Tanner: Not, not necessarily journalism, but of, of storytelling and- and, uh, using very descriptive,
Sydney Collins: All right.
Final Sign Off
---
Sydney Collins: Well, thank you again for joining us for another episode. Uh, please make sure to check us out online at askakansan.com. Make sure to sign up for The [01:03:00] Curious Kansan newsletter that Tanner, uh, produces, every month, along with all the stories that Tanner does. Also check out the merch. Um, we are working on new merch as we speak.
It won't come out for a while, but we are working on it. Um, the water bottles are still great, T-shirts, um, all that fun stuff.
Tanner: If you're not already subscribed on Facebook, YouTube, uh, all the social medias- um, you know, the, the shorts that we pull from each one of these episodes are, are just, uh, little brief moments from the episodes.
So, um, whether you wanna watch us on a short form or a long form on YouTube, make sure you subscribe to those and stay up to date with what we're doing.
Sydney Collins: Very much so, and we'll see you next time