With the recent rise of food trucks in St. Louis, there’s a good chance you will see at least one on your daily commute. Back in the ‘20s, however, you’d generally find them in the form of popcorn trucks, ahem, popping up, outside of theaters before and after films.
At the fifth annual Kemp Auto Museum Concours d’Elegance this Sunday, May 20th, an authentic 1929 Ford Model AA popcorn truck will be on display to satisfy your hunger for rare antique automobiles. If you’re hungry for food, the truck will also provide free popcorn “exactly how it was prepared in 1929,” says Jada Jamison, Community Outreach Coordinator for Kemp.
The truck, built by Decatur, Ill. confectioner Charles Cretors, is one of less than 50 models known to exist today. Cretors originally built the trucks to capitalize on the popularity of popcorn in movie theaters.
“Cretors personally designed all of them. He put a lot of love into them, and they were handcrafted,” says Jamison
The popcorn truck is one of only 60 vehicles selected for Concours—an invitation-only car show. The show’s highlights include a 1931 Cadillac once owned by ‘30s sex symbol (and Missouri native) Jean Harlow, as well as a 1941 Lincoln Continental Town Car designed and owned by Henry Ford.
Also on display will be an ultra-rare 1904 St. Louis (one of only nine in existence) manufactured by the St. Louis Motor Carriage Company. The first of St. Louis’ few connections to the auto industry, St. Louis Motor Carriage Company operated from 1898 to 1907 on North Vandeventer, in the area now home to Grand Center.
According to Jamison, anyone who has attended previous Concours d’Elegance shows at Kemp will find this year’s lineup of vehicles is completely new.
“We’re really excited about the cars coming out… Especially the special interest vehicles [like the popcorn truck] that speak to a new demographic,” says Jamison.
The show is free, and will be from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. on the Kemp Auto Museum’s Sachs Plaza. Kemp is located at 16955 Chesterfield Airport Rd. For more information on the show, visit kempautomuseum.org.
