On December 10, 1955, W. Howard Evans of O'Fallon won the final round in the "Dodge for Life" contest on the Lawrence Welk show for a new car each year for the rest of his life. He had also won a car in the preliminary round by creating a safety slogan that the Dodge people accepted. He entered the contest through the Corbier & Sample Dodge agency here after seeing an announcement of the contest in The O'Fallon Progress.
Howard, his wife Dorothy, Henry Corbier and his wife Elaine, flew to Los Angeles, CA for the presentation by Danny Thomas on the Lawrence Welk show. The Dodge manufacturers in Hollywood entertained them while they were in California. Some 100 people, including Mayor Hesse, braved cold winds at an impromptu welcome home street reception for them. He was given his first new car at the local agency and others came to him within 30 days after each new year's model was introduced, again at the local agency.
Howard, employed by the Frisco Railroad in St. Louis, was 31 when he won the cars. He died in 1999 at age 74 and possibly collected 43 new cars within his lifetime. He was able to order the model, color and accessories that he wanted each year. He had the option of turning the "old" car in when he received the new model, or of purchasing the old one at fair market value. He had to pay income tax on each car.
This cache is placed in honor of this fun and historical event. Enjoy and good luck!
***The information provided here is courtesy of The O'Fallon Historical Society. Special thanks to Brian Keller for his help in uncovering some fun stories about our city to use in geocaches.**
(Permission has been granted by the landowners to place this cache.)