Our Memories of John Martin & Bobbie Smith

I was lucky enough to be part of the ACD Club when John Martin Smith and his colleagues were putting together the dream that became the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Automobile Museum. In that role, as founder of NATMUS and as Dekalb County historian, John made an impact on his community that can never be duplicated. He was the most gracious of men, and shared his knowledge with me without reservation. I will miss him terribly.

My brother Peter, and I started coming to Auburn in 2002. One of the very first persons we met was John Martin Smith.

He was very gracious and showed us all around Auburn. We spent the entire afternoon in the ACD Museum getting a personal tour. We were impressed by his incredible knowledge of the automobiles and his willingness to welcome us as new members of the ACD community.

Over the years, I could depend upon him for advice on all things ACD. I consider him one of my mentors.

He will be missed very much.

If you have a John Martin or Bobbie Smith memory would you please write it down and email it to <a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url] and I'll read it on November 14th at "Our Memories of John Martin & Bobbie Smith" DCIGS meeting - details below:

Message from the DeKalb County Indiana Genealogy Society


I am sorry to announce this sad news ? John Martin and his wife, Bobbie, were killed last night in a car accident. Our hearts and our prayers go to their family. DeKalb County History will never be the same. He was always there for us, helping wherever he could. He was to be our speaker (which we have announced various places) and instead of replacing him with another speaker, we plan on having ?Our memories of John Martin and Bobbie Smith.? You are welcome to come and share a memory (if you are local) and if you are not ? please send something to us. We might be having our meeting at the Auburn Eckhart Library ? we have yet to have this confirmed. Regular time ? 6:00 p.m. November 14.

Again, if you have a memory that you would like to share about John Martin or Bobbie; please email it to <a href="mailto:[email protected]][email protected][/url], post it below or come to the meeting.

Thanks