#frankfarmer

By Jonathan Monfiletto

During my summer internship at the Yates County History Center, one of my projects involved properly cataloging and organizing what I call the “people photographs” collection. These are four boxes of photographs arranged alphabetically by the last name of the subject – A-F, G-L, and so on.

One of the photos I came across during this project depicts a driver sitting inside his racecar with four men standing behind him on the famous “brickyard” of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The photo is labeled with white lettering: “Frank Farmer, Indianapolis Motor Speedway 1929.” The catalog record for the photo describes it as Bill Albertson at the Indy 500.

Perhaps this is my favorite photo in collection, at least of the ones I have come across so far, as I am and have been since childhood an avid fan of all things auto racing. Naturally, then, the photo piqued my curiosity and I wanted to know more. According to my research on an auto racing reference website, Frank Farmer was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and entered the Indianapolis 500 three times in 1929, 1930, and 1931. I wondered about the Yates County connection to the photo until now.

To get up to speed – no pun intended in light of this article – in my new role as the YCHC administrative assistant, I read Rich MacAlphine's “Yates County Chronicles” and the lightbulb in my head flashed when I saw a chapter titled “'Wild Bill' Albertson and His Miller Special.” I had forgotten about the Bill Albertson part of the description, but I knew a “special” in the olden days sometimes referred to a racecar. And I thought once again about that photo of Frank Farmer at the Indy 500.

And, it turns out, I was correct to think of that photo; after perusing the auto racing reference website again, I saw William Albertson listed as Frank Farmer's car owner for the 1929 Indianapolis 500 and therein lies the Yates County connection and, in my opinion, a pretty interesting story.

According to an August 1930 newspaper article – recounting Wild Bill's death in a racing crash at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown – Albertson grew up in Penn Yan and had been in the garage business since he was 20 years old, first for H. Allen Wagener on East Elm Street for five years and then in two other places before going into business for himself on Central Avenue. During the 15 years he owned his business, he was involved in the dirt track racing scene and became one of the most successful and prolific racers at the time in New York State and around the northeastern United States.

According to information donated to YCHC by Alan Isselhard, Albertson entered the no. 36 red and silver Miller Special into the 1929 Indianapolis 500 with driver Frank Farmer. According to “Yates County Chronicles,” the car had already run in three Indy 500s – finishing as high as fourth – when Albertson bought it in 1928, and he himself had set five new track records in seven starts with the car by the time he took it to Indianapolis. He was still recovering from injuries sustained in a crash in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, so Albertson tapped Farmer to drive the car while “Wild Bill” served as the mechanic and relief driver.

Indeed, Albertson took over driving duties from Farmer and raced from lap 118 to 134, but when Farmer took the wheel again he made it only another six laps. The car broke down on lap 140, and Farmer was credited with a 14th-place finish after starting 26th. Another photo shows Farmer behind the wheel and Albertson standing behind in the car in Indy's Gasoline Alley garage area.

The newspaper article provides vivid and ghastly details the crash that claimed the life of Penn Yan's racing hero. On August 16, 1930, Will Bill was a 41-year-old living legend on the dirt track circuit - “a racer of national fame” who “for years captured honor after honor on the tracks all through the eastern part of this country,” the article states. He was attempting to break the track speed record at Orange County during time trials when the brake apparently locked on one of the car's front wheels, catapulting him out of the car, through the air, and onto the track surface while the car rolled, flipped, and bounced in the air. Albertson was killed instantly, and his legendary career was over.

Having been to the Indy 500 in person twice and watched it on TV any other year that I was alive to do so, I was fascinated by the photo of Bill Alberston and Frank Farmer at Indianapolis. Now, I'm fascinated by the story – and the legend – behind the photo.