Nashville, Tenn. (June 16, 2006) - On July 14, 1919, a caravan of 75 heavy trucks, tankers, touring cars and other assorted vehicles taking part in the Transcontinental Motor Train left Harvey S. Firestone’s farm, heading west. Firestone himself added two trucks – equipped with his innovative pneumatic tires.

The successful journey of those two trucks is one of the reasons why on June 26, almost 87 years later, a caravan of heavy trucks and touring cars – all riding on pneumatic tires – is returning to Akron from the west to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Interstate System. The caravan is a special coast-to-coast event by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), retracing the historic 1919 route.

The 1919 Transcontinental Motor Train was a test to see if troops and supplies could move across America by truck. They could, but slowly. It took 62 days to travel from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco. A tractor was brought along to tow the Army vehicles – most of which had solid rubber tires – out of the mud. The trucks with Firestone’s pneumatic tires rode along with little difficulty.

Harvey Firestone loved to travel America’s back roads with his friends, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. And he also knew if the nation was to move forward, it would have to be on a nationwide system of paved highways. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Good Roads movement, a grassroots campaign to pave and connect the nation’s roadways. And, one year before the historic convoy, Firestone created his “Ship by Truck” campaign that encouraged manufacturers to move their products to market by truck.

Firestone’s passion for mobility is one of the reasons he invited the Transcontinental Motor Train to stop at his farm in Columbiana, Ohio for a chicken dinner on July 14, 1919. The event gave Firestone and the young Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower a chance to meet, share ideas and ultimately, strike up a friendship.

87 years later, the great-grandsons of those two friends, Andrew Firestone and Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, will greet travelers as the AASHTO convoy stops in Akron, Ohio at the Bridgestone Firestone Technical Center to celebrate 50 years of paved, connected Interstates.

Andrew Firestone has also been asked by AASHTO to act as Official Launch Master in San Francisco. The vehicles will gather the morning of June 16 in Lincoln Park, where the original 1919 convoy ended. Merrill Eisenhower Atwater will ride with the convoy as it travels coast to coast.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the AASHTO site at www.interstate50th.org.

For a downloadable image from the Bridgestone Firestone Collection in the University of Akron Archives, please visit: http://www.bridgestoneamericas.com/corporate/news/releaseimages/universityofakron.jpg