1913 - 1925

This is the story of my 1913 White touring car, once known as “ The Mighty White”. This car was well known in the late 1960's and was driven on a number of long distance tours around British Columbia.  Much of this story has been gleaned from period publications as well as many phone calls and a trip to the Provincial Archives in Victoria.

Tingley
Stephen Tingley
purchased the White in 1913
 The legend at the time of the original restoration in the1960's, was that the White had originally been owned by the B.X. stage lines and had worked as a stage in the Cariboo district.  I was never able to determine where this information had its start.  I was able to find out, however, that the B.X. company did operate a fleet of cars for express work, but they used Wintons, as opposed to Whites. 

I have been able to document that the White was originally owned by Stephen Tingley, who had risen from stage driver to become the owner of the B.X. Stage Lines.  The White was his private vehicle, and it seems that this is where the connection was made.

A 1913 White “Thirty”, model G.A.F., five passenger touring was purchased new by Stephen Tingley of Ashcroft B.C. The original price was $2,500 plus extra for options such as top, windshield, spare tire and so on.  I have never been able to find out what agency it was purchased from, and records from the era indicate that there were only three White autos registered in B.C. at the time. Tingley sold the White when it was ten months old, and retired in Vancouver, where he passed away in 1915.


In 1914 the White was sold to Judge Frederick Calder of Cache Creek.  Before becoming a judge, Fred Calder had been employed as the company lawyer for the B.X. Company, and as such had been associated with Mr. Tingley for many years.  The Calder family already owned a family car at this time, a 1912 Ford runabout, and the White was to be used in his duties as County court judge for Cariboo.  This territory included locations such as Ashcroft, Quesnel, Prince George, Barkerville, and Richfield. 
Calder car
The White, circa 1920

1917
Mrs. Calder driving, Judge Calder in front,
and Bill Calder home on leave from France, in uniform
On these trips, Judge Calder employed a chauffeur to do the driving and make needed repairs along the way. It has been noted that around home, the White was driven mostly by Mrs. Calder, as Mr. Calder was not a very good driver, and put the White in the ditch a number of times and caused a certain amount of damage. The White was also driven by his son Bill, who later went overseas to fight in the first world war. The car remained in the Calder family until around 1925 when it was sold.