During its 80-year history between 1900 and 1980, the White Motor Company was involved in a multitude of production projects ranging from bicycles, trucks, busses and tractors to roller skates, sewing machines and lathes. The company began when Thomas White bought a Locomobile steam car and found the boiler to be unreliable. With his son, Rollin, he improved the design by largely redesigning and reengineering the entire system. Rollin patented the generator in 1900 and offered it under license to various manufacturers, including Locomobile. The first White automobile was built at the White Sewing Machine Company building, with Rollin convincing his father to allow him some space to build the car. Rollin’s brothers, Windsor and Walter, joined the company; Windsor brought business management talent to the table, while Walter was exceptional at sales and marketing. By the 1930s, White Motor Company had well established itself as a maker of quality, reliable vehicles and competed against Ford, REO and GMC for a contract to produce busses for the National Park Service. White won the contract to produce 500 busses and worked with designer Alexis de Sakhnoffsky to style unique vehicles with roll-back canvas tops and bodies by Bender Body Company. They served various parks including Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon and Mount Rainer, among others. By the 1960s, many of the busses were retired out of the fleet and sold into private collections, with only a few remaining in service or on display. Still remarkably popular, the Art Deco-inspired busses have been seen in countless TV and movie productions, including the Disney film “Planes: Fire and Rescue.” This 1936 White Model 706 Bus has been upgraded and modernized with a modern Ford 6-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering and power disc brakes. Finished in yellow and brown with “Twin Peaks Ranch, Salmon, Idaho” livery, the Model 706 also features the removable beige canvas top, brown wheels, blackwall tires and chrome detailing, most notably the tall, signature grille flanked by twin headlights and topped by a Boyce MotoMeter. The tan interior is fitted with a split- bench front seat with matching rows to the back, a steering wheel upon a tilt steering column and VDO gauges.
