Schramm said her parents were long involved in various equine pursuits, both as horse owners and as regular attendees of professional horse races, and that was a large part of what inspired the idea behind the gift. “My dad would always hold me up in his arms so I could see, and I always loved watching the racing, so when I got this, this was really a treasure.” Once Schramm’s little legs grew long enough to reach the pedals, her mom and dad would take her outside to ride it around the block in the warm spring and summer months. At first, Schramm said that Little Blackie stayed in the garage when not in use, but he soon upgraded to a spot in the horse stables after the family sold one of their horses and a spot in the barn opened up. “My dad let me put it in the stall where the horse used to be with the other horses,” Schramm recalled. “I would have to tie it up every day and take it out, and then my dad made a little plaque that said ‘Blackie’ on it.” Schramm’s childhood friends Dori Packer and Cathy Hoffmann, who she remains close with even today, recall coming over to take turns riding aboard the little trike, and both were amazed when Schramm told them she’d found her beloved toy at the Elmer’s auction. “In fact, they’re the ones that helped me verify this,” Schramm explained. “I said, hey, listen, I’m not losing my mind here, am I? This is it, right? And they said, ‘Oh my gosh. How did this happen?’” That is the big mystery: how did Little Blackie end up at Elmer’s Auto and Toy Museum? Schramm can’t be sure, but she thinks it’s likely that her parents took the little horse-shaped trike to the annual car show and swap meet in Iola, Wisconsin, to sell it after Schramm reached adulthood. “My parents would go to that show and swap meet all the time,” Schramm said, adding that she would also attend regularly with her own group of friends, and later, with her husband, Mark. As a couple, Jackie and Mark Schramm would attend the show with any one of the classic cars that they’ve owned throughout the years, and it’s well known that Elmer and Bernadette Duellman were also dedicated attendees of the Iola car show and swap meet, hardly ever missing a year. Schramm said she and Mark would often stop to talk with the Duellmans, as they were kind and interesting people with a wealth of hobby-focused knowledge. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was in shock, like, that’s my toy! MECUM.COM // 121
