History > About Alice Ramsey
By the time Alice Ramsey embarked on her 59-day journey across the country, the 22-year-old had been driving less than a year, yet she was already an experienced driver. According to Alice's father, his daughter was "born mechanical" and, in school, she opted to take manual training instead of homemaking. She liked to compete in "meets" where drivers demonstrated their skills in backing up, taking corners and driving around barrels and hay bales. Alice, a rare woman driver at these events, always did very well. It was at a meet in Long Island that she was first approached about driving across the country. Alice had just received a perfect score at the 150-mile Montauk Point Run when Cadwallader "Karl" Washburn Kelsey approached her with the idea. Kelsey, a Maxwell car salesman, saw it as a terrific publicity opportunity. Alice, who traveled with her friend Hermine and her two sisters-in-law, drove the entire distance from New York to San Francisco in 59 days. She completed the trip in less time than the men prior to her, despite horrendous weather and many automotive challenges. Alice was an active driver after her historic trip. During World War I, she organized the Red Cross Motor Corps for Camp Merritt in DuMont, New Jersey. After moving to Covina, California in 1948, she drove her children and grandchildren on visits to the national parks, making at least 30 more trips across the country. Alice's husband John, a congressman, never drove. In 1960, she received the titles of "Woman Motorist of the Century" from the American Automobile Association and "First Lady of Automobile Travel" from the Automobile Manufacturers Association. Her last challenge was driving the six passes through the Swiss Alps. She completed five of them before a snowstorm closed down the road. Her doctor forbade her from trying again because of her pacemaker. When Alice died in 1983 at age 96, she had driven for over 80 years and received only one traffic ticket-- for making an illegal U-turn. In 2000, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.