Columbia City native Dale Orcutt’s big idea almost 70 years ago was a small car. He and fellow World War II Civil Air Patrol pilot Claude Dry founded the Midget Motors Corp. in Athens, Ohio, in 1946. The company produced three models of the King Midget microcar in 24 years, as well as a scooter and four-wheelers. Touted in postage stamp-size magazine advertisements as a “500 lb. car for $500,” the King Midget developed from a one-passenger do-it-yourself kit into a two-door, single-piston engine convertible with a top speed of 50 mph. It lives on through the International King Midget Car Club, which will celebrate its silver anniversary next month by visiting Orcutt’s boyhood home. The Warsaw visit Aug. 6 to 8 is the club’s first Jamboree in Indiana since 2000. Member Harold Galloway, North Webster, helped bring it to the area. He said he pitched the idea during their 2012 meet in Hermitage, Pa. He noted the club will hold its 2016 Jamboree in Athens, Ohio, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the company. Galloway expects more than 100 members to come down with 50 to 60 Midget Kings in tow, representing all years of the Model 1, 2 and 3 runs. They plan to hold cruises around the area and display the cars during First Friday from 6 to 9:30 p.m. and in Winona Lake Park Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. They also will hold a parking lot show every night of the Jamboree at the Wyndham Gardens, 2519 E. Center St., according to Alan Day, club activities director. “There will be many opportunities for the folks in the community to see our little cars,” Day said. Members also will see some local sights while in the area, including tours of DePuy Orthopedics and Explorer Vans, taking in a Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts show and riding the Dixie. A highlight will be Orcutt’s parents’ home in Columbia City, where he grew up during the Great Depression. It’s mostly in its original shape with a few additions over the years, and the current homeowner agreed to let the club visit, Galloway said. He added that 1,200 to 1,500 Midget Kings are still around in the U.S., out of the approximately 5,000 produced, though exact numbers are hard to pin down because the records were lost. They still pop up from time to time, he said. “We’ve been trying to recreate the little guys. Every now and then you come across one in a barn somewhere,” he said. “They’re nice little cars to run around in.”
