It rolled uphill on North El Paso Avenue, making its way from Nutt Residence Hall and the Techionery until it crested the hill near Crabaugh Hall on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 12.
The roar of the engine was the first indication to the Arkansas Tech University Homecoming crowd tailgating on Centennial Plaza that something special was happening.
Word and excitement began to spread as it continued down the road, passed through the open gates and rolled down the pedestrian promenade between Baswell Residence Hall and Williamson Hall.
The Arkansas Tech helmet car, a fixture at Wonder Boys football games throughout the 1980s and 1990s, is back.
The story of its return is about a collaborative effort between the Russellville and Ozark campuses of ATU, the power of social media, the even greater power of nostalgia and the legacy of a man who loved to build and share his distinctive vehicular creations.
It all began in James Henson’s small engine shop in Paris. The first helmet car he built was for the University of Arkansas. Soon after, he built helmet cars for a few other schools, including Paris High School and Arkansas Tech.
“James Henson was my Sunday school teacher,” said Glenn Gilbreath, owner of Castle Graphics in Paris and a 1988 graduate of Arkansas Tech. “When he got ready to retire, he wanted me to have the Razorback and Paris helmet cars. Long story short, we ended up with them. One of the main reasons we love having them is for the kids. I realize these college kids are actually young adults, but at my age they’re still kids. It’s a blast being able to go to events, hang out with fans and see the excitement. It’s part of their history, too.”
Gilbreath said the helmet cars were constructed in approximately the late 1970s.
The last known sighting of the original Arkansas Tech helmet car was in the early 2000s. After it stopped running, it was stored in the Stroupe Building. At some point between then and the demolition of that facility in 2018, the ATU helmet car was moved to an unknown location.
That was the topic of discussion among Abby Davis, ATU director of athletics, and several of her colleagues in senior administration one day early in the fall 2024 semester. None of them knew where the helmet car was.
Davis, who is a native of the birthplace of the helmet cars in Paris, was determined to find out. After asking around failed to produce any results, she turned to social media.
Caroline Kitchens, ATU director of alumni relations, posted a photo of Don Sevier, director of athletics at Arkansas Tech from 1975-94, standing alongside the ATU helmet car on the Arkansas Tech University Alumni and Friends Facebook page. In the post, Kitchens asked for assistance in locating the helmet car.
That sparked a conversation, a few theories and some good-natured ribbing, but the breakthrough occurred when Gilbreath saw the post and got involved.
He had previously purchased a helmet car chassis out of a salvage yard. The helmet aspect of the ATU vehicle was still missing, but Gilbreath had the old Paris High School helmet shell and was willing to contribute it so the tradition could return to his college alma mater, Arkansas Tech.
It was going to take a considerable amount of work to achieve that goal, and Davis had hopes of unveiling the restored tradition at Homecoming. At this point in the story, that was less than a month away.
Enter Kenneth Floyd, faculty member at ATU-Ozark Campus. He works with students in the collision repair technology program, which means that he and his students have expertise in painting and otherwise restoring automobile bodies.
They applied those skills to the old Paris High School helmet, sanding it down, re-painting it to match the look of the current Arkansas Tech helmet and hand-painting the ATU athletics logo on the sides. The helmet was mounted on the chassis and prepared for delivery to Russellville.
Floyd and his ATU-Ozark students achieved all of that in a span of about 72 hours during the week leading up to the Wonder Boys’ Homecoming game on Oct. 12.
“We’re super excited about it, and the students are stoked,” said Floyd, who like Gilbreath and Davis is from Paris. “They are looking forward to seeing it in action and knowing they were part of it. I knew Mr. Henson personally. Getting to touch the helmet car and be part of this on behalf of ATU is really cool. Seeing my students do the work comes from my heart and is something I’m really proud to be a part of.”
Long-term plans call for the ATU engineering program on the Russellville campus to assist in creating a mold to ensure the long-term sustainability of helmet cars at Arkansas Tech, in Paris and elsewhere.
As members of the Arkansas Tech community gathered around the university’s new helmet car on Homecoming 2024, memories were shared. Photos were taken. A new generation of the ATU family was introduced to an aspect of the institution’s heritage.
Joy is fleeting and sometimes difficult to capture. In that moment, it was all smiles on Centennial Plaza.
“I just want everyone to enjoy them,” said Gilbreath when asked about the allure of the helmet cars. “Not everybody has a helmet car. They’re pretty cool. You can even distract the other team because they get to watching you instead of what they’re doing. We saw a guy get hit in the head with a football one time because he was watching us. He had his helmet on, so it didn’t hurt him. We’re glad to be a part of this. If I hadn’t graduated from Tech, it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. But man, it is exciting. I used to love going to the games. I’m excited to get to go again.”
