Tether Car Track Memories When you are visiting Lenape Park for a concert, Community Day, or the Fireman’s Carnival, look for this long-forgotten reminder of Perkasie’s past. Near the area where the park road splits to go to the skating pond, is a two-foot wide, almost hidden, concrete circle that was one the tether car track. The tether car track was constructed around 1946 - 47 by a group of enthusiasts that formed a local club. The two-foot-wide concrete track was laid in a 90-foot diameter circle. In the center was a pole with a ball bearing ring. The piano wire cable that was attached to the car was attached to the ring which would rotate around the pole as the car rode around the track. Two people were needed to operate each car. One person would start the car motor and would release it. The second person stayed near the pole and held the cable tight as the car got started. The person in the center would hop onto a platform attached to the pole once the car started moving around the circle. The cars operating at Lenape would reach a speed of 100 miles per hour. Each car was propelled by a small gasoline engine attached to a gear box connected to the wheels. Few people could afford a car as it cost about $120 to put one on the track. “Doc” Strouse the owner of the Studebaker dealership on Seventh Street had a few cars that he would race in Perkasie. The track did not last for too many years. It was gone by the mid-1950’s as it needed new concrete, and a new agreement for operation with Perkasie Borough. Parts of the concrete track are still visible in the area close to the skating pond. There are only a few tracks left in the country where you can still race tether cars. ![]() The late Jay Sowers provided this memory to the Perkasie Historical Society. Jay was a Perkasie resident who was well recognized in the tether car community.
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