Jack Haney’s diary offers a candid, sometimes biting portrayal of Thomas Wilby—“the Captain”—and their uneasy alliance during the grueling 1912 transcontinental automobile journey.
As the sole driver of the entire trip, which was common for long-distance explorers, Haney’s reflections provide a counterpoint to Wilby’s polished narrative.
Haney’s View of Wilby
- Immediate Class Tension
From their first meeting, Wilby’s demand to be called “sir” signaled a rigid class hierarchy that grated on Haney. The mechanic's dry humor emerges when he begins calling Wilby “the Captain”—a title that grows increasingly sarcastic as the trip progresses. - Criticism of Weakness and Fussiness
Haney mocked Wilby’s discomfort with speed and his horror at running over a chicken, writing:
“Rather a soft outfit for the Captain of a transcontinental automobile trip.” - Conflict and Frustration
The diary indicates fights and disagreements, especially over mechanical issues and travel decisions.
“I am heartily sick of my companion and will be mighty glad when the trip is over,” Haney writes.
He later adds, “Getting more sick than ever of the Captain.” - Wilby’s Erasure of Haney
Despite Haney driving every mile and enduring every hardship, Wilby’s 1914 book A Motor Tour Through Canada only refers to him generically as “the chauffeur,” never by name. - Brochure Recognition
The 1912 REO company brochure promoting the journey prominently features Haney. His name and even his photograph appear, signaling corporate recognition of the journey’s true workhorse—something Wilby’s account deliberately omits.
Vancouver Daily World - Dec 2 1912. The advertisement refers to Haney as " . . . boy of 23 was at the wheel, who did not even know the geography of the country - without a chart, or directions - who had to meet all the great difficulties of the trip, far surpassing those of any other part of the world, blindly, and overcame them at their worst by sturdiness of this ordinary stock car alone."
Haney’s diary reveals a journey not just across a continent, but across class and cultural divides. His firsthand observations—absent from Wilby’s sanitized narrative—highlight the physical and emotional toll of the road, and the quiet resilience of a driver who history nearly overlooked, but whose role was crucial and, in REO’s own materials, rightfully acknowledged.