July 25, 2019 at 4:43 p.m.
Prison piece
Ohio man has former Alcatraz transport van on display at the Vintage Motorbike Show
Prison piece
Be careful when walking along Abromson Drive at Jay County Fairgrounds.
There are lots of scooters to dodge, yes. But take a wrong step and there might be a bullet too.
Well, probably not, but that’s what the warning on the silver van indicates.
On the south side of Abromson Drive at the Vintage Motorbike Show at Jay County Fairgrounds, east of the restrooms, it’s virtually impossible to miss the vehicle as the sun glints off its shiny surface with the red lettering reading:
“Alcatraz Prison Transport
Stay back 50 feet or be shot”
But when Danny Peyton opens the driver’s side door of the 1963 Grumman and steps out, he’s not brandishing a weapon, just the story of the eye-catching van that has been his conversation piece for the better part of a decade.
“I have had more fun owning this than anything I have ever owned,” said the 75-year-old from Trenton, Ohio, about 25 miles north of Cincinnati. “I go to the car shows and I win trophies because it’s so different and unique.”
As if the van isn’t enough to draw attention, Peyton has a dummy in a prison uniform sitting next to it, complete with ball-and-chain attached. He’s rigged the faux prisoner to shake as if it’s being electrocuted and, for some comic relief, installed a small speaker that emits the sound of flatulence.
“I’ve met a lot of people with this,” he said. “I’d like to have a dollar for every time they’ve took pictures of it.”
Peyton, who has been coming to the show at the fairgrounds for three decades, has owned the van for nine years — on and off. He first saw it at a swap meet in Marion County and was disappointed that it wasn’t for sale.
Eventually, he got his chance.
“One time I went over there … he stuck a ‘for sale’ sign on it just as I was standing there,” said Peyton, who built, owned and operated a roller skating rink in Trenton.
He immediately put down a $100 deposit, and later returned with the remainder of the cash.
The van dates back to the final days of the famous prison on an island in San Francisco Bay that housed some of the country’s most notorious criminals, including Al Capone. In the windows are several fact sheets, provided by Alcatraz East Crime Museum, with information about the prison and the men who were held there.
It’s not the only connection to Alcatraz at this week’s show. In the years after acquiring the van, Peyton was surprised to run into Terre Haute’s Jim Albright, who has a display in the Bubp Building. Albright was the prison guard who escorted the last inmate off of Alcatraz Island in 1963.
Peyton kept the van for a few years before Grumman contacted him about a possible purchase. The company wanted to use it for advertising and promotional events, and Peyton was able to sell it for a profit.
“They said they hunted, California, every place, to find a … van like this one,” he said. “But after I sold it, I regretted it, because I used to come to this meet with it and other places. And I talked them into selling it back to me.”
He’s since customized the van with bunk beds, a refrigerator, a sink and a portable toilet. Before stepping out to chat Wednesday afternoon, he was watching TV on his newly installed screen.
“It’s just like a little motorhome,” Peyton said.
He’s been buying, fixing up, enjoying and then selling antique cars since the late 1970s, and the prison transport van isn’t his only item on display this year. He has a 1968 BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) motorcycle for sale along with a 1947 Crosley, which still has the original interior. He’s only selling that car because he recently bought a 1956 Ford Thunderbird.
Now Peyton is in the process of selling the van again, this time to Alcatraz East Crime Museum. He was supposed to deliver it to the institution in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, earlier this summer, but the need for some rear-end repairs has made him reluctant to make the 300-plus-mile trip.
He plans to make the necessary repairs in the coming weeks and then head south to give up the van for the second time. But until Sunday, visitors can check out the piece of prison history on the south side of Abromson Drive at the fairgrounds.
Just keep an eye out for stray bullets.
There are lots of scooters to dodge, yes. But take a wrong step and there might be a bullet too.
Well, probably not, but that’s what the warning on the silver van indicates.
On the south side of Abromson Drive at the Vintage Motorbike Show at Jay County Fairgrounds, east of the restrooms, it’s virtually impossible to miss the vehicle as the sun glints off its shiny surface with the red lettering reading:
“Alcatraz Prison Transport
Stay back 50 feet or be shot”
But when Danny Peyton opens the driver’s side door of the 1963 Grumman and steps out, he’s not brandishing a weapon, just the story of the eye-catching van that has been his conversation piece for the better part of a decade.
“I have had more fun owning this than anything I have ever owned,” said the 75-year-old from Trenton, Ohio, about 25 miles north of Cincinnati. “I go to the car shows and I win trophies because it’s so different and unique.”
As if the van isn’t enough to draw attention, Peyton has a dummy in a prison uniform sitting next to it, complete with ball-and-chain attached. He’s rigged the faux prisoner to shake as if it’s being electrocuted and, for some comic relief, installed a small speaker that emits the sound of flatulence.
“I’ve met a lot of people with this,” he said. “I’d like to have a dollar for every time they’ve took pictures of it.”
Peyton, who has been coming to the show at the fairgrounds for three decades, has owned the van for nine years — on and off. He first saw it at a swap meet in Marion County and was disappointed that it wasn’t for sale.
Eventually, he got his chance.
“One time I went over there … he stuck a ‘for sale’ sign on it just as I was standing there,” said Peyton, who built, owned and operated a roller skating rink in Trenton.
He immediately put down a $100 deposit, and later returned with the remainder of the cash.
The van dates back to the final days of the famous prison on an island in San Francisco Bay that housed some of the country’s most notorious criminals, including Al Capone. In the windows are several fact sheets, provided by Alcatraz East Crime Museum, with information about the prison and the men who were held there.
It’s not the only connection to Alcatraz at this week’s show. In the years after acquiring the van, Peyton was surprised to run into Terre Haute’s Jim Albright, who has a display in the Bubp Building. Albright was the prison guard who escorted the last inmate off of Alcatraz Island in 1963.
Peyton kept the van for a few years before Grumman contacted him about a possible purchase. The company wanted to use it for advertising and promotional events, and Peyton was able to sell it for a profit.
“They said they hunted, California, every place, to find a … van like this one,” he said. “But after I sold it, I regretted it, because I used to come to this meet with it and other places. And I talked them into selling it back to me.”
He’s since customized the van with bunk beds, a refrigerator, a sink and a portable toilet. Before stepping out to chat Wednesday afternoon, he was watching TV on his newly installed screen.
“It’s just like a little motorhome,” Peyton said.
He’s been buying, fixing up, enjoying and then selling antique cars since the late 1970s, and the prison transport van isn’t his only item on display this year. He has a 1968 BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) motorcycle for sale along with a 1947 Crosley, which still has the original interior. He’s only selling that car because he recently bought a 1956 Ford Thunderbird.
Now Peyton is in the process of selling the van again, this time to Alcatraz East Crime Museum. He was supposed to deliver it to the institution in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, earlier this summer, but the need for some rear-end repairs has made him reluctant to make the 300-plus-mile trip.
He plans to make the necessary repairs in the coming weeks and then head south to give up the van for the second time. But until Sunday, visitors can check out the piece of prison history on the south side of Abromson Drive at the fairgrounds.
Just keep an eye out for stray bullets.
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