Fonce “Jack” Val Haney was born March 10, 1889 in Huntington, Indiana.

At 16 years of age he moved to Lansing, Michigan to work for the REO Motorcar Company. In 1909-10, he moved to St. Catharines to work as a trouble shooter for the Canadian REO factory, quickly becoming their best mechanic. He traveled throughout Canada fixing and testing REO Cars for the Factory.

In 1912, at age 23, Haney was the driver and mechanic of the REO Motor Company’s automobile that travelled 4,176 miles from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Vancouver, British Columbia. This highly promoted adventure was made with journalist named Thomas W. Wilby, who wrote about the trip in the media, and took 52 days. It was the first trans-Canada trip made by an automobile. After the trip, Haney returned to work at REO until he was laid off.

Read more about Wilby and Haney’s cross country trip in this article from 2012 in the globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/goin-down-the-road-the-story-of-the-first-cross-canada-car-trip/article4487425/

On August 15, 1923, Jack Haney opened Haney Repair Service Ltd. with partner Fred Pattison. The business was located at 50 Niagara Street in St. Catharines. In 1928, he suffered a heart attack, which caused him problems for the rest of his life. In 1932, he went back to working at Wells Garage as a mechanic. Jack died in 1935 due to heart problems. He is buried in Victoria Lawn Cemetery.

Learn more about Jack Haney’s story and his cross-country trip in the book: The All Red Route: From Halifax to Vancouver in a 1912 REO, available in our gift shop.