Harold Galloway’s 1967 Model 3 King Midget car is also a convertible, as are all the King Midget cars. The company began manufacturing the cars in the late 1940s for women to drive.

The cover of thousands of King Midget brochures touted it as, “America’s Number One Fun Car!” A true statement, and these days, there’s a club and a jamboree to match.

The mail-order King Midget micro-cars were built in Athens, Ohio, for 20 years following World War II, with a total of about 5,000 produced, in three car models, plus motor scooters. Though tiny and slow by today’s standards, they were street-legal vehicles one could drive anywhere, and they still are, if you can find one that is. In a little more than a month, Kosciusko County residents can.

The King Midget Car Club is hosting a King Midget Jamboree Aug. 6-8 in Warsaw. The 25th annual King Midget Jamboree is the club’s silver anniversary.

One local club member, Harold Galloway of North Webster, happens to have two midget cars. He bought his first one in 1980: a 1967 Model 3.

“It’s got a 12 horsepower engine and runs around 55 mph and gets 50 miles to the gallon,” he said. “It has a lawn mower engine.”

He bought his second one, a 1960 Model 3, in 2012, and he bought it from a man in Etna Green. “He said he had to get rid of it but said that he wanted it to stay in Indiana,” said Galloway. “I drive one once in awhile into town. I go to a lot of car shows.”

Galloway will have a car in the Kosciusko County Fair parade in Warsaw. He also drove one in the Mermaid Festival parade last month.

Galloway has belonged to the King Midget Car Club since 2006. He was instrumental in bringing the jamboree to Kosciusko County, along with the Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The International King Midget Car Club has sponsored annual jamborees for two decades. Fifty to 100 King Midgets gather to ogle each other’s restorations, challenges and latest barn-finds. Other King Midget events are also held around the nation.

So far, close to 50 entries have been submitted for the Warsaw Jamboree. Midget car owners are coming from as far away as Florida, Oregon, California and other states.

Galloway said there are only about 1,200 to 1,500 midget cars still in existence. Most of the records were destroyed in a fire, he said.

King Midget made only three models: Models, 1, 2 and 3. Model 1 was made in the late 1940s. Model 2 was made from 1949 to 1954. Model 3 were made starting in 1955. In 1965, the company went to a bigger engine, said Galloway, a 12-horsepower engine. Between 1967 to 1968, the company “made a bunch of them” but then stopped production, Galloway said.

“They were originally designed for women to get around town after World War II,” said Galloway.

Galloway said collectors usually find them in barns but not running. His cars, however, were in drivable condition. When Galloway bought his second one in 2012 he said, “I got in it, drove it and took it to a parade right away.”

Through the years, he has painted his two midget cars and did minor repairs. His two cars only have about 7,500 miles on them. “It’s fun to drive,” he said of his cars. “Kids love them.”

For more information, visit kingmidgetcarclub.org.

Harold Galloway of North Webster has two King Midget cars: a 1960 Model 3 and a 1967 Model 3. He is a member of The King Midget Car Club. Galloway stands in back of his car; the engine is in the trunk.