Now I am sure everyone can remember our family cars! These are obviously NOT photos that I took; I had to download them from Google Images. But some of them are close. The first one shown is the Dodge Lancer. I am not real certain of the model year we had, but I think it was a '62. It was indeed white. The reason I remember that car so well is I used to LOVE sitting in the car when it was in the driveway and shifting the gears. That's right, it had a 3-speed manual shift on the floor. The only mishap I had with the car was well before I was driving. One time when it was parked slightly down the driveway a bit, you know the part where there was a slight decline toward the street? Well one time when I was done with my "driving", I got out of the car and went into the house, probably to watch TV or something else. Then I remember hearing a horn honking impatiently. Either Mom or, more likely Dad, looked out the front door to see the Lancer in the middle of the street! I had left it in neutral after I got out and it slowly rolled into the middle of the street! I am just glad it didn't run over anyone or hit anything.
Then probably arou
nd the same time we had the Anglia. All I remember about the Anglia was that Thom got in some kind of accident with it where the mirror hit a mailbox or something on some kind of dirt road. I hope Thom can comment on the details. Then some time later, Dad was trying to sell the car and Kermit Buck was interested in buying it, but he thought Dad was asking too much for it.And I am sure several of us remember the DeSoto. To this day, I cannot remem
ber if it was a Dodge or a Plymouth, but I think it was an early 50's model. I think that is the famous vehicle that hit the rock when the brakes failed as Mom was driving. But much like a battleship hitting a few chunks of ice in the ocean, the DeSoto showed little damage after the accident. The picture shown here is just a ad photo, but I remember the car being like a barge: huge, heavy, flat, and slow to turn.Then finally, t
he car that was to become my first car - a 1968 VW Beetle. This photo is not downloaded from Google, but rather was taken of an actual 1/32 scale metal car (of a '67) Linda gave me for something (birthday, Christmas, I'm not sure). And although it is not very visible in the picture, Linda has paper cutout figures in the front seats: me in the drivers seat, and her in the passenger seat. The cutout of her actually folds down in the seat to represent the times I ordered her to duck down whenever I drove past any of my friends. I absolutely could NOT be seen driving around with my SISTER in the car!What was the price of gasoline back then? I remember working at Squeak's Standard Service station and selling gasoline for 19.9 cents per gallon. And that's where WE pumped the gas for the customer and cleaned their windshield. Of course, back then I think a VW Beetle new only cost a couple thousand dollars.
I drove the VW until I sold it sometime about 1975 or '76 for a couple hundred dollars. A few weeks after I sold it, the girl who bought it rolled it in a ditch and it was totalled. They said the underside was so rusted out, it probably would have fallen apart somewhere anyway. Oh well, it was a nice memory for me!
4 comments:
Yep...I remember all of those cars. I especially remember how dad could park two cars in their garage when one of them was the Anglia! I also remember the Desoto (2 tone brown wasn't it?) because I was in the famous rock accident! Mom and Marie and I were going down Northline (Fordline) toward Biddle to a pancake breakfast. The brakes failed coming across Fort and mom pulled into the gas station "for help". We clipped a pole and started down the sidewalk toward the rock. I pass by that gas station (now a service station) every time I go to Jessica's house. The rock is long gone. I remember mom being so upset by the accident that she actually bought me a bottle of coke from the vending machine...I can still picture it one of those ones with the bottles laying horizontally that you pulled out after inserting your money.
I also remember the valiant..didn't dad buy that car from someone who had won it in some kind of contest?
I can still remember when gas was 23.9 at the Gulf Station by Wagar's. I only remember it because dad was so upset by the high price.
By the way the Desoto was a 1953...because I remember at the time of the accident both Lou and the car were 13.
The station by Wagars's was a Gulf station owned by a guy whose name I think was Dude Perry (or was it Duke?). I remember that station because Thom got in an accident there when riding his bike (man, I must have been really little!). I think it was dark and he hit the metal pole that held the Gulf sign.
I was going to say the DeSoto was a '53, but I was not sure of it. What I want to know is what year was the green plymouth that Marie fell out of? Somehow, I wanted to say it was a '53 also, but maybe not.
I remember using the Valiant to drive to my two jobs one summer: Balmoral Nursing home in a.m. and traveling Arts and Crafts lady in p.m. in Romulus. I had a large trunk full of paint, paper, etc in the car's trunk as my "supplies". I'm not sure which job was worse that summer.
I was never fortunate enough to have my own car--I guess Mom and Dad didn't think I needed one or--maybe I didn't. I also remember driving a little car--perhaps a VW or Anglia to the Seaway Hospital volunteer candy striper job with Louise Allen one summer.
I really remember hitting the rocK in the DeSoto that fateful day. Mom said"Hang on kids, we're hitting the rock! " I thought it was a unique way to stop that car. Once it was in motion, the momentum carried it on, and on, and on. I think Mom was probably terrified. To this day, I remember to use the EMERGENCY brake, if necessary.
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