yup, getting the he**** ready...drove it 80 miles yesterday, it made the trip. Hope to have it in Vegas on Halloween. (yes, SEMA is going on then, too)
I gotta come up with this year's bourbon to hand out to the lil goblin's parents. Means I'm gonna have to do some taste tests.
In that case Billy, just tell the bartender one bourbon, one scotch and one beer.[emoji41] Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
out with the hotrod a few nights ago....two skeletons having a campfire.....there is no house there, either. At least one of them waved back..
Lou Wells' green and black 40 Ford Sedan Delivery leads the pack at the miniature, "Smiling Jack". Hello, Ever since I was 8 years old, my dad took the whole family to see the Great Pumpkin in nearby Wilmington. This is the same Wilmington, CA that borders the Westside of Long Beach and Lions Dragstrip. The refinery was a few miles from our house. We would pile into one of his big Buick sedans (over the years, 52 4 door, 57 2 door) and drive all of us to the refinery to see the big giant orange pumpkin. It is a huge storage tank that is painted orange around every Halloween since 1952. During our hot rod days, it was a destination point on the teenage cruising itinerary. For families, it has and will be a tradition until the kids drive themselves. Jnaki World's Largest Jack O' Lantern 2018 becomes a 66 year old tradition. A Phillips 66 icon. “The giant jack-o-lantern can be seen for miles around after it is lit up (with solar lights) at night. His triangle eyes and nose are 18 feet high each and his gap-toothed grin is 73 feet wide. The teeth are 4 feet square.” "The refinery personnel transform a pumpkin-shaped 3 million gallon storage tank at its Wilmington, California-based Los Angeles refinery into SMILIN' JACK, THE WORLD'S LARGEST JACK-O-LANTERN. The refinery pumpkin patch expects at least 30,000 visitors who want a close-up look at Smilin' Jack.” “He’s officially a senior citizen, but, there would be a pretty good outcry from the public if they retired Jack. It’s just a South Bay tradition.” “Everybody, turns into a kid — because it’s Halloween.” “Every October since 1952 at the Union Oil (now Conoco Phillips) Refinery, a gasoline storage tank is transformed into the Great Pumpkin. Its size and hilly location make it visible for miles. Refinery engineers say that if the giant jack'o'lantern was filled with actual pumpkin, there would be enough to make 26,800,000 pumpkin pies.” A Halloween gathering 2018 at the “local” Great Pumpkin 1/64 scale. Remembering the good old days...
Before I got my truck on the road I used it as part of my Halloween front yard display. After this picture was taken, I put a couple of skeletons sitting on the bed sharing a bottle of moonshine. Also, put a flickering light inside the cab at night. It got a lot of positive comments.
The story of Smiling Jack’s cousin… “El Pumpkino” from Spain. Hello, Since Halloween is upon all of us across the USA, stories like these fit the historic timelines quite well. One day, Smiling Jack was happy, giving a warm smile to the whole So Cal community. When all of a sudden, his cousin from Spain comes rumbling up and says hello. What a surprise, it was part of the family from overseas making a surprise visit. It was a 66 year old celebration for Smiling Jack and this was one BIG surprise. The visiting, orange car joined the line of old station wagons and hot rods cruising by the big orange pumpkin. It was “El Pumpkino” from coastal Spain in the Southwest region. He was on an extended vacation visiting relatives all over the world. So Cal was one big stop for a celebration of his favorite cousin, Smiling Jack. On the border between San Pedro and Wilmington, Smiling Jack has a lot of history. This year coincides with his landlord’s 66th anniversary, too. A cool attraction, lots of Los Angeles county history, and a So Cal icon for the last 66 years, sitting proudly, high on a hill in Wilmington, CA. It has brought smiles to over a million people, including children from all over So Cal. El Pumpkino from Spain... Jnaki Recently, our granddaughter wrote a short story about how “Smiling Jack and his old friend, Maurice, the painter, became best friends over the years.” One in a long line of fictional, short stories written during our family sleepover project days. “…In the beginning, they talked as the face grew and the orange paint was put on the huge tank. In the end, they both became famous for their friendly efforts. Smiling Jack for bringing smiles to millions of kids and parents over the years, and Maurice, his best friend, who has painted the colorful pumpkin every August and September. They grew to be best friends and have dinner together watching the sunset, reminiscing about the good old days of friendship over the last 66 years…” From Smiling Jack: “I love Maurice, with all of my mushy, orange heart…!”
The Jalopy Journal
