Yeah, I know it's a bit OT but thought it'd be interesting to reminisce and reflect some Christmas memories from the year your cars were made? I know there are some "youngsters" here too, but chime in if you want to, with early holiday memories - mention the year, and involve the cars you had, if you can. In '56 (the year of my Fairlane) I was 5 years old and we'd just moved into a new and still unfinished house. Dad was driving a red '53 Ford panel truck and Mom had a '49 Ford fordor. I remember going with Dad that year to get a Christmas tree in his truck; it was the last year he had it. He, my older brother and I went to the tree farm, picked out a tree and hauled it back home. That tree nearly filled the whole back of the truck, and I remember they had to trim it to get it in the house. Christmas was good that year, it was my last one before I started school. And that spring, dad bought a new royal blue '57 F100 pickup. I missed the red panel truck because I could stand between the front seats in it, and look out the windshield. I couldn't do that in the '57 pickup. Gee, that sure was unsafe! Next Christmas - '57 Dad let us sit in back of the pickup when we went to get a tree. I don't know how we survived such an unsafe childhood!
One of my very favorite childhood memories took place on Christmas Eve, 1952. I was going on five years old that year. It was our family tradition for my folks to finish up work on the evening before Christmas, pack me and whatever presents could be afforded into their second-hand, salt-streaked black 1948 Plymouth business coupe and head for my grand parents house in Old Town. They both worked full days, so our departure was always late, our destination almost a hundred miles of dark, snowy 2-lane Maine roads away. Being an only child I usually rode in the front seat (the only seat) between my dad, who drove, and my mom, who navigated. But as the night wore on, I would climb up onto the broad package shelf and, tucked into their tartan plaid wool blanket by my mom, fall asleep watching the crystal white landscape go by through the tiny quarter window by my head. We'd make a pit stop about half way, at a 24-hour truck stop which was always crowded with log haulers headed south, loaded with pulp logs which would eventually be turned into paper. This night was no different, the truck stop a muddy oasis of warmth and light for cold and tired travelers like us. A quick pee for me and a cup of coffee for my dad and we were off again, the night clear and crisp, the sky a blanket of bright stars on black velvet. As we drove on, the little coupe's headlights carving a path between the snowbanks flanked by stands of towering evergreens on both sides of the road, we'd every so often come abreast of ice-covered pastures lit by the moon so bright that every slat of the snowfence could be clearly seen. It was far too late for anybody to be on the road, except for an occasional truck headed south, and only the most hardy homesteads showed lights in the distant windows. Although the car did have a radio, an ancient tube-type AM, we were too far from any city to recieve anything but an occasional hint of Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - my 'way favorite christmas song - between the crackling waves of static, so it was soon turned off in favor of singing our own. But this, too, soon faded as we pushed on through the night, too tired to carry the spirit of Christmas any longer, except in our own thoughts. My mom, who p***ed away this year at nearly 90 years of age, never tired of telling the story of how, through the tiny fogged-up quarter window in that old Plymouth coupe, I saw Santa that night, driving his sleigh between the stars above the ocean of moonlit pastureland, on his way to grandma and grandpa's house 12 miles north of Bangor, where certainly he'd leave presents for me...since I had been an especially good boy that year. She'd laugh, and tell how bright my eyes were as I recounted the scene I'd just seen, aroused from my sleep on the shelf behind the seat by the tinkle of sleighbells and Santa's jolly ho-ho-ho. Every Christmas she'd tell that story and every year it seemed even fresher, and newer and more real than the last. And every year my dad would swear that he almost saw him, too...almost, but he must have been looking too hard at the road when Santa p***ed by to see him clearly. Did I really see Santa that night? Yes, yes I think I did. It has been many years and many tellings, but the memory of that Christmas Eve is still bright and clear in my mind...at least the way my mom told it, I remember... Merry Christmas, y'all...
Well.... In '53.... I was two years old.... don't remember too much except eat/poop and that alternated rather frequently... Ahhhhhh ...... those great memories!
Great story Eric....and great storytelling too. Although it was 1972, I can remember a similar night as a youngster, with my beloved grandfather, who p***ed away a few years later. At 40, I'm old enough to have ridden, standing up in the bench seat between my parents.....and on the package tray in the back.
I forget that many of our group are not fossels like me. Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and even Chrysler offered what was called a Businessman's Coupe during the '40s and early '50s, and this is what my Dad owned at the time. These cars had a cavernous trunk which extended from the rear bumper all the way to just behind the front (the only!) seat. There was room to stand a suit case between the back of the seat and the trunk bulkhead, but that's all. From the outside it was easy to tell the Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler Businessman's Coupe from the regular 5-p***enger Coupe as they had rediculously short tops and equally rediculously long trunks. The Plymouth Businessman's Coupe, however, was more conventional looking from the outside, with a very graceful roof line and gently sloping deck...a very pretty car, in my humble opinion. These were the cheapest cars in the line and often used by travelling salesmen, carpenters, painters, police departments...and bootleggers! The important thing, at least to the understanding of my Christmas tale, is that the package shelf in a Plymouth Businessman's Coupe is very large and completely flat, with a slight lip at the front to keep objects from falling off onto the floor. It was on this shelf that I often slept as a small child when we travelled long distances. Needless to say, even though I never had any siblings, our small family quickly outgrew that car. I don't know from whom my dad bought that car, but it was well-used even though it was only a few years old at the time. I suspect he was more concerned about price than how well it would fit a growing family. We struggled mightily in those early years. I've attached a couple photos of the '48 Plymouth Businessman's Coupe I still own today. It's not the same car, of course, but it's just like the old black one I remember from that Chrismas long ago.
Yeah, those old business coupes were used as a place for salesmen to sleep too. Very spartan of course but I was told that some used to travel long distances and found it easier - and cheaper - to pull into a motor park or along the roadside and overnight in their car, vice hotel/motel accomodations. They were probably used for other 'activities' as well. . .
In 1954, the year my Ford coupe was born, I was nine years old. I think that was the Christmas that I got my Lionel electric train layout. I woke up on Christmas morning to find it ready to run on the living room floor. It was mounted on a 4x8 plywood board, it had two electric switches to run on an inside or outside track, it had a water tower, a station house, an electric uncoupler, and a crossing gate. I still have the locomotive and cars, the crossing gate, and some of the track but the rest is gone. I think my dad stayed up all night on Christmas eve putting it together. He probably played with it awhile too. After Christmas day mom said it took up too much room on the living room floor so it had to be stored away. A friend of mine had a train layout in a game room and I was always envious that he could play with his train all year round.
Do any of you remember back in the '50s going to look at all the department store Christmas window displays? There were electric trains and all sorts of other toys like erector sets. It was a tradition for us to go to Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles and to downtown Santa Monica to look at all the window displays.
When my car was new in '54, I was 3. I remember one Christmas Eve when I was either 4 or 5 years old, waking up probably around 10pm and seeing a big, hulking figure with what looked like a big sack over his shoulder bending over my dresser. I was afraid to breathe, but I kept one eye open and he stayed there, unmoving, for hours. I finally must have fallen back to sleep. The next night, he was there again. What a letdown to realize it was just a shadow. Joe
Thanks, Geno! My coupe was in my 1 1/2-car garage during the big California earthquake a decade or so ago. All the paint cans on my shelves fell onto the back of the car, my lawn mower ate the paint on the left rear fender and my Harley fell onto the p***enger side door, leaving a big dent by the mirror that's still there. We were less than a mile from the epicenter and were very, very lucky. My house was only mildly damaged but my wife, my two kids and I were uninjured...other than being so scared we spent the rest of the night on the front lawn, afraid to go back into the house for fear of a gas leak and the ton of broken gl*** on the floor. We were very lucky. Others were not. I am not **** about my cars, which is why they all have lots of road rash and, in the case of the Plymouth, primer spots where the earthquake damage occurred. I do my own body and paint work, and this project just hasn't bubbled to the top of my priority list. Besides, now the coupe and I kinda match...
[QUOTE: nvsteve Do any of you remember back in the '50s going to look at all the department store Christmas window displays? ...] Sure do! I grew up on southeast lower Michigan and several times Dad & Mom would let us kids bundle up with LOTS of blankets, and ride in back of the '57 F100. Not exactly a sleigh ride, but we still had a blast. Sometimes we'd each get a "hot rock" (put a brick or rock very close to the wood cookstove in the kitchen for a few hours before we left to heat them up) to help keep our feet warm. We'd go to Pontiac to look at the displays in SS Kresges, Federal's, Hudson's and especially Sears. Sears had a corridor that led over to their toy department which was separated from the main store. The Toy Dept was like a huge window display that we could walk thru. Trains, rockets, sleds, (don't remember a Red Ryder ) - all the stuff a 8 or 9 year old boy could imagine getting for Christmas - all set up and running. Heaven on earth! Other times we'd go to the small town of ****ord with either our parents or older sis, who was in high school at the time. It was always fun to go with sis because it usually meant some of her friends would pile in the back of the pickup and we'd go carolling thru town - many times a snowball fight would develop! - and just about always meant a stop at the pizza parlor on the way home! We'd go into the small D&C dimestore, Western Auto, or the Pinch-a-Penny store, which had many toys on display. One time I remember Santa and Mrs Claus showing up in front of the D&C on Main Street in an early 1900s open touring car, probably a Buick or Cadillac. M&M Claus were decked out in red & white suits and the car was made up to look like a sleigh. Quite a scene indeed. Nothing compares to those childhood Christmas memories from the late 50s. After the malls invaded the area in the early 60s, the downtown areas became near ghostowns and never recovered.
Cool pic... I'd love to have a full poster to hang in my shop of this pic!!!!! I love it! Hey guys..... Christmas gift idea.........if you're wondering what to get me....
A few similar hauler pics have been floating around the 'net, somebody sent me some awhile ago. While I can id most of the cars, here's one that has me stumped. Being a Ford guy perhaps my terminal tunnel vision is impairing my ability to correctly identify any car whose name ain't a 4 letter word. Any clues? I'll post the other pics later, I think there are about 20 different shots. They'd make great posters or a calendar/Christmas present. Ron
Sorry guys I have none (car is 55 I was born in 74) but love reading about the adventures you guys had.
re: A.P. Photography Sorry guys I have none (car is 55 I was born in 74) but love reading about the adventures you guys had. Hey, no need to apologize, '74 was a good year. If you have any Christmas stories from "way back" in the disco days of the mid/late 70s, let's hear 'em. I was married in '74 but won't mention my powder blue tux and platform loafers I was wearing though , or the way-cool new '74 Pinto wagon somebody talked me into buying, instead of that nice leftover '73 Galaxy 2 door I wanted.
LOL well Ron we all make mistakes from cars to powder blue tux with platform shoes. lol. Just be thankful you were never rear ended in the Pinto. One of the things I remember is going to my grandmothers house in Trion, GA (NW Mtns of GA). Had to go through Summerville, GA to get there and it was an OLD town. This was back before the Wal Mart. All the Chirstmas decorations up in the small little downtown, people out walking from shop to shop. I miss those times as it hasn't felt like Christmas for me in a loooong time.
Oh yeah, I remember those Mustang/Pinto gas tank recall kits back then! I was a Ford partsguy in part of the 70s and early 80s. Christmas '74? First year we were married, living in a 2 room upper apartment in an old farmhouse for $75 a month and had - get this - a cardboard fireplace that we found in the attic. It had to be ancient, the old couple we rented from couldn't remember when they got it but said we could use it. There was a huge real fireplace in their lower portion of the house which they let us come and enjoy. re: Trion? Never been there but since working for the Army I've been to Ft Benning (Columbus) many times, last being '06. Was at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Hampton) back in the early 90s for a race and was over to Dawsonville, back when Bill Elliott's team was there and he was Ford's almost-answer to ol' ironhead Dale Earnhardt Sr.
I'd love to have a calender made of these pics. If anyone does em I'd buy em! Even if the calender is out dated. I do remember back in the early 70's when I got out of highschool where I was into drag boats. I had a 22foot Sanger with a built 455 Olds with two fours on a tunnel ram with a v-drive that easily ran 90 mph in the 1/4 mile aqua! the story behind this story is the tow rig..... A 51 dodge Pickup that had been laid on it's p***enger side. This thing was a wreck! plastic film in the windows, fenders wired on, smoking 6 cylinder flathead, three speed that popped out of second so you had to hold it in until you shift to third, no muffler, and sometimes the lights worked. As you might guess the boat was a show peice! Chrome everywhere, polished stuff all over, trick physo paint, and a trailer to die for! What a combination on the way to the lake, a site to see!!!! I had to be pulled up the boat ramp after loading the boat on the trailer as the rig could not pull it up the boat ramp. I was the **** of many jokes but that boat hauled ***!!!!!!
Ron, Trion is up in the northwest GA mtns, about 45 mins NE of Rome, GA. I grew up in Jonesboro, GA and used to go to Hampton to AMS all the time. Yeah I have been up in Dawsonville several times and live like 25 mins from there now. They are actually building a road course up there on some land the Elliotts used to own. Geno, I understand that combo. lol. Not sure if anyone ever saw it but there was a special on Jesse James (back when he first started getting air time) about the Camel Bike build. They were rushing to finish it for a photo shoot for Easy Rider magazine and was showing them loading it on an old beat up mazda truck. Jesse goes, "Kind of crazy to be loading an $80,000 bike in the back of a $1,500 truck"
Many of us are "one project at a time" kind of guys. We have to sell one project to get into another one, and if we have several hobby interests, we have to sacrifice the last project for the next. I loved anything that had engines!!! So my hobbies were all over the place. I finally settled on building cars after driving my high school car for 3 years... a 40 Ford Deluxe Coupe (sold it to buy the boat/tow rig combination), then a 64 Olds 442, then a MG, and then a GTO, then a son....... let 20 years without a car go by ( I don't consider a Honda four door a car)... and back into a 27 Ford roadster and many after that. We all have to make the right decisions with our hobby and I have never regretted mine... my grand son is really into cars... my dream! We do everything cars together and some day we will build his car together. His memories will on this site some day!
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