Don, not that they would Ever Fit me anyway ! But I usually leave my jackets everywhere I go. I think by the looks of some of my underware, they may be 33 years old! Here's our family photo now.
HRP...Bttt...I'm just having an Easter Chuckle looking at this post and the interest it generated Aka @Bandit Billy ... And then there's all the other cool Hotrods, Customs many Hambers had the fortune to grow up around and the Elders/Hoodlums that drove them... Happy Easter...to those that celebrate...may peace be with your screaming tires... Update...Maybe that was in the Service Station Thread... I won't paste a link...
Very cool pickup and video, great tribute to your dad. Mine is a '53. It's a big state but maybe they will be in the same place some day.
{ A Bump } To see, and add a few more pictures to this cool old thread. These aren't real old, but they are family. Just look in your family albums for road trips, car shows etc. ???
The thread title did't say how old? just { Family Photo Album }. So here's an oldie of my Mom from 1957. May have posted before???
Grandma in 1958 Santa Ana, CA Hello, As we were organizing our family photo files, we saw an old photo of my wife’s Grandfather’s new 1958 Buick sedan. It was one of the largest American made car and the auto magazine writers had a field day about the amount of chrome the large road beast had versus other automobiles of the time. They even went on to label it as the most chrome on any car, period. What a designation… The odd thing was, we had seen the big 58 Buick in person and forever in our thoughts, how it stayed pristine when we saw it during our Thanksgiving and Christmas visits with the whole family. The 58 Buick was so wide and the driveway leading back to the small garage was very narrow. The Grandpa was also small in stature and we wondered how he kept the car virtually scratch free. An experienced driver along with caution was used going in and out of the small garage, must have been the case. One Christmas, we saw him drive the Buick into the garage and it was not done in a slow plodding way. The worst thing we saw was the speed at which it came out of the garage and zipped by the window on another occasion. We never saw or heard any scratches or scrapes during this high speed entry or exit. Jnaki We actually drove by the house during one of our pandemic errand days and saw for ourselves, the differences the house had over the years. It was within several blocks from his job at the local Santa Ana College campus. Our memories of the Grandpa and Grandma were priceless and they were at our wedding, but had to go back home before the reception/dinner afterwards. The house area is still in a fairly quiet residential area.
Dog Honey, sister Pam, Dad and me (maybe 2?) in front of the '41 Pontiac Torpedo just before a 40-mile trip to church in Kansas City one Sunday in 1951 or so. Chicken house in the background. Dad is the photographer in the other photo (upper left). Dad's next car was a '52 Henry J. Wish I had a photo of it.
revised: Hello, When we first went on our cross country road trip of the Southwest toward the East, it was a planned destination for the Eastern seaboard. We wanted to experience some sailing in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic for a different feel. We decided to stop in the OKC for a couple of days to check out the old stomping grounds for my wife, as a little kid. We drove in a systematic pattern on those streets starting with 32nd down to 45th streets. We found the elementary school. (it had changed, but the old multistory building was still there) So, we were nearby as there were plenty of memories from that portion of the time period. Since there were three little kids in the family, each one had their own recollection. Over time, each time period get cloudier and those memories are starting to fade fast. So, another trip was on the planning board for the 2020 year, but we all know what the he#$@ happened to all of us. One last time, was the idea and this time we would take a photo of us in front of the house. That plan is now on indefinite hold. In OKC, the family stayed in this two story house on 43rd street from 1955 to 1957, when the last road trip westward ended up three blocks from Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park (So Cal). That was when Knotts Berry Farm was famous for its Ghost Town, mining for gold, Boysenberries, and Chicken Dinners. Not the extravagant stuff from today’s form of entertainment. The stories that come out of that OKC house and its family are pretty hilarious. From “walking in the snow to school” standard to sweating in the attic playing ghosts and goblins during the hot summers. The 3 little kids had this huge house for their rainy day activities and snowball fights in the huge front yard. The 55 Chevy was the car of choice for the travels to the western homes in Manhattan Beach to the huge home in OKC. It was large enough for three kids to play and fight in the back seat during those long road trips back and forth to So Cal for their dad’s job opportunities. He was not a traveling salesman, but the industry he worked had openings and better openings in the areas west/Midwest making the road trips a necessity. So, the road trips and new home purchases were abundant. Jnaki In my wife telling me these stories of travels as little kids, we were glad that our own little kid travels were just for family vacations and not necessities for our dad’s jobs. Plus, So Cal was in our blood since 1946 and for our parents, back into the 1920s. So, there were ties that bound our extended families together in the So Cal neighborhoods. My wife’s ties also go back to the 20s in the OKC area and in Kansas. When my wife and I found the various houses and places of their OKC youngster adventures, the memories flowed like a river after a heavy rainfall. It was all a good part of family history. Now recorded in journals for posterity of our future generations. If this pandemic would go away with everyone's help, we all could get "back on the road again..." This final road trip to further our road trip adventures and have plenty of OKC stories to keep alive in our family journal. Plus, there would actually be a new/old photo or it did not happen scenario. So, for now, it might be a short drive to see her old house that is close to Knott's Berry Farm. It would also be a flashback as we were together during those times (66-68) in this old Buena Park house, until we got married after college.
Enjoying the freedom to cruise... 1959 Our mom was always happy to be out of the house, going on a shopping spree with her friends. Hello, In thinking back to the stories of our involvement in hot rods and drag racing while growing up the Westside of Long Beach, we can’t help but think of our mom from those times. She was always “proper” and did not want her friends or neighbors to think my brother and I had gone over to the dark side. (beatniks, low lifes, train riding bums, etc) But, she thought hot r0ds and drag racing was the road to a dark place. Sounds like a Hollywood movie title… When our dad was not there, she did what she thought was getting involved with her two sons. That meant sitting on a bus bench waiting for a ride to downtown Long Beach and the Pike for fun. Or taking the bus to the downtown area to catch a ride on the Red Trolley Car that went inland to Los Angeles. We thought it was an adventure, but she did not like the long train ride to Los Angeles. She did not learn to drive for quite some time. But, by 1957, she learned and drove our dad’s big Buick on errands. Since we were little, she always stood by us, did as much as she could, was a rock for support and understanding. The one thing she did not like was hot rods and the sounds they made. Even on a hot summer day, when we started our cars in the backyard, she closed the doors to the house, despite not having A/C. But, it was her outstanding cooking and great snacks/meals that drew our teenage friends over for frequent visits. They looked like starving teens when our mom brought out the sandwiches or barbeques skewers of marinated steak and chicken. Now, I am hungry writing all of this down. Jnaki I actually taught my mom how to shift the 3 speed in the 58 Impala and taught her how to drive the powerful Chevy sedan. She liked the black paint and the overall size of the Impala. After our initial weeks of learning and trying, she just could not work the heavy duty clutch, the powerful motor coordination. So, she said she would like to get an automatic like the Buick installed. So being hot rod teenagers, in comes a new stick hydro automatic transmission with the name of C&O Stick Hydro. Well, it was an automatic transmission afterall !!! The odd thing was, she actually liked driving the 58 Impala with the C&O, as it was an automatic for her. Just put it in "D" and go. She outlived our dad by 14 years and became our “little child” until she was gone, too. My wife and I used to take her all over the place since she did not want to drive a long distance, anywhere. It may have been her long standing dislike for our hot rods and noise, etc. HA!
1949 Hello, There had to be a life before hot rods, drag racing and bicycles. Cowboys and army men were the emphasis, as there was a "range" of a giant tall grass field behind our house just for the neighborhood kids to dig, make forts, plan battle attacks and throw giant grass bombs like hand grenades. Then we would ride our steeds away to our hideout behind the picket fence. Did you know that Hopalong Cassidy and before H.C. Cowboy Bob rode in a 1941 Buick Fastback sedan? He also rode along with the little rascal gangster in his Sunday best? When we were on a road trip in the big 41 Buick or later, the 49 Buick Roadmaster, the package tray area was our hideout lookout point. It was the perfect hiding place to ambush unsuspecting drivers coming up behind us. My small size fit perfectly in the small narrow angular place and the window gave me plenty of “cover.” Jnaki It was one place my brother and I loved riding while our dad drove around on trips or vacations. But, the 41 Buick was made for me and not my brother. He was a little too tall to fit in the package tray. But, when the 1949 Buick Roadmaster 4 door showed up and replaced the 41 Buick fastback, the tray was so large that there were scuffles to get in the package tray area. But, he usually had “dibs.” It was a good thing we grew up. The last road trip was in a 57 Buick Roadmaster and the two bigger teenagers were a little crowded for space in the back seat. It was time to drive our own cars for a road trip. Yes!
@Ryan , if anyone on this forum had any issues with the quality of photos you post they would’ve disowned you by now.
Grandpa in 1924 replacing Model T side glass. He is standing by the spare tire on my dads 29 RPU around 1972 with a bunch of the family, my dad by the driver door. Myself, son and dad when we drug the RPU out of hibernation One of my grand sons working on his dads 55 last night. The wife and I with another grandson and the hotrod at Greaserama. My son chopping the top for that car in 2017. My daughter with the 56 in 2018.
We recently had to clean out my mothers home, one thing I got was an old photo album My grandpa ( Her Dad )
My grandfather in Petaluma. Not sure what year this is, '20's ish Dad in Petaluma on his new Harley Davidson after returning from WWII in ~1948
My grandad form Hereford, Texas was not quite that flashy. But by the time he found my grandmother in Canyon, Texas he had a '40 coupe. They moved to Pittsburg, California in that car.
Hello, 2335 Webster Ave. Long Beach was built with some old style Craftsman building ideas. It was our first real house, after spending almost three years in a 25 foot trailer across the L.A. River. Our dad was able to buy our first house on the last street, on the farthest Western location in the Westside of Long Beach city limits. Beyond our backyard was a buffer of a giant empty field that separated the homes from the Terminal Island Freeway. Then the railroad tracks from the harbors was a common area prior to being in Wilmington, CA to the West. Our dad's 4X5 "family camera" had so many little parts that went with it every time he opened the black box unit. So, we had to carry the extra, but integral parts to a photo shoot or just a drive to the local park, beach or a ferry ride in San Pedro. The early Craftsman Style gave us a large front porch that led to the front door. The whole house was surrounded by a huge yard and a White picket fence. There was no driveway or front facing garage. The garage entrance was off of an alley behind our property. If the 2335 Webster Ave. Long Beach address is typed in a search engine, today, you won' get a photo of our house. instead, you will get a random selection of photos of a local school complex including one of the latest elementary schools. The current location is a part of the whole two/three block long complex currently owned by the Long Beach Unified School District. There is a middle school, an elementary school, a park and a LBUSD maintenance facility yard. Gone are our row of classic homes. The destruction of the whole row of several city blocks to make room for a park, two schools, and a maintenance yard was a little hard to take when it started. The tall electrical grid structure(s) in the background of the empty lot is the Southern end of Lion’s Dragstrip from 1955 to 1972. In most photos and films of early Lion's Dragstrip taken from the spectator's side, the tall electrical grid structures can be seen built parallel to the railroad tracks. Our dad had to park his Buick sedans out in the street as the individual garage spaces were not built to accommodate such a large car and still close the “barn doors.” 1941 Buick Fastback 1948-50 in the street parking area. 2022 In the lower right, Our house address 2335 Webster Avenue, which is now the address of the elementary school. The huge baseball fields are part of the attached neighborhood park with the same address as the school. On top of the photo is the Terminal Island Freeway going right-left. Behind the freeway is the berm for the railroad tracks. Beyond is Wilmington and the massive harbor container area that brings in all of the goods we have the stores where we all shop. 2335 Webster Ave address from our old Craftsman House. In 1967, the Long Beach Unified School District applied for a federal grant to help build a Westside elementary school. A grant was awarded under terms of a program for construction of school facilities in federally affected areas. 88% of the students were from Navy families. In 1996, a new high school was built within walking distance to the school. If it were built around the time my brother and I were teenagers, we would not have gone to Long Beach Poly High School. Then a whole different history would have rolled into place. Strange to think it could have been a parallel universe with no "Bixby Knolls" hot rod scene as prevalent as it was during our real teenage days.
My great grandpa brought over his family in 1909 to work the railroads like a lot of folks from Europe. By the early 20's my grandpa and my great Uncle Sal opened up the Super Station in Sacramento but the bank wanted that corner a few years later. That checkered board building - Eldorado Savings - didnt change much until recently when they covered up that checker board with a new facade. Guess 30wt runs though me.....
1923 in OKC Hello, A family gathering photo taken in 1923 on someone’s old Ford Roadster with my wife’s dad as a kid and his sister + brother. Someone posed them on the front for a family siblings photo. They did not look too happy to be sitting on that old roadster. This is one of the roadsters that was owned by great grandpa in the OKC area back then. This phaeton was owned by the same great grandpa when my wife’s mom’s family lived in Tennessee, earlier by several years. (Near Tennessee A&I University.) But, someone in the family must have seen that photo and then posed my wife, her sister, and brother in a similar pose on a 1950 Hudson Sedan. Currently, no one still left in the family, seems to know how I got that photo and no one knows who owned the 1950 Hudson. But, it was taken in Pacoima, CA when the family moved from OKC to So Cal for a job change. The photo was in a small photo album I am converting to digital form for preservation of our whole family files. The Hudson is a mystery as no one ever told us about owning a Hudson Sedan. Even when my wife's dad was telling stories about cars during the time living in Pacoima, CA. They had a Chevy sedan and a Ford coupe, then her mom bought a Buick Convertible for her own car. Jnaki No one in any of the family photo archives is shown driving a Hudson sedan and no one remembers it, like remembering the 1955 Chevy sedan that made the So Cal to OKC long road trips and back several times. The 55 chevy sedan was when they came back to Manhattan Beach in 1955. Then back to the OKC. OKC 1955 OKC to Manhattan Beach, CA Prior to one last fling in OKC before finally making the last cross country move to Buena Park, near Knott's Berry Farm in 1956. It was the worst for my wife as move necessitated three 6th grade classes in three different cities. It was an important year for any student for a smooth transition to junior high school.
The Jalopy Journal
