George & 2 Oldest Daughters

George & 2 Oldest Daughters
George, Oldest Daughter, and Me, 2nd Daughter 1968.

Caroline and Oldest Daughter

Caroline and Oldest Daughter
Caroline and Oldest Daughter in Photo Booth 1964

Boy George

Boy George
George and younger sister in 1940's

George and his Oldest Daughter

George and his Oldest Daughter
George and His Oldest Daughter 1964 in Photo Booth

Thursday, February 11, 2010

George's Cars, oh boy!

My dad, George, was born in 1936 to his Slovakian farming parents. He was the 7th of 8 children, the first to graduate high school (1954). Having grown up during WWII and on the tail end of the Great Depression, he had a solid background in appreciating the value of a dollar. That, along with the values passed on to him by his parents laid the foundation for a wonderful life. Making the right decision isn't always the most beneficial monetarily, but you can definitely look yourself in the mirror with a clear conscience. Peace of mind is priceless.

Dad loves cars, like most men. I am going to be posting some of his memories that he listed in sequential order of ownership.

1936 Chevrolet 2/D Sedan
My very first car. I bought it from my dad for $150.00 that I saved up from cleaning out barns and working in the summer for our dairy neighbors, the Solers, Grabs, and Ericksons. This was a great car, and Pa bought it new the year I was born. Had one little dent in a rear fender but only had 50,000 miles on it. I didn't like its styling and wanted a V8. I was young and stupid. This car was grey in color and ran like a dream.

1931 Ford Model A coupe with rumble seat
Made a big mistake when the timing gear went out on the Chevy and I traded it straight across for this cute little Model A. Had a lot of fun in it but it certainly wasn't the car the Chevy was. Sold it to my friend Gene Remington (Jughead). This car was a faded white in color. It had a jump seat in the rear where you would normally look for a trunk. The metal floor in that section was completely rotted out, so if you rode back there, you were looking down at the drive shaft and road. I used to retard the spark, turn off the engine, and then turn it back on again while driving down the highway. It would let off a loud backfire and emit a bright flash up through the rusted out rumble seat area. This all came from the exhaust pipe which ended just below the rumble seat. Used to scare the heck out of most of the kids I would coax to ride back there so I could initiate them.

1937 Ford 2/D sedan with V8 engine and mechanical brakes
Bought this car from Mr. Soler our neighbor for $125.00. It was in great shape and very fast but had mechanical brakes that could lead to disaster and nearly did several times. I drove this car to High School, and one day, couldn't stop at my parking spot in front of the school and knocked down a steel railed fence. I am lucky I didn't get killed in this car! This car was gray in color. Another time I had three other kids in the car ,and was stopped at an intersection near Buckley. I floored the engine pedal and popped the clutch; the transmission gears dropped all over the highway. I made up some far out excuse and told Pa I should have kept his car. (True!)

1953 Chevrolet Bel Aire 2/D Hardtop
This was my very first really super nice car. I had graduated from High School and was working construction, driving logging truck and had several other miscellaneous jobs. I traded my Ford in and borrowed the balance (around $1,800) from my dad. I had this car for about two years and through my first year in professional baseball. It was a baby crap brown with an Ivory top and trim. A great little car and one of my favorites. I purchased it from Paulson Motors, a new car Chevrolet dealer in Puyallup. It was the owner's wife demo.


I always enjoy reading about other's past experiences, and seeing how they formed who the person is now. My first car was a 1980 Pinto with a moon roof. I was 21, and it had been my sister's before becoming mine. Dad taught me how to drive his 1969 Dodge Pick up when I was 16. It had a great air horn that I loved. I performed a California Stop, his knuckles gripped the door, his nostrils flared and went white, and in a quiet, even tone, he told me "get out of the car". I did. He has let me drive him maybe three times in the last twenty years...

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