Our Readers Write — or Wrong

For the majority of us, hot rodding is our ticket to the past. Whether we’re reliving our youth or dreaming of how it could have been, the pre-’65 machines fill a space somewhere deep inside.

As a group, we’re all pretty serious about our research. We analyze. We scrutinize. We study. Magazines, annuals and old scrapbooks have become our textbooks, and rods and customs continue to serve as canvasses. Chopping a top? Trying out some fresh rolling stock? Throw some pictures on the H.A.M.B. and an opinion will come rapping on your screen door. It’s downright impressive.

But amidst the flurry of ruffling pages and dog-eared sections, there’s one cluster that is often overlooked – letters to the editor. During the Golden Age, almost every magazine had a variation of this, blended with a pun or some degree of wordsmithing to kick off the issue.

With headings like Correspondence, Letters to the Editors, Mail Call, Mail Run, Our Readers Write, Post Entry and Rodder Readers, the audience was invited to join the magazine’s discussion.

During the past few weeks, these little blurbs have caught my attention. Even in issues that I’ve read many times, I still get a kick out of hearing the voices of the readers. One of my favorites comes from the October 1957 issue of Rod & Custom:

GIRL FAN (?)

            I had the misfortune of picking up your magazine as I was looking for a sports car publication. It made me so sick I thought I’d write and tell you a couple of things.

First of all, when are you people going to grow up? Hot rods went out a long time ago — sports cars are the thing now. It seems so silly to see a chap in dirty Levis and scroungy T shirt driving around in an old car converted into a hot rod.

When my boy friend and I go for a ride we always dress neatly; clean slacks and a fresh shirt, polished shoes, etc.—we’re proud of our sport.

Barbara Bernstein                                                                                                                    La Jolla, Calif.

–Oh?

There’s something very foreign — yet very comforting — about readers taking the time to throw their opinion in the ring. Their grammar was usually strong and their arguments were pretty well thought out.

In a strange way, these responses remind me of the community we have right here on the H.A.M.B. But there’s one key difference — everyone here gets to throw in their two cents.

So I’ll ask you this…did your opinion make its way into a magazine back in the day?

-Joey Ukrop

Note: If anyone knows Barbara…tell her that hot rods aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.