HA we had to wear TIES as students on our classroom week (switched weekly from trade to classroom) at our trade school and it sucked LOL. You would be amazed at how many weird ways students can think up to tie and or wear a tie just to test the rules and teachers patience.
great grandma's birthplace: 1922 Nashville, Tennessee Hello, Our Great Grandma is gone, but this is a photo of her birth place in Nashville, Tennessee in 1922. Her father was a college professor and worked in many different colleges in the Southeast back before they moved to So Cal. Once in So Cal, he worked at Santa Monica Junior College, the old Santa Ana Junior College (4th oldest in California) and at UCLA. Jnaki Great Grandma’s dad was a character. Everytime we saw him, he always wore a tie and shirt. So, we had to be dressed accordingly when visiting. He was very old school. Once, after a Christmas dinner, we were all sitting around talking and a moving shadow came across the side window of the their house. It was a Christmas tree on top of Great Grandma’s dad. He told us that the tree pickup was tomorrow and that he did not want to miss it. It was a Christmas early evening! Earlier, we had just exchanged gifts before dinner. We all got a huge laugh out of that one. Yes, he was still wearing his tie. He also drove until he was about 91. But, watch out if you were on the road with him. He did not have far to go to work, but even twenty years earlier, he was an older, determined driver with a huge car. We all know how those elders drive…ha!
My brother and I with my grandparents in front of my favorite car dad ever owned...1963 Impala Super Sport Convertible, white on white with a red interior!! I LOVED that car!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Looking Out the window today and feeling sorry for my self due to the weather I thought of this photo of my great-uncle Tom shoveling snow on the North Fork of the Feather River in a place called Virgilia. You can see the top of the bridge across the river behind the car. I feel better now.
My grandfather, being chauffeured by my dad.....my grandpa hauled logs for living, and made some extra money that year, and bought the Lincoln Continental for my grandmother as an anniversary present....she soon stated she "hated driving it", as she ONLY drove to the market once a week with a portable, folding shopping cart she carried in the back seat ( the trunk would open, and she couldn't reach the lid to shut it, so everything went into the back seat!)...and kept driving over sidewalks and street corners....grandpa sold the car soon after the pic was taken, and bought a used Ford sedan instead with a big trunk, for her folding, portable wire shopping cart she tugged behind her
My Wife just came across these Photos of her Parent's on their honeymoon in 1950. What makes this really special, is the fact that I've got the exact same 1949 Chevy Styleline 2-door Sedan sitting in the garage as my current Project! Mine is the Deluxe Model, with loads of stainless, but what a cool coincidence.
Kansas City, Kansas 1893 Hello, This multi level house was the birthplace of our great, great grandma in 1893. Not too many cars around back then…but, the first car was created and running at this time period. This house was unusual as it was built on a slope and it was multistory. In today’s language: a split level home. Park Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. 1893. After many house moves, she settled down in OKC. She visited So Cal many times, but around 88 yrs old, she stayed with us and could not believe what a “glorious sight” it was when we took her to the beach. With her old age sight at the time, the sun created shadows in the sand and she thought she was falling into a big hole with every step. We had a cook-out and later a sunset campfire. A pure So Cal experience for a Mid-Western girl that had never seen the ocean before. Jnaki It took a long time to walk back to the car after we were ready to go home. Even with a flashlight lighting the way. But, walking during the day on a long pier in Huntington Beach was much easier and she enjoyed every minute. Especially with her great, great grandson holding her hand. (4 at the time)
While at the conroe swap in the fall, I came across at tattered old autograph book. It had a lot of old photographs, some with cars. I gave $1 for it. Pretty neat old photos. One of the photos came unglued, it was dated november 11, 1934. These are the photos car related
My father was a self supporting preacher and worked as a mechanic to pay the bills. His father owned a repair shop/service station in Clovis New Mexico back in the 50's and 60's. Dad grew up with grease under his nails. I grew up in the shop with my dad. He bought this 1960 Chevy PU when I was in 2nd grade. For a long time it was our only vehicle. All five us rode in the cab when us kids where small. I always sat next to dad and I remember 2nd gear the shifter hitting me in the knee. I learned to drive in this truck. When I blew the motor up racing it, Dad made me rebuild it with him guiding me. I owned the truck until 95 or 96 when I had to sell it to pay bills. I miss that truck. I have lived in Missouri for 25 years with my parents living in California. Now I have 2 young teen age boys. My parents are moving out here this summer. I am looking forward to building a car for the boys to drive with my boys and my dad. Kind of full circle in a way. That is my story. My Dad, 2 sisters and one of their friends, and me holding the chainsaw in 83. Taken in Missouri around 93 My Papa and my father back when Dad was in High School
1956-58 OKC Hello, Grandpa moved us around quite a bit in the mid 50’s. From OKC, it was Pacoima in 1952, then Manhattan Beach in 55, and then back to OKC in 56 until 58. Then finally, back to 4 different houses in So Cal until now. The cars were very cool, but back then they were just a means to get from one place to another. The 49 Buick convertible was just big and very cool, grandma liked that one for sure. The 55 Chevy was the nicest, but it was just a car that took his family cross country during job searches. The one he used the most was the 59 Chevy wagon for all of those camping trips to the Salton Sea. Jnaki Although he has gone through many cars, but he has retired from driving 4 years ago. Whew!
My mom at the wheel, ...my aunt Arlene holding me, in Oregon in 62'....my dad usually drove hot rods of some type, and my mom got the family car, which was usually the 'dependable' vehicle. My grandmother Olive, who REALLY enjoyed driving her cars....didn't matter if she backed into things, or drove on the sidewalk now and then, or forgot to check the oil....she liked her car, and often ''offered'' to run errands if she got to drive her car! I would ride with her sometimes, in the back seat, jumping around, smudging nose and hand against the windows with unique finger-painting skills... we spent a lot of time pointing out the side windows at cows, barns, and trees, AND SINGING....and then she'd swerve suddenly back onto the road!!! Good memories that still make me laugh....I sure miss her.
First house for newly married great grandparents in Wichita, Kansas 1941 Hello, The great grandparents’ first house as newlyweds was this single story house in Witchita, Kansas during 1941. Old, not very big, not very expensive, but a great first home for newlyweds to start out for the long road ahead with many more houses and moves until 2006. Jnaki But, during 1943-45, they moved back to OKC to be near the rest of the family.
Lawton, Oklahoma: summer rental house 1930 Hello, Details are a little fuzzy as great grandpa is 98 and fading fast. But, this is a place they rented one summer in 1930. Great grandma is gone, so we did get some valuable information to keep from both of them back then. There is an old 4 door sedan in front. He had been all over the USA, but the home court was always Norman, Oklahoma (his mother lived there until she was 99) or OKC, the family home(s). Jnaki His mother used to work at the University in Norman and lived a couple of blocks away.
Hello, We just got back from a birthday party for Great Grandpa. He celebrated his 98th birthday, but is fading fast. Some memories stay and some don't. But when we showed the audience this photo of the vacation house in Lawton, Oklahoma, he perked up and said "Vacation every summer in Lawton." It is only 1.5 hours away by today's Google standard map, but back then an old 4 banger sedan would have taken much longer driving from OKC to Lawton. One highlight was the showing of a black Model A on the large screen. He perked up and said, "Roadster pickup owned by Uncle Charlie." So, some memories from a long time ago stay and some do not. Jnaki There was one car that popped up in another time (1952 section) and it looked like a lowered 52 Chevy 2 door with small hubcaps in the house they owned in Pacoima, CA. Everyone liked the image, but Great Grandpa could not remember ever owning that car, although it was in his driveway next to his wife's 49 Buick convertible... FROM "AS THEY WERE" THREAD: Hello, Not a massive internet search for photos, but just simple photograph of our mom in 1952. She was driving in her 49 Buick convertible in front of a post war 50's house in Pacoima, CA. It was usually hot weather there. The Buick was a long, roomy car that had tons of room for all of the kids.
1938-40 Norman, Oklahoma Hello, This old house was in Norman, Oklahoma. During 1938-40, Great grandma lived here and went to the University of Oklahoma. Her dad taught classes there for awhile. That professor was a real character. We met him in 1968 and he was a classic old guy. He was very friendly, smart and strange all in one. He and his wife were the oldest people attending our wedding, but they were very lively. Jnaki Great, grandma lived here until she got married in 1941.
Family photos that tell a story? 51 years ago this coming July, my wife Linda and I just before we eloped, with our 425hp '65 big block 'vette. We have had a hot rod of some sort now all that time and a lot of good fun. Second pic is our present ride, with the old paint, not the repaint shown in the avatar. Probably be our last hot rod, wife has health issues and I am her caregiver now but what a grand journey it has been!
My Dad, summer he graduated. Split pipes and affectionately called "Yogi" for a little sticker on the rear. This is the car I came home from the hospital in.
A University of Oklahoma Homecoming event for our Great Grandmother (wife's mom) back in the 1939-40. Hello, Great Grandma was the absolute best person I have met in a long time. She was very kind, gentle, small stature, but was a fun kind of person. We hit it off right away in 1966. Maybe it was the size difference, she was about 5'2 and I was 6'+ ? She probably liked that I filled up that small kitchen in their 50's house while munching down some snacks. During the 1967 senior year for me in college, we were both in the same Physical Geography class at Long Beach State College! I needed one last Geography class for credit and she was finishing up her Bachelor’s Degree that she had put off since 1941. That was a fun class, but I was impressed with the gumption to go back to school to finish what she started 26 years ago. She needed another year to get her degree and had a full load of classes that semester. We actually studied together and both got an “A” in the class. I was always a nut for all things Geography and Weather, so this class was a perfect one to end my 4 years. As a matter of fact, my last semester was the most fun, as the classes I took were those elective "filler" classes. These were the ones where you had fun, learned things and you were not under pressure to boost that overall GPA. Art Metal, Advanced Photography, Physical Geography, and a fun, competitive Basketball Class. What a way to go out… Jnaki Within 1.5 years, Great Grandma finished her last class and got her college degree with honors. Yea for her !!! Just in time to be a proud Mom at an important wedding in 1968. We did not know about the homecoming event until many years later, while going through some very old family photograph albums. She has been gone now for about 11 years, but will always stay in our minds. What a great lady. She has always liked driving convertibles. 49 Buick Convertible in 1951 Pacoima, CA. Maybe it was the experiences when her family had those open roadsters back in the 30's. But she even was able to handle an 80's foreign car, 5 speed, black convertible with those "great" (at the time) gold color BBS rims. Yes, we helped her pick out those flashy rims to go with her all-black, 5 speed, convertible. (It was the sign of the times, in the 80's)
1947 Hello, Back in 1947-48 my main form of transportation was this classic, vintage, pump mobile, tricycle with a very early version of “Moon” discs. That is what I called it 16 years later, when I saw this photo. Little did I know that in today’s world, this tricycyle was one of the first pull/push trikes to use this propulsion method. I remember that this trike did not pedal and steer like a normal trike with the pedals in front. I would pump all around the post war aircraft worker's, housing trailer, parking lots since I did not have to go to school for a few more years. This shot was taken in front of my dad’s 41 Buick Coupe at the aircraft workers housing trailers (where we lived) in Long Beach, CA. The aircraft workers had moved away and this was the only low cost housing provided by the government. It was located at the corner of PCH and San Francisco Ave, near the LB Freeway. The giant Goodwill Store and warehouse sits there today. (A little LB history) Jnaki By the way, these trailers were about the size of the one at the LAB (antimall, Costa Mesa) selling those old LP records. , but not quite as nice…It was very basic, flip down kitchen table served as the bed for the two brothers, etc. Jnaki Ahh, carefree days with little to do but explore... my first moving vehicle.
1957 Hello, In 1953, we bought our house on the Westside of Long Beach, 1.5 miles away from Lions Dragstrip. (Note 51 Olds in the garage.) It was two blocks to our neighborhood elementary school. The post war built house was a two bedroom one bath interior with a small living room and dining room separated to the kitchen by an interesting sliding door. I am not sure how my mom worked in that narrow kitchen, but the meals were pretty outstanding. There was a door that led out to the concrete pad in front of the garage. The house was very small, but at the time until we were teenagers, we were also small kids. In 1956, my parents realized that our family of 4 was outgrowing the u-shaped house. So, they had a den/patio put in to expand the living area. Primarily it was for two desks for the two boys now in need of a place to study, relax, and play. Not that it was soundproof or anything, but with the two old, french doors closed, it was pretty quiet. Now, we were able to walk from our small bedroom, through the den, directly to the kitchen (most important). We were also able to go outside directly through two giant sliding glass doors that led to the new patio and the backyard. The backyard had a long grassy area that led to a rear building beyond the garage called the Rumpus Room. Yes, it is a funny name, but back in those days that is what it was called. I found mention of it in a February 1944 Popular Mechanics or Mechanics Magazine recently. Feb 1944 This place had a door and lots of windows all around. It was the place for all BD parties and later on, friends hang out parties. But, in 1960, my brother and I converted it into a second garage with a huge opening door for better access. Our 40 Willys could roll into the opening and with the door open, give plenty of shaded area for reconstruction. Later, we could actually drive in our backyard from the concrete driveway. With a few slow turns, make it back to the pad in front of the new opening garage door for work or tuning. Jnaki It was our hot rod central. Home to Precision Racing Engines hot rod shop. It also stored my dad’s massive fresh and salt water fishing stuff, including an old green Evinrude motor on a rolling stand. After the Willys incident at Lions, it turned into the surfboard repair shop, and desert/motocross motorcycle build shop in the next few years. After all of this rehabilitation activity, this Rumpus Room became a storage garage with little to no time spent inside. The main reason was that huge plywood door we built could not be lifted by my small stature, mom.
Here's a family photo of significance from last Monday. The youngest grandson, Wyatt, has his license now. So with minimum instruction he soloed in the '40 on Monday in preparation for the August Cars and Coffee. Made his "Pop" proud!
1946 Winter, Hennessey, Oklahoma Hello, For all of us So Cal locals, yes, it does snow in Oklahoma. Great, Great Grandma out in front of her old house in Hennessey, Oklahoma during a 1946 winter. There were only about 1200-1300 people in this little town just northwest of OKC back in the 40’s. But, it was close to the relatives living in OKC. Jnaki It lies on the historic Chisolm Trail, the “…old Chisolm cattle trail” we used to hear on those Tex Ritter cowboy songs. It was one of the main cattle trails from the ranches of Texas to the Kansas City rail yards. The trail is today's U.S. Route 81.
1961 one last drag race at Lions Dragstrip in the 58 Impala... Hello, I was researching for some information on factory stock car drag racing and I found this photo taken in 1961 off of the web. It just happens to show the staging area of Lions when the gates were opened for the racers. Two cars usually race, but sometimes there were 4 cars across to speed up the time trials prior to the eliminations. Much to my amazement, there sits a black 58 Chevy Impala waiting in the staging area for the start line. It was my last drag race at Lions that day. We were in the A/Stock class and knew it was going to be a tough day against those powerful 60 Chevys with their 350 hp motors in the same class. But, who is sitting on the far left? A new 1961 409 powered Impala. That did not worry me as I knew it was going to be a hard race day. I just wanted to see if I could beat my brother’s best time of 14.78 et and his top speed of 97.50 mph in the quarter mile. I had changed the plugs, adjusted the motor to make it run well all morning, but something was making it hard to start. When the cars were waiting for some dragstrip clean up, we were all told to shut down our motors. But, I was inside the car, windows rolled up, motor sounding really nice…and some guy walks up to say shut down the motors. I told him if I did, I could not restart it to get to the start line. He said that was my choice and within several minutes, we all moved forward in the lines. People were looking at me like I was crazy, with the only car idling in the staging lanes. I had to clean out the motor with several high rpm revs and went to the start line very nervous as it was the last race. The revs were up, brake pedal pushed, and when the light came on to go, I floored it. The Bruce Slicks grabbed, the Posi Traction kept both wheels powered, the auto trans (actually a C&O hydro) was manually shifted, and I jumped out in front of another car…no not the 409… and went through the manual auto shifting to win the race. A previous race with silver rims. I was so happy, but, I noticed the other car cut behind me after the race to get off of the course and the return road. I kept slowly applying the brakes and noticed that the Willow Street crossing seemed to be creeping up fast. Now, I forcefully pushed down on the brake pedal in a semi panic mode. The end was coming up too fast…I got caught dreaming of the last race… skidded to a halt just before the sand and put my head back in place… Jnaki On the way back down the return road, other people were giving me a weird look as it was the car that almost skidded into the sand berm. When I got my timing slip, it read: 14.68 sec e.t. and 98.20 mph. Hot damn !!! I beat my brother’s record for the quickest time and top speed in one last run. That was it for the Impala at the drags. No way to compete with those new 409s, so it was goodbye… mission accomplished. Yea! Now those photos and memories reside in the family photo album.
I just want to say 'I love this thread'. And Thank you to all the contributors who shared all the wonderful pictures. its so cool to see every ones heritage. I'll be honest ,these pics got me teary eyed thinking about my family & thinking about all the contributors loved ones. These pictures are very special. I also love how the cars & family's are entwined. I'm posting pics of my Grandpa Loper & his Model A(probably around 1932), My Dad & his Ganster outfit with his Pedal car(1940-41), And Me working on my pedal car ( 1971-2) , copying what I saw my Dad doing in the garage.
{ FELIX 40} now you getting me teary eyed too. Those are some great old photos. We just celebrated my dads 86 birthday this week. So many great memories. And your right, this is one of the best threads. Here are couple of my old pedal car. Also my wife and I. And of my dad, with his old Knuckle head. And of our Mom with our 57 Chevrolet. Thanks for all the great stories, and photos everyone. Ron...
My Dad and his 36 leaving Fort Lewis after being discharged form the Army I believe in 1946. Heading home for first time in about 4 years.
The Jalopy Journal
