I thought that y'all might get a kick out seeing a few photos of the next generation of car guys. My 6 year old grandson has zero interest in dogs, cats, horses and very little interest in any of the ball games. But, if it has wheels and an engine, he's interested - especially trains and Hot Rods. From the time Nathan was almost a year old my son-in-law (JMON77, here on the HAMB) and I have taken him to car shows, cruise-in, and swap meets). This was Nathan's first trip to a multi-day event. We weren't certain how he'd do at a multi-day all-day-long event. He loved it, to say the least. We left the hotel by 6 am, each morning and were in the swapmeet area by 7am. When we walked up to the first vendor's table (who happened to have a bunch of Lionel trains for sale), Nathan exclaimed "We've hit the Jackpot, boys!" A few minutes later, we found and purchased a radiator shell for his 1918 Dodge project. The look on his face was worth the purchase price of the shell. About mid-day, he grew a little tired and took a nap in the wagon, but after an hour or so he was out of the wagon and ready to go again. When we told him that we were going home on Friday night, rather than staying for 3rd day, he was not happy. He wanted to go back again on Saturday. He says that he can't wait to go back to Hershey again next year. One of the older guys in our group (60 years old) complained about his knees & feet hurting from walking. Nathan responded by whispering to his father that Dan (the complaining 60 year old) either didn't like to shop or just needed a "time out"! A few days ago, he asked me "when are we going to start working on my rusty car, Grandad?". Yeah, it looks like we have another one to add to our group. Here's a few photos for you to enjoy.
Glad he had a good time! My Grandson made it to Hershey for the first time too, but at 6 months I don't think he'll have a memory of it. Stop by C4J 41-42 next year and say hello. Bob
I was also 6 years old when my Dad took me to my first Hershey. We went for the next ten years straight and then on and off for the next few years. Good times that I'll never forget. I'm sure that Nathan and yourself will always cherish that trip. Good stuff!
Would love to take my grandson to that show.He 24 now and getting married in june so i guess I waited too long to go !!!!! LOL
starting the next generation off the right way !!! time to get him his own car to work on follow my sig
Thats a great story, start em young. I just got a new Grandson yesterday so he may have to wait a bit before he goes to Hershey.
Can you see Nathan behind the wheel 10 years from now. His school budies ask "how old is that ? " he says " just over a hundred years "
Hi 4ever18.Great thread.I`m sure that the both of you will long remember that outing.Looks like he had more fun than Granddad. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
congrats. Thats what it will take to keep our sport alive. I have a 2 year old grand-son that I'm chomping at the bit to start doing things with. My daughter use to come out in the garage with me so much I had to buy her a welding helmet.That was about age 6 or so and she would tag along to the good ole junk yards.She amazed people at a young age of her knowledge. She tells people now that the willys is on loan to me, its really hers. Thats ok its really Hadens..... Your going to have a lot of fun and memories...
Great story guys. Love those shots of him sanding on the frame and working under the car. And you can't beat those pics of him sitting in the tub with Grandpa.
Thank's, everyone. I'm glad to be able to share this story with you. Nathan has always been interested in anything mechanical. I don't pretend to know what he will be interested in, when he's older... But, in case he's still interested in old cars, he'll have a project (or 12) waiting on him. He'll also have photos of the beginning of the project. Here's a photo that we staged for him, a few years ago. The photo is of my son-in-law & Nathan with the Model A coupe (son-in-law's car) and both grandfathers and their cars. The '66 Fairlane GT has been owned by son-in-law's father since 1967 and I've owned the '69 Camaro since 1971 (since I was 18 years old, hence the 4EVER18 license plate, HAMBid, etc). Nathan will enherit all of these cars. I also still have my mother's '57 Chevy, which I drove in high school - Nathan will get that one, as well. I've also included a photo of Nathan & his father in their Model A. The two photos of Nathan driving a go kart, show something that I think we'll get a kick out of pointing out later - Notice that his right foot has the accelerator firmly planted and his left foot is no where near the brake!
The Jalopy Journal
