Cruisin’ Down Memory Lane
Looking back on good times—and an impressive collection of classic cars.
My love for old cars started way back in 1961 with a 1951 Plymouth Coupe. Now in my 70s, I’m still in love with antique cars and I often go to car shows or out for relaxing drives.
One of my favourite cars that I’ve owned is a 1955 Cadillac, which was used in two separate weddings—one was my daughter Michelle’s, while the other was for an RCMP buddy of mine, with whom I worked in Ponoka, Alberta. A couple of my other favourites are a 1955 Bel Air two-door hardtop and our newest acquisition, a 1963 Pontiac Parisienne convertible that my son-in-law and I purchased together.
Some of the other cars I used to own include a 1955 Ford four-door, a 1958 two-door Chevrolet 210 and a 1959 Pontiac four-door hardtop. I once tried my hand at owning a newer sports truck, a 2006 Chevy SSR, but I always seem to come back to antique cars.
I love old cars because you can drive a brand new Cadillac and people just think you have a lot of money and snub you, but pull up in a 1955 Cadillac and everybody wants to look it over and ask you questions.
One of my favourite things to do is to head down to our local A&W on cruise nights, park my car and answer questions from the people around about what year my car is or what size the engine is or just simply listen to them tell me about how their grandfather used to have a car just like mine. It’s been that way with all the old cars I’ve ever owned and I love to answer their questions.
Another thing I liked to do is to give my cars nicknames. The Caddy was called “Booger” because it was painted dark lime green; a friend of mine came up with the name and it stuck. The Bel-Air shared the same nickname as my wife, “Snook,” and the Pontiac we just got is “Black Jack,” since it’s the colour black and I enjoy playing poker.
During the summer, there is nothing better than putting the top down on the Pontiac and taking the grandkids for a cruise with a stop for ice cream.
Next, read the incredible story of how one man missed out on his dream car as a teenager, then found it parked in his driveway 25 years later!
