My very first car!! A 1929 Model A Ford. I learned to drive using my dad's car and my sister Barbra's boyfriend was my teacher. He was a good one also, very patient and easy to understand. I was driving in no time at all. I also learned quickly how to change tires and how to crank my car. That's right, back then you had to crank some cars and when you got them started, you ran fast for the spark on the steering wheel and pulled it down just right so you would keep the car running. You did not have to crank it all the time, just when you could not turn the engine over with the key. This car had a turtle back, which was different from a rumble seat in that it opened like the trunk of a car today. I had a big stick that when positioned correctly, it would hold the turtle back up. I remember when I used to go to the U.S.O dances (Those were dances for the service men, and young ladies attended to dance with them.) We were, however, never allowed to leave until all the service men had left in the buses that brought them. After that we could go and get into our cars and leave. Many a time I went to my car and found two service men in front and two or three squeezed into the trunk of the little Ford waiting and preferring for me to drive them back to their base on the old Wikiup Ranch. I never quite figured it out why that was more fun, but I did it anyhow and was only to happy to do it. None of them were boyfriends, just good old boys looking for a diversion. The rumble seat in a car was a lot of fun to ride in. A lot like a convertible today, but not as sophisticated. You had to climb up on the car, step down onto the seat, then slide yourself down until you were sitting and your feet went underneath. My little Model A , myself and a couple of girlfriends, cut Junior college one day to take a ride over to the coast. I almost missed the turn off where we wanted to go. We were cutting up and laughing when I suddenly realized I almost missed the turn, yelled "woops! gave the wheel a quick turn and almost flipped us over. The little car went up on two wheels, lingered a bit, but decided to spare us and settled back down on all four. We were not so different in that way than kids today, but believe me, I NEVER DID THAT AGAIN! We were scared. O.K. Yes, my girlfriends still rode with me after that, but we did not take any more adventures.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Cranking Can Make You Cranky!
My very first car!! A 1929 Model A Ford. I learned to drive using my dad's car and my sister Barbra's boyfriend was my teacher. He was a good one also, very patient and easy to understand. I was driving in no time at all. I also learned quickly how to change tires and how to crank my car. That's right, back then you had to crank some cars and when you got them started, you ran fast for the spark on the steering wheel and pulled it down just right so you would keep the car running. You did not have to crank it all the time, just when you could not turn the engine over with the key. This car had a turtle back, which was different from a rumble seat in that it opened like the trunk of a car today. I had a big stick that when positioned correctly, it would hold the turtle back up. I remember when I used to go to the U.S.O dances (Those were dances for the service men, and young ladies attended to dance with them.) We were, however, never allowed to leave until all the service men had left in the buses that brought them. After that we could go and get into our cars and leave. Many a time I went to my car and found two service men in front and two or three squeezed into the trunk of the little Ford waiting and preferring for me to drive them back to their base on the old Wikiup Ranch. I never quite figured it out why that was more fun, but I did it anyhow and was only to happy to do it. None of them were boyfriends, just good old boys looking for a diversion. The rumble seat in a car was a lot of fun to ride in. A lot like a convertible today, but not as sophisticated. You had to climb up on the car, step down onto the seat, then slide yourself down until you were sitting and your feet went underneath. My little Model A , myself and a couple of girlfriends, cut Junior college one day to take a ride over to the coast. I almost missed the turn off where we wanted to go. We were cutting up and laughing when I suddenly realized I almost missed the turn, yelled "woops! gave the wheel a quick turn and almost flipped us over. The little car went up on two wheels, lingered a bit, but decided to spare us and settled back down on all four. We were not so different in that way than kids today, but believe me, I NEVER DID THAT AGAIN! We were scared. O.K. Yes, my girlfriends still rode with me after that, but we did not take any more adventures.
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