(Harvey Nowland, writer and longtime family friend, is no stranger to the Norm's Ramblins Page. His contributions, reflecting his broad talents, have ranged from Poetry to Reminiscences -and even spoofed complaint-letters to the editor. We know you'll enjoy this memory vignette.
Fords "ran" in our family, so to speak. Dad even owned two Ford Mustangs after he retired. My father always drove Fords, that is, until they moved from Rhinellander in northern Wisconsin to Florida. Then he bought a dinky little Opel, his last car.
My first two cars were a 1935 Ford convertible coupe, and a 1940 Ford two door sedan. As I said, Fords ran in our family; that is, until I went into the Army. While in Germany I was temporarily converted to a different stable and breed.
The first Ford I remember was the one my Dad bought the year I was born, a 1932 Ford coupe, with rumble seat. It was in the Ford owner's favorite color at that time, black; and it had wire-spoke wheels that were painted red. Whether the wheels were painted by Ford or by Dad I cannot say.
As I think about it, could it be possible that my father's 1932 Ford coupe was the "Little Deuce Coupe" that the Beach Boys made famous with their California singing during the Sixties?
I have two distinct memories of that car. The first is rather pleasant, and is a memory of sitting on the dirt floor of our garage washing those beautiful red wheels.
I was about four or five at the time. The wheels were probably cleaner before I started, but I thought it was great that Dad would let me help him clean the car. My wife now wishes that same desire for car cleanliness would strike me, at least occasionally.
The other distinct memory of the 1932 Ford has to do with that wonderful invention, the rumble seat. Old car buffs that have restored models such as that 1932 Ford must take great pride in their vehicles as they drive the local homecoming queen down the main street. Seated on the upper edge of the back of the rumble seat, they wave their smiling way down the parade route.
However, not since my childhood, have I seen the rumble seat used as my father said it was intended; he claimed the rumble seat was for transporting children”specifically my older sister -- no matter what the weather. If you have ever lived in Wisconsin, you know the only two seasons officially observed there are winter, and the Fourth of July.
Weekly we traveled from the north side of Milwaukee to Bay View on the south side. The reason? My uncle, aunt, and cousins lived there and we made the trek for our weekly reunion. I have fond memories of those visits, especially the part where we were inside a warm house, eating and playing together. But, the trip to the warm house was a killer.
There was no such thing as too cold, as far as Dad was concerned. He was one of those hardy men who delivered milk every day of the year. After all, the cows had to be milked every day, and children needed to drink their milk every day.
He felt that his children were as capable of getting about in the bitter Wisconsin winter as he was. It never seemed to occur to him that his first work-related transportation, his horse drawn wagon, was covered. Later, his truck was covered too, and the truck even had a heater.
I never saw a rumble seat with a heater.
What my sister and I got was two woolen paper mill blankets. These blankets were very scratchy and provided adequate warmth when used indoors on a bed. Dad seemed to think there was not significant enough difference between rumble seats and beds to warrant argument over the warmth element.
Fortunately, for me, I had a kind sister, nine years older than me. She always made sure that I was bundled up with her in the rumble seat, with as much of us covered as was possible.
I suppose that Dad never drove over 25 miles per hour. However, when you consider what we know today about wind-chill factors, and take into account that Dad considered ten degrees below zero balmy weather in Wisconsin, you can guess that the ten mile trip from one end of Milwaukee to the other was no pleasure outing.
I have often wondered if the tendency for my ears, hands, feet and other body parts, to begin to feel first, very hot, and then completely numb after being in the relatively mild southeastern winters, has anything to do with those sub-zero trips through Milwaukee in the rumble seat of Dad's 1932 Ford.
I'm sure that Dad would certainly say, "NO!"
Rumble seats may bring memories of picnic outings with the warm summer breeze gently mussing one's hair to some; but those folks never lived in Wisconsin, and, they never knew my Dad.
But, hey, I'm not complaining. In fact, I sort of wish Dad's last car had not been that dinky Opel, but could have been like that 1932 black Ford coupe with the rumble seat and red spoke wheels. "Little Deuce Coupe," you know what I mean. -Harvey Nowland (Interested in Harvey's great newsletter? Send me a note using the Contact link and I see that Harvey contacts you.)
