A while back,
Daniel Strohl over at
Hemming's blog sent out a request for old car photos with people in them.
The bus dropped him an email and Daniel did an
entire post about the "Lee Clan" and our obsession with funky old cars and trucks. Not to shabby for this olelongrooffan, the bus, thehorsefarmer and thejeepjunkie. We were pretty stoked and I still am. H*ll, even my buddy The KenMan commented on it!!
Well ever since then as this olelongrooffan has, not by choice, way to much time on my hands, I thought I would do a post with as many old cars and Lee relatives in them that I have access to.
Those of you Counting Along With This olelongrooffan might remember having seen some of them in previous posts but, what the h*ll, enjoy them again.
And, yeah that's right Counters, another rambling all over the place post for this olelongrooffan.
Grab a fresh cocktail and I hope you enjoy the read.
I am confident the Carcaine habit this olelongrooffan and the Bus and the rest of us have was inherited from my dad, T
heGentlemanFarmer. Back in the
Fabulous Fifties, TheGentlemanFarmer, in addition to starting what would eventually be a ten children, and of course Roman Catholic, family, he was into eccentric automobiles.
One I have heard about but never seen was a
Hillman Minx. My understanding is that he also owned a
MGA for a time, before he bought, what is proported to be, the first
Volkswagen MicroBus
sold in St. Louis, Missouri to haul his burgeoning family to Sunday Mass.
In the above photo is that MicroBus and my older brothers, youngest to oldest, from left to right, Tom aka
thehorsefarmer, Jim aka
the Bus, and Bob aka
BBB. circa 1963.
One of my first memories was crawling through the rear seat removed
'58 Chevy something to the trunk to get the only set of keys erroneously left in the trunk prior to the trunk lid being closed. Why you Counters ask? I was the smallest Lee at the time to be able to follow directions from my elders through the deck lid of that old Chevy product!
Heck, my dad was so off the wall, he even
took my older brothers to "NASCAR" races in urban St. Louis back in the day!!
Man, I hope there are photos around of those, and probably other, unique automobiles my dad, TheGentleman Farmer, owned.
Well, in the meantime, after the family moved to Springfield, Missouri, in a '65 Ford Country Squire pictured later, Dad picked up this '63 Corvair. Pictured in the following are my Mom, seated, and her Dad, my Grandfather, Alphonse Bansbach. That hat he is wearing is referenced
here and
here. circa late 60's. This oleragtop met its demise when #1 sister was driving down Campbell Street through the Sunshine intersection when someone ran the red light and this sweet Corvair T-boned it. Robin Honest, a big, burly red head, well, as a passenger, his knees crunched that dashboard.
The following image I got from the Bus awhile back. It is my Mom, Mary Lou Lee, sitting on the fender of an early 40's woody. As the Bus says, often, "Why did we ever sell that car?" circa early 40's.
Now the following two images don't really fit into the old car photos with people in them but I find them Cool.
My Dad was the founding Editor of The Mirror, the Catholic weekly newspaper for the diocese spanning the lower third of the State of Missouri. He was also the photographer for it, as well, and got free film out of the deal.
This above is the back of the following picture which I still have to this day.
As I mentioned, I think it is pretty dang cool. That old Ford truck and an even older Ford advertisement on the side of that building. circa mid to late 1960's
The following photo is of Marissa Raby, my Dad's secretary for a while. She drove this old 60's era bug convertible and they had covered it entirely in
Celebrate Life stickers.
This was taken in the driveway of the three story brick home we lived in. In the background are my sisters, #9 and #10, along with thejeepjunkie and this olelongrooffan. The vehicles shown are the XKE belonging to a buddy of BBB, the powder blue 1967 Ford Country Squire Dad got after his 65 and a couple of other unidentified vehicles. circa late 1960's.
The following photo is shot in the backyard of the last home of my parents in which I lived. On the far left, Mom is looking on at one of her grandkids while my brothers and sisters do the same. My Dad is squating down behind the camera. That is thehorsefarmer's old Ford pickup in the background. circa late 1978ish.
This one is of my baby sister Joan, #10 and now in her mid 40's. She is riding atop Buckskin, one of the many horses of my childhood when we lived on Haven Lee Farm, Halltown edition. This picture is actually printed backwards and you can read the story about that discovery
here. circa mid 70's.
This is a shot of the Bus's backyard. To the right is his grandson,
Austin and a neighbor kid playing in the dirt the Bus had excavated for a concrete pad. In the background is the old
Cushman referred to
here, the Bus's cool S-10 and my nephew,
NotSoLilJim's
M880 Dodge Power Wagon. circa 2007.
Following is an image of the the Bus with his short bus. Not an old photo but a pretty funny one as the Bus is not prone to wear cowboy shirts. You can see more about the short bus
here. circa early 2000's.
Now this one...wait, I'll be right back....
There, sorry Counters but all this writing really
builds up my thirst!! But this olelongrooffan is okay now.
Where was I? Oh yeah.
After my Mom passed in 08, the Bus and thehorsefarmer went through her photos and gave each of their siblings the photos of themselves and their families. As this olelongrooffan is the only single sibling, I was blessed with a photo album that I had never seen before.
It was filled entirely with photos of landscapes. Not a picture of a human in the entire album. As a matter of fact the only non-natural thing in it was this International semi and that is what gets it included here!
No one, to this day, knows who took the photos, when, why or where. circa mid 70's?
The following photo is of my Mother's ancestors. I guess, technically, they are mine also. I don't know who they are, where they are nor what the car is in the background. circa ?
And this old photo was forwarded to this olelongrooffan by the Bus challenging me to identify the couple in it. I came up with the great story line about it was Mom and Dad and my Mom's mom,
Granny, was along as a chaperone and took this image. I mean I had it figured out in detail.
Then the Bus informs me he shamelessly stole it from Google Life just to bust my chops!!
The following shot is of Mom's sister, Aunt Evie, driving her, now orphaned, Oldsmobile Calais across some bridge out Californey way. TheGentleman Farmer shot this when he visited out there in the mid 80's.
When my 17 year old nephew, the Kid, saw it he thought it was a SAAB.
This is an photo of my older brothers on Easter Sunday, 1955. It was taken on Nottingham in Shrewsbury, Missouri. I think that is an early 50's Mercury across the street.
This is a shot of my Dad, TheGentlemanFarmer sitting in a MG Midget with Fr. Fly, who was the owner and also a Catholic priest. circa early 70's.
This one is of my Dad during a trip he and Mom took to Texas to visit some friends of theirs in the mid 80's. Yeah, TheGentlemanFarmer was some BadAss. Note the Buick and Oldsmobile in the background.
I included this picture of BBB wedding day ride in '71 or so only
because all of that shaving cream had melted in this photo of the owner of that XKE, BBB's ride and a two door Thunderbird in the background.
This is a shot of the 65 Country Squire parked in the driveway of the big red brick house that used to house the "Lee Clan". circa 66-67.
Even at the ripe old age of "Great for Eight" this olelongrooffan had a fixation with Automobiles. circa late 60's.
This photo is of me and a buddy washing that XKE in the front yard of the big house with that oleragtop Bug in the background.
This shot is of this olelongrooffan in front of the smashed in front end of that '65 Country Squire. There is some nefarious story circulating about how this olelongroof "popped" out of gear while in the possession of BBB on a date and rolled down a hill and hit some inanimate object. I have to tell you Counters that, as now a parent and Uncle, this sounds "a bit weak". But hey, if TheGentlemanFarmer believed it, so do I. circa 1966.
This is a photo of #1 sister fast asleep in the bed of thehorsefarmer's 1965 Ford F150. Kelly green with a three on the tree. Taken while camping at Table Rock Lake during the summer of 1970.
And this one of my younger brother Ed aka
thejeepjunkie leaning up against BBB's M-38 on National Avenue in the early 70's. Yeah, stroll through his blog and you will see, he is definitely
thejeepjunkie.
This photo, with thehorsefarmer's green 65 150 in the background, was taken down at Coomb's Ferry Corps of Engineer's campground on Table Rock Lake. That tent trailer was our primary sleeping facility during those weekend campouts. This photo was taken while the photographer, Ed Dahlheimer, was aboard my Dad's Party Barge pontoon boat. On that Honda CT70 mini bike is thehorsefarmer as pilot and Fr. Elmer Stolle, then in his 60's as the passenger. circa 1970.
Yes, alcohol was involved!
The below photo is of BBB leaning up against that cool 1968
Series 300 Chevelle during his US Army days. I remember
one time, while BBB was deployed saving our country in Southeast Asia, #1 sister was dating someone of whom my Mom and Dad did not approve. One weekend while Mom and Dad were out of town, Woody, who owned a second generation
Falcon Futura, was over at the big house when Mom and Dad got home earlier than expected. My Dad rammed the rear end of that Futura, with BBB's Chevelle, as Woody was scrambling to get into his Futura to get away. It scooted about twenty feet down that driveway and refused to start. TheGentlemanFarmer was so PO'ed, he jumped out of that Chevelle and he and Woody commenced to fist to cuffs. Yeah, Dad beat that kid up but then helped him jump his ole Futura to get it started and, finally, away from my oldest sister for good, I think.
Ah the memories we retain from our youth.
The following photo is of thejeepjunkie aside my Dad's highly desirable, at least to this olelongrooffan, 1967 Ford Country Squire, probably Arcadian Blue. circa 1968-70.
Also note the trim miss fit at the lower end of that vinyl siding, as well as the dent just below the front door of this beauty!! And Panel Gap? What Panel Gap?
And this wonderful photo of my Baby Sister Joan learning to drive a clutch equipped ride, topless, in BBB's M-38 in the late 60's. Note the aftermarket turn signal apparatus in that ole military MB. circa late 60's.
This is TheGentlemanFarmer with his Mid 50's Ford 8N. No cracked block in this one!
And justifyablity proud of it he is!! circa early 1980's.
And, of course, BBB, thejeepjunkie and this olelongrooffan traversing some creek in Southwest Missouri in the mid 70's in one of the many CJ's BBB had back in the day. And, of course, it is much more adventurous if the windscreen is down and the kids are standing up holding onto the roll bar for Dear Life. circa mid 1970's
Now, this one, at least to me, is iconic. I mean this could have been a VeeDub print ad back in the day. That is a youthful BBB washing that old Bug down at the sunken bridge at Lindenlure in the late 60's. I do not know his girlfriends name but I know she was beautiful. All my brothers always dated pretty girls and married even prettier ones.
Interesting side note on the demise of this Bug. BBB was traveling one evening out to see Brenda Talty, another cutie, and as he crested a hill on a narrow blacktop road near her house, an oncoming car was in the center of the road and BBB veered off into a field and rolled that Bug several times, totalling it. Well, according to the story BBB tells, that old Bug landed upright and still running. BBB put it into gear and drove off down to the Talty's home. I so wanted to make it into a dune buggy but the insurance settlement prevailed! circa late 1960's
Super Cool picture though. Wonder who took it?
Here's one of a 66 Bug and thejeepjunkie. This olelongrooffan bought that Bug while living in Florida in the early 80's. It had had an engine fire previous to my ownership and, while repaired mechanically, the rear deck lid still had burn marks on it.
When I had it in Florida, I was in the woods hooning down a trail they used to harvest pine trees and slammed into a washout across the trail and smashed in the front end and lost the bumper. In the above image, you can see the beige body part just below the hood. That is the replacement for the damaged body part thejeepjunkie inherited. I don't know if it ever got another bumper. circa early 80's
This is a shot of the Bus while stationed in Germany during the early 70's. He found a 2CV with Jimmi written on the back of it. Pretty cool find if you ask me.
Also while there, he spotted a Lotus Europa race car. Had to post this one just because of his shorts. circa early 1970's.
Here is an image from the 80's with the Bus and his VW Thing. I am confident this is another "Why did I sell that?" kind of vehicles.
Now the story behind the following photo of thejeepjunkie and this olelongrooffan is a whole
blog or two in and of itself.
This is TheGentlemanFarmer standing outside the shiny new Dodge D200 Sweptline that TheGentlemanFarmer traded that desirable 67 Longroof for. thehorsefarmer is the pilot of this slant 6, 4 speed equipped Beast. A/C and radio delete.
Note the big wheel partially seen in the background. It belongs to an old hay rake that seems to have mysteriously disappeared after TheGentlemanFarmer passed along. Also seen in this shot is one of our many horses standing in front of that big old oak barn. circa early 70's.
The image below is one of my favorites as those four boys had loaded all that hay onto that old Dodge farm truck. Yepe...honest to God truth. Charlie Bingle, thejeepjunkie, Paul Bingle and this olelongrooffan. I still, nearly 40 years later remember the smell of freshly baled hay and how to stack those bales in the bed of that oletruck. And we had to toss those bales of hay through that opening on the second floor of that barn into the hayloft. circa early 70's.
This is the same Haven Lee Farm, Halltown Edition, farm truck that I so carelessly smashed into the bridge over Turnback Creek. circa mid 70's.
The following image skirts the theme of this post but I had to include it. After all, even though it is just under a year old, and if you were born yesterday, it is an old photo with old cars and this olelongrooffan.
Yeah, rationalizations are better than sex. Ever gone a day without a rationalization?
Anyway, this is a shot of me sitting on the front bumper of the Kid's CJ5 looking at thejeepjunkie's nearly drowned CJ2A the day we
Stuck One, Broke The Other. circa late 00's.
In addition to the photo of Mom's ancestors, this one of the oldest photos on this post. It is a shot of my Dad and either Uncle Bill or Uncle Frank standing beside a street in what I am sure is South St. Louis, Missouri. As TheGentlemanFarmer was born in 1924, I would put this photo at the early 1930's.
This photo came to me via thehorsefarmer trying to identify the car in the background. As I am not a photoshop hoon, a crop and enlarge is the best this olelongrooffan can do. Any thoughts?
The next series of photos are of a Model "A" my Dad bought in the 1960's while we still lived in Shrewsbury. See I told you he liked eccentric cars. That is Mark Ryan, my best friend, at the time who lived across St. Charles Place from us, this olelongrooffan is second from the left, I think the third one is one of the Gator boys who lived next door and, farthest to the right, is thejeepjunkie. circa early 1960's.
Here is that same
Model "A" parked in the garage of that big red brick house. circa late 1960's
And yet another shot of that
red car without fenders. circa late 1960's.
TheGentlemanFarmer ended up trading that Model "A" for a Big Ass Black Angus bull that was, tragically, struck by lightning and killed the third year we had him. I remember going out to "check on the cows" on horseback and this bull, who normally would never let you get within 30 feet of him, was staggering around like he was drunk and we were able to ride right up to him. I noticed his hoofs (hooves?) looked like they were charred. A visit from the vet confirmed that lightning strike and that Big Ass bull was put down.
Again, the memories of childhood. Not all are tragic though!!! Just memorable, they are memories after all!!
Along with that 67 Country Squire, this is the coolest car this olelongrooffan remembers TheGentlemanFarmer owning. A 1972 Citroen DS21 Palas. Hydraulic suspension, cushy leather interior, clutchless semi automatic transmission and a look possessed by no other automobile. My #9 sibling and circa mid 70's. And I love that old school clothes line in the background.
This is the last photo of this olelongrooffan and TheGentlemanFarmer taken. It is with his treasured Fiat 124. circa early 00's.
And my Mom with the same roadster around the same time.
And just so thehorsefarmer does't feel totally left out in the examination of my photo library, I had to include this photo of his '55 Chrysler in the snowy driveway of that big red brick house during the late 60's. My favorite longroof, my Dad's 1967 Ford Country Squire, rests peacefully underneath that basketball hoop to the left, while Dad's '66 Buick Electra Deuce and A Quarter is off to the right.
Yeah, ten kids and a Buick Electra off a Catholic journalist's income. Dad could alway swing a deal, whether good or bad, much like thejeepjunkie.
And finally, this one. That is this olelongrooffan on a trip across the diocese with Dad in Granny's 62 Belair. TheGentlemanFarmer always believed in the adage, "Never let your schoolwork get in the way of your education" and I loved it.
Now the Nova on a hook in the background is the entire reason we stopped on that trip that day. Yeah, TheGentlemanFarmer and this olelongrooffan share an interest in all things automotive. And that old Pontiac product seen behind that wrecked Nova, TheGentlemanFarmer would own, not one but, two just like it some twenty years later!
And I guess this olelongrooffan should not have made that comment about the Bus's shorts in that Lotus photo!!
Well, Counters, that's it for now. Thanks for sticking around.
I have enjoyed reminiscing about these old car photos, in addition to growing a long, white beard, putting this post together and know this olelongrooffan can still
Celebrate Life.
