Long string of company cars remembered

It's time to bring the "car series" to a finish. It's been a lot of fun remembering all of the cars over the years.

Next was a 1962 Chevy Corvair and a 1964 Corvair and a 1966 Chevy.

Over a period of years, the Western Insurance Company provided Bob with company cars.

It started with a 1969 Plymouth Fury, followed by a 1970 Chevy Impala, a 1972 Chevy Malibu, a 1974 Ford Gran Torino and a 1976 Buick Skylark (I really liked that car).

I forgot to mention that in 1970 we bought a brand new 1970 Chevy half-ton pickup truck at a cost of $3,600. It was green and white and a real beauty.

Back to the company cars, we had another Buick Skylark in 1978. Then we went to a 1980 Dodge Omni, a 1982 Ford Escort, 1984 Ford Escort wagon and a 1985 Ford Escort wagon.

Around 1978 or 1979 Bob bought an old Chevy clunker half-ton pickup truck from a friend to use around the farm. This is the vehicle that Rob used to learn to drive. Bob traveled out on the road most of the week, so poor Rob was left with me to teach him how to drive. (It's a wonder he ever learned how to drive, with me teaching him.)

Rob would take it out in the field behind us and practice starting, stopping, backing up and all that good stuff. Then we would go on the back road from us, and then he really had to watch is p's and q's.

I will never forget one day when he was practicing and came to the corner, he turned the corner too sharp and almost went into the ditch. I thought for sure we were "goners," and that we would probably land on our noggins in the ditch. Still, to this day, I never go by that corner that I don't think of Rob turning that corner. Now he is such a good driver that he really puts me to shame.

I also remember a classmate in Fort Scott, Jerry Rose, who had an old Model T Ford, which had to be cranked to start. At the most, it probably didn't go over 35-40 miles an hour.

Later he had some Model A Fords. One, in particular, was a souped-up six-cylinder car. That baby could fairly fly down the road.

Back then you didn't have seat belts or laws saying how many people could ride in a car. Sometimes they were packed in there three deep and practically hanging out the windows. You just haven't lived 'til you have ridden in a Model A Ford.

And that, folks, is the end of the "car series."