Roger’s Remembrances

The earliest memory I have of our family car — I was probably 3 or 4 — was watching Dad replace the kerosene tail light with an electric tail light on “Lizzie” — the 1914 Model T Ford. He must have at the same time replaced the front carbide lamps with electric ones, but I have no recollection of watching him do the front end.

Lizzie was a fascinating vehicle —
:::She had to be hand cranked (Mom could do this too).
:::She had no door by the driver — the hand brake would have interfered with getting in and out.
:::She had a wire out the front of the radiator so that the choke could be pulled while cranking (I think Dad fixed the wire).
:::She had a brass radiator.
:::The throttle and spark levers were just under the steering wheel. You better be sure the spark lever was pushed clear up before cranking, or Lizzie might back fire and break your arm. This happened to many people, but not with Lizzie.
:::The side curtains were stored under the back seat cushion.
:::The gas tank was under the front seat, with a hinged lid for access.
:::The “spark coils” were mounted in a box on the fire wall just to the right of the foot pedals. They made a nice little rhythmic sound.
:::A switch on the coil box selected either “magneto” or “bat”. The battery was a “hot shot” used for easier starting in cold weather by providing a better spark.
:::The distributor was low down on the engine. It didn’t take much of a rain storm to drown out the engine. (Henry put the distributor up on top of the Model A engine — a BIG improvement).
:::The three foot pedals were Clutch, Reverse, and Brake. The clutch pedal full depressed was “low”, partly depressed was “neutral”, and not depressed was “high” gear. Pulling back on the hand brake lever would also put it in neutral and set the “safety” brakes — which were drums on only the rear wheels.
:::The Brake pedal did not operate directly on the rear wheels. It operated on the drive shaft, and the drive shaft stopped the rear wheels — which stopped the car. There were no brakes at all on the front wheels. Four-wheel brakes were a big safety improvement. Henry used them on his Model A.
:::To back up, with your left foot you depressed the clutch far enough for neutral, then with your right heel pushed the reverse clear down. As an alternate you could also pull the hand brake just far enough for neutral and push the reverse pedal. There were two ways to back up on a steep hill (three ways if you had three feet or a long arm).
:::There were two petcocks down on the transmission housing. You checked the oil by getting down on your knees and opening the lower of the two. If oil did not come out of the lower one, you needed to add some. You added oil until it came out of the top one.

I can recall sitting in the back seat — I was maybe 3 or 4 — and watching Dad saw out the back of the front seat. He modified it so that the front seat could be used normally or its back could be folded over backwards. This made a bed for Mom and Dad. Dad also made an extension out the right front door (I wonder what became of that board) so that Bob could sleep on the floor of the front seat with feet sticking out the door. I slept on the floor of the back seat, right under the folded-over back of the front seat — and was short enough not to need an extension. I remember crawling into that neat little place for my bed.

Other memories of Lizzie –
:::Sunday afternoon rides. I was most often in the back seat between Mom and Aunt Ethel. Bob was usually in the front seat. Dad would just meander along the backroads north of Hutch. Aunt Ethel wrote of those pleasant rides in an essay at summer school in (1)Gunnison, Colorado. See “1914 Models” in AUNT ETHEL.
. . . . . .1 “Gunnison” still gives me a special feeling when I often see it listed as the nation’s low temperature on the ten o’clock weather.
:::Draining the radiator so it would not freeze in winter — and catching the water in a bucket so it could be used to refill. Anti freeze came later.
:::Getting up off the front seat so Dad could get to the gas tank cap.
:::Watching Dad put the measuring stick into the tank to see how much gas.
:::Watching the man at Ragland-Kingsley push and pull the lever to pump gasoline up into the 10-gallon glass cylinder for dispensing.
:::The smell of the gasoline.
:::Sitting on Dad’s lap and “driving”!!!
:::The “grub box” on the left running board for picnic supplies.
:::In high school days having Bob show me how to change the “bands” that made the transmission work.
:::Driving a bunch of friends to football practice.
:::Pushing in on the clutch pedal (to neutral) to speed up the motor so the magneto would brighten the lights and illuminate the road better.

Lizzie was our family car until 1929, when Dad purchased a Model A Ford 4-door sedan. Mom and Dad named the new car “Sally”. The newspaper ran a short story with a picture of Lizzie, Sally, and our family outside the dealers, making much of the fact that Bob and Lizzie were the same age. Lizzie was put up on blocks for a year until Bob became old enough to drive. In my sophomore year of high school I inherited Lizzie to drive.

Some years later Lizzie very properly became a part of the Anthony group. My kids also have had a ride in Lizzie on the Anthony farm. With the passing of Bob, Lizzie eventually has found a good home with Bob’s boy Mike. Take good care of that Old Friend, Mike!

Sally had a “trunk” at the rear, with the spare wheel mounted on the trunk. The trunk cover could be folded down and little pins put in to make a sizeable tray. By today’s standards the trunk had very limited space. Dad also made a “grub box” which was bolted between the front bumper supports. I think the last time I saw that grey box was some place on the Anthony farm. Trips made in Sally are mentioned in VACATIONS.

Sally (on our left in the photo, with the Packard of BOB and ROGER CARS) remained the family car as long as I was still in Hutch. In 1941 Dad traded her in on a Ford V-8, didn’t like the way the V-8 rode, and traded it for a Plymouth. The Plymouth was named “Duke”. Mom and Dad took their last vacation in Duke. When Dad had his first (and last) heart attack in New York City in 1954, it was Duke that I drove back to Lincoln with Mom. It was the last family car of the Ray Ghormleys. I don’t know what Bob did with Duke after Mom died.

(End of Chapter)