photo b/w DesJardins 3 1960 West Liberty KY DESDOC 2 67 Photo of Raymond's '36 Chevrolet and John's '38 Chevrolet, made in the street in front of Bill Tolson's home at 478 Broadway St. in West Liberty. John's car was a good one, but Ray's was missing the floor cover over the transmission, wipers, glass in drivers door and lots more. Raymond had acquired the '36 by trading a '48 Olds even for it at a junk yard between Mize and Hazel Green. At the time it was acquired, it was missing the above items plus the transmission. Ray thought it would be a simple matter to get a transmission for it, but the 36 was odd--nothing newer would fit. Eventually we put a '54 engine and a '37 transmission in it, but the parts were no good, and did not mate correctly. Eventually Ray sold it to a Collinsworth at Burning Fork, Ky. for $40.00. We later saw it fixed up nicely. (RayD) DJ-0003.jpg#DJ-0003.jpg#

Photo b/w DesJardins 4 1961 Burning Fork KY DESDOC 2 68 Photo of Raymond's 1940 Oldsmobile. John had acquired the Olds as a bonus when he purchased a new VW. The Olds was light green and good except for the left front fender, that was dented. It was a six cylinder, with a three speed manual transmission. When he first got it, it ran good, but Ray drove it like a new one and blew the engine. The bad engine was replaced with one purchased for $35 from Paul Moore in Hazel Green, but that engine did not last long. Ray sold the car to a neighbor of Mack and Etta, who planned to use the frame to make a wagon. It sold for $35.00 DJ-0004.jpg#DJ-0004.jpg#

photo b/w DesJardins 17 1965 Catawba OH DESDOC 2 76 Photo of John and Raymond in the alley by the parsonage for the Catawba U.M.C., with their cars. John had a '65 Rambler, Ray had a '63 Dodge Polara 4dr hardtop with a 383 CID engine, painted dark metallic blue. The Dodge had started out a light blue, but had been repainted dark blue after an accident in Denver. Ray was driving in the inside lane of 6th Ave. in Denver, (three lanes one-way), and entered an intersection just as the light turned green. At the light in the center lane was a new Dodge Monaco, driven by a little old lady from Kansas, who then turned left without looking, removing the right side of Ray's car. Her insurance eventually paid for the repair. DJ-0017.jpg#DJ-0017.jpg#

photo color DesJardins 30 1957 Woodsbend KY DESDOC 2 45 Photo of Raymond and the '50 Chevy, made showing Mom's flowers in the front yard. At this time, Raymond was taking a class by television. The course was in physics, offered through Continental Classroom, with testing done at Morehead State College. We did not have a TV, so Ray drove this Chevrolet to Eva May's house and watched it with her. Eventually, the bearings in the rear axle assembly failed, so Dad traded the car to Birnam Gevedon for a 1948 Olds, which wound up being Raymond's first car. DJ-0030.jpg#DJ-0030.jpg#

photo color DesJardins 31 1963 Camden OH DESDOC 2 72 Raymond and his new '63 Dodge Polara, made in a mobile home park in Camden, Ohio. John and Jo Ann were living there at this time. The Dodge was Ray's first new car, costing $2000 and his old '57 Plymouth. The car was a robin egg blue four door hard top, with a 383 cid engine, push-button Torqflite transmission, power steering, and an AM radio. Ray averaged almost a hundred miles an hour for two hours in 1964 running from St. Francis, Ks to Denver in slightly less than two hours. The car was traded in 1966 for another Dodge--this time with air conditioning for the Texas summers. DJ-0031.jpg#DJ-0031.jpg#

photo b/w DesJardins 58 1919 East Tawas MI DESDOC 1 19 Edmund Ernest DesJardins with three repairing the car. I know nothing of the other three. The setting is around East Tawas or Alabaster, the photographer unknown. Date: 1919-1921 It was a black 1917 Chevrolet with Goodyear tires that Dad bought new for $600-$700. That's a paper of some kind in his hands. I always felt very secure with his driving. He had no accidents that I can recall. It was driven to Detroit, possible many times, but I only recall short trips, visiting relatives or picking huckleberries. Not much use of it in the winter. We boys always called "248" for some reason. In 1926 he bought a 1923 model and cut back and top from old "248", built a flat on the back and used it for hauling and to go to work where he was a foreman in the railroad shops--the Pere Marquette--We kids used to call it P & M "Poor Mary". Lee learned to drive on it, it was a crank start.. Alcohol was the antifreeze if you used any. It did have rear end problems and you had to stop at every water hole to add water. Either it or the '23 had a radiator cap with a built in thermometer so you could be aware of any overheating, though there was very little problem with the '23. The original print was a poor snapshot. We always had a Brownie box camera of some sort around the house. (Glen DesJardins) DJ-0058.jpg#DJ-0058.jpg#

photo b/w DesJardins 93 1955 Woodsbend KY DESDOC 2 44 Photo of Raymond and his father, made on the sidewalk of the parsonage at Woodsbend. The family car, a 1953 Ford, is in the background. The Ford was purchased from Wilmer Cecil at C. F. Cecil Pontiac in West Liberty for about $1000. early in 1955. The '48 Olds had been replaced late in 1954 with a '49 or '50 Plymouth that was used during the winter, then traded in on the Ford. The Ford was robin egg blue, powered by a flathead V-8, and had a two speed automatic and an AM radio. We had it until 1957 when it was traded in on a '56 Ford. (Ray DesJardins) DJ-0093.jpg#DJ-0093.jpg#

photo b/w DesJardins 109 1954 Woodsbend KY DESDOC 2 18 Photo of Dad and his 1948 Oldsmobile, made in the driveway at Woodsbend, Kentucky. Dad had purchased the car from Wilmer Cecil at C.F. Cecil Pontiac in West Liberty for about a thousand dollars. I remember him bringing it home, and having trouble getting up the hill from the gravel road due to mud. The muffler was leaking and that bothered me. The car was a model 76 with four doors, a flathead inline six engine, and a four speed Hydramatic transmission. It was a medium blue and drank oil at first, but the seller overhauled it and it was fine. Dad took delivery of it in time to pick up Mom in Lexington where she had gone for surgery. After the '37 Chevy, it was plush beyond description. We had it until late 1954. I was coming home from school at West Liberty, and he picked me up at Grassy Creek, and we returned to West Liberty to the Olds garage there. The car was missing, not shifting correctly, and something was popping in the rear end. The mechanic tore it apart, and found the axle and spider gears worn to the point they were slipping. At that time, Dad traded it in on a '49 or '50 Plymouth. I managed to keep the radio from the Oldsmobile. (Ray DesJardins) DJ-0109.jpg#DJ-0109.jpg#

photo b/w DesJardins 126 1959 Woodsbend KY DESDOC 2 57 Photo of the family beside the new 1959 Plymouth as we prepared to leave on the first trip west in 1959, the trip that would forever change the outlook of each member of our family. After that trip, Kentucky, Mt.Carmel, etc. were greatly reduced in importance to us. The Plymouth was new--purchased from Goodwin Brother Dodge in Lexington. Wilmer Cecil at West Liberty and WWW Chevrolet in Ezel did not think Dad was serious about buying a new car, so did not try very hard to sell him one. The Plymouth was the bottom of the line Savoy 4 DR sedan, with a six cylinder engine and three speed manual transmission. The only options were a sun visor and arm rest for the right front seat. I was constantly frustrated by the lack of power of the six cylinder engine. Wide open it would run just over 85 MPH , and I tried it enough times to verify that was a valid figure. On this trip, my job was to set up the tent and to stuff all the luggage and camping equipment into the trunk. It took both hands and all my weight to close it. After returning from the trip and removing all the weight, one broken leaf from the spring on one side fell out. (Ray DesJardins) DJ-0126.jpg#DJ-0126.jpg#

photo b/w French 202 1925 Sanilac County MI DESDOC 1 25 Photo of G.W. French and his new Dort. Wife Carie in the front (the terrified look on her face was justified--he drove like the wind ) the young couple in the back Jimmy and Mary's friends--Mary made the picture. The shoes visible under the car may have been Earl's. DJ-0202.jpg#DJ-0202.jpg

photo b/w DesJardins 234 1950 Woodsbend KY DJ3 John, Mark, Marcia and someone else, all sitting on the front of Uncle Gerald DesJardins' late 40's Pontiac convertible. He and Alberta visited once in my memory while we were in Kentucky. After we left the Orchards, WA camp meeting in 1959 we traveled south in our 1959 Plymouth and visited them in San Diego, CA. Gerald was on a submarine during WWII and spent some time in the mud in a Japanese harbor as the Japanese tried to hit them with depth charges. After the war he and Alberta settled in the San Diego area and he had an upholstery shop doing cars and convertible tops. Alberta was a beautician and later Gerald also got his license and they owned a shop. They dropped in to a family reunion we had in the mountains west of Denver to mom's chagrin. Mom felt Alberta was horning in on her family. We saw them one more time when they stopped by our place at 1412 S. Adams in Ft. Worth. We were notified of Gerald's death but heard nothing about Alberta again. (Ray DesJardins, 1999) DJ-0234.jpg#DJ-0234.jpg#

photo b/w DesJardins 245 1959 Woodsbend KY DJ-0245 A special church meeting, since we normally never had this many cars. Dad's 1959 Plymouth is immediately in front of the steps and my 1936 Chevrolet is the car parked closest to the end of the church. 1959 or 1960. I drove the 36 Chevy from the fall of 1959 until early 1960 when a got a 1948 Chevrolet. I kept the 36 and we pulled it to Burning Fork when we moved there (it was short an engine) and I later sold it for $40 because we were too poor to fix it. (Ray DesJardins, 1999) DJ-0245.jpg#DJ-0245.jpg#