<--------- This 50 Chevy looks like my Dad's before he let me customize it, when I was 15 years old.  It started out gray when he bought it new from Casselberry Chev in Lock Haven, and he let me nose & deck it, and I lowered it, and had it shot a very bright '57 Tropical Turquoise.  Every cop in town could see me coming a mile away!  Stupid, huh?

------------------------------------------------------------------> It looked a lot like this Turq 51 when finished. (but not the 51 grille) I put a double barrel on it too. Twisted off an axel digging out. Had some great fun with it. Had a few wrecks too.  Ha!

<--------- Then when 16 I bought my first car at Wilson Ford. It was a two tone green 51 Chev in excellent shape.  Paid $90 for it & ran it into the ground by the time I graduated LHHS in '60.  Great fun with this one too! Ha.  Playing steady at Jersey Shore Eagles & Tony & Berts in those days, plus gigs at Jack's Susquehanna Hotel & Legion in S. Williamsport, Renovo Moose, LH Legion, Moose & Elks, JS Moose, Williamsport Moose, Dante Club, etc...

When I went into the Navy I bought a 55 Dodge Custom Royal loaded from Adam Dickey Dodge in Lock Haven.  It was red & black like this '56, but without the fins.  Mine was a 4 door sedan.  It was in great shape and was an excellent car!  Had it when I was stationed at CincLant/SacLant in Norfolk.  One day it caught on fire from my cigarette on Carnarvon Drive (now maybe Robin Hood Road?), where I lived at Azalea Garden Apartments, near Norfolk International Airport & Azalea Gardens.

<--- When in the Navy, I had a red  T-110, but I can't find a pic that looks exactly like it, here's a 110, 500cc, but I don't know what year?  Mine had a windshield. I used to drive it to Lebanon, leave it, & ride to Norfolk & FL with Bob Bowman.  Picked up Larry Treaster in Lewistown once, he said he would never ride with me again.  Took Jerry Brown home for a weekend on it once from DC.

-----------------------------------------> Then after the Navy I bought a 58 Buick Super, yellow with white roof.  What a big heavy boat. Rode like on a cloud.  Loved it!  Lived in an apartment on Hogan Blvd in Mill Hall, then moved to my own place at 104 East Keller St, in Castanea.

<--- Then I bought a red 58 Plymouth Wagon from Bill Cook in Lock Haven.  Good for hauling our band equipment.  Liked the push button drive.

Then I bought a really nice 65 Buick Wildcat, gray with black vinal roof, from Candor Buick. Really hot... and comfortable, big engine. Loved it.  It flew to Renovo & back. Someone crashed into the door one night at The Mohawk Lounge!  Was playing steady at the Mohawk, North Bend Hotel & Lock Haven VFW in those days --->

<---Then I bought a beige 72 Buick Electra 225 Ltd. from Grant Miller. Really nice, loaded, leather. Loved this Buick!  Lived adjacent to Piper Airport on Island Route then & worked in Jersey Shore at Bell of Pa on Mt. Pleasant Street, above the old High School.

While I had the Electra, I traded my old 1961 Volkswagon Beetle, Blue, which I used for back & forth to work. It ran it for 11 years! NO MAINTENANCE! --->

<--- In 1973 I bought a 72 Super Beetle, bright orange, from Grant Miller.  Bright bright orange . . . Wow!  Got 10 years out of it!  Spent very little on maintenance!  Then it caught on fire in the Temple University parking lot.  Bye...

In 1974, when we lived in Altoona, I bought a new 74 Chrysler New Yorker (Dark Green-white top) from Grant Miller in Mill Hall. It was a nice, quiet, comfortable car --->

<--- Then in 1976, I bought a new 76 Chrysler Cordoba from Grant Miller.  It was gray with maroon vinal roof & maroon leather seats, nice in & out. Then we moved from Altoona to the Valley Forge/Phoenixville area in 1977 & I worked at Conshohocken for a few years.

My Bell vehicles . . .
		I started with Bell Tel in 1964 in the Building Services Department.  In 1965 I went to pole climbing school, then Installation and repair school at Miller Street in Lemoyne PA, and became a repairman.  My first Bell vehicle was an LIU . . . ha . . . all the other repairmen had a van by then.  Youngest guy in gets the oldest truck!
		After a couple years, I got a van too . . . that was a good change!  Still climbing poles, thinking I need to get an inside job. . . hated hanging on poles in the wind and snow in the Winter.  Maybe go to college on the GI bill and teach school. (Yuk, I hate school!)
		Then in 1970 I went to #5 Crossbar School on Gay Street in Phoenixville PA for 6 months, and became a network technician.  I was assigned to the Jersey Shore PA switching center, and had another van, because I also covered the Pine Creek facilities, i.e. Lenkurt Carrier up through Waterville, Cammal, Slate Run, etc.  I also worked at the Bloomsburg and Danville offices occasionally.
		In 1973 I was promoted into management, moved to Altoona PA, and received a new company car.  It was an unmarked car because I was an investigator, blue dart.  Thanks to Gerry Lowe, the motor vehicle supervisor, it had a v8 . . . nice car.  When I got promoted again in 1977 I moved to the Philadelphia Area and started using pool cars.

Then in 1981, I bought my X a Mercury Lynx when I moved to Vienna, Virginia --->

<-------------------------- and I bought an 80 Honda Accord LX to take to VA, where I worked at Arlington for a few years.  I think I was trying to get into cost efficiency?  Didn't work, transmission gave out running 95 on 95 a lot.

---------------------------------------> I came back to Philly in 1986 & rented a new Olds Cutlass for a year & 1/2 from Avis on Arch St. George Orwell was right!

<--------------------- Then I bought an old gray 75 Chevy Caprice to carpool 4 or 5 people into Philly when I lived in Bridgeport. I finally took it to Maaco & painted it and gave it to my niece for college.  It had 229,000 on it when she dumped it!!!

------------------------------------------------> Then my x-wife, bought me a blue Ford Wagon, which I later gave to my oldest son, Kenny.

My Harleysville vehicles . . .
		Then in 1992 I retired from Bell Atlantic/Verizon and went to work for Harleysville Insurance and drove company cars for a few years, i.e... first, a Dark Gray '92 Dodge . . .
		Then Harleysville bought me a new white Buick Century, which I drove for a year, then my wife, Diane, bought it.
		Then Harleysville bought me another new car, i.e... a tan '95 Olds Cutlass Ciera.  I was driving all over the East Coast for a few years, from Vermont to Georgia. . .

Then I bought a 1995 lemon, loaded!  Tan Caddy DeVille. Thank goodness for the warranty! Dumped a ton of money in it, then donated it to Purple Heart --->

Then I saw this new Chrysler 300c (Hemi) grille coming down the road, and couldn't take my eyes off of it!  Reminded me of the 57 & 58 Olds grille, very distinctive.  I loved the 1950's cars.  All very distinctive.  Now days they all look alike.  If you're not close enough to read the logo, you can't tell what it is.  What it is!  So we went up to Bergey's in Franconia and bought one as my retirement gift to myself.  Diane picked the color, sort of dark gray.  Laura Bergey Schmidt gave us a decent price, and I've liked the service at Bergeys for years.  Honest people.  Done deal. Then I saw this custom grille online and bought it.  Took it up to Bergeys and they installed it.  Looks better in person.

(Click Pic)

Bottom line - I'm back to Chrysler!  This 300c is HOT, and it looks good.  Daily compliments... unbelieveable.  Did I mention it's HOT too?

Now about the Chrysler Town & Country . . . My brother gave me their Chrysler Town & Country van.  What a surprise.  We woke up and found it in our driveway with a big bow and ribbon on it.  I could haul nine girls in it . . . softball team, volleyball team, etc.  It was a life saver.  We're still driving it today, 8/11/2013.  Since Crystal and Diana are both driving now, Diane gave her Toyota to Diana, Crystal bought a Nissan, Diane is driving the T&C, and I have the 300 (and the motorcycle, which Diana just informed me she wants to learn to drive.)

	1986 Yamaha Maxim 700 OK, so it's got a little duct tape holding it together!

Hunting Stories HA!   Dad usually used the 270 for deer hunting.  He killed quite a few with it.  I don't know how many.  But after he remodeled the 30.06, he used it, and let me use the 270.  I killed 7 deer with the 270.  I still have the horns of the first buck I shot, a four point, which I shot with a 30-30 we borrowed.  The first year we hunted, he made me use a single shot 20 guage shotgun, using rifled slugs.  Forget it.  We usually hunted Brown Valley, Linden Hall, the Coudersport Pike, and Pine Mountain.  Usually Dad and I hunted alone, but for a few years we hunted with the Crissman and Hoy party at a farm in Linden Hall.  I also remember hunting once out the Pike with Dad's cousin, Nonie Gruver.  I killed two that trip, out near Haineyville.  Nonie was pretty cool. Dad had two beagles, Nellie and Sport, which he used for rabbit hunting.  Nellie was a good hunter, but Sport was pretty stupid, he would lose the scent a lot.  Dad usually went rabbit hunting with his best friend, Charlie Haines.  One year, he accidentally shot Charlie's dog.  I remember how bad he felt about it.  I don't think either of them ever got over it. Nellie was a really good natured dog.  She used to sleep on our concrete back porch in the sun, and Mom's cat would lay right up against her belly, and my two ducks would sit right next to them.  Sometimes one duck would lay her neck on Nellie's back.  The duck would lay in the run, and I would have to go down in the run to get her eggs.  I don't know how she layed them in the rocks without breaking them.  I would sell them around the neighborhood. Mom used to take the 22's down the back road (Youngdale Road) to the shale cut and target shoot.  She was a really good shot.  I remember when she hit a .50 cent piece.  I remember when Dad wrecked my motorcycle on the back road.

Can't believe after I did all that work trying to find all the above guns that looked like ours, I found a photo (probably only one in existance) of Dad's guns and gun cabinet.  I think that'll wrap it up for this page.  So much for Memory Lane. . . Can't believe I found this picture of Dad's gun cabinet (most of my family photos were lost in the 1972 flood in Lock Haven).  Pistols l/r: S&W 22, 32 semi, S&W 38; Rifles l/r: Winchester 20 Ga., Springfield 30.06, 22, Grandfather Hall's IOOF Lodge Sword, Remington Model 70 270, Ithica 16 pump, German Army rifle (we fired this once with a bullet we made - tied to a stump - Ha!)  We still own most of Dad's guns, but the're stored over in a friend's gun safe.

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