Every July, Janee has her 4-H club out to our place for a pot-luck dinner and meeting. This year was interesting in that two sisters, ages 10 and 12 years asked if they could look at our car collection. As the other kids and parents roamed around the building, Thayer and Benton, investigated each car with the utmost curiosity. At first the girls were afraid to touch the cars, so I told them to crawl inside and sit down.
“Wow, look at the room in here.”
“Mom, four people could sit in the front seat.”
“ Look, there isn’t as much plastic as in newer cars.”
“These cars look so cool.”
“What is this thing on the steering wheel (horn rim)?”
“What kind of car is the smaller one (Wasp)?”
Thayer thought that the ’57 Ford Fairlane 500 was spacious until she got into the ’54 Hornet Hollywood. She and Benton couldn’t believe how much room there was in the front and back seat.
Their mother said that on the way home, that all the girls talked about were the Hudsons. And once home, they told their dad how much they enjoyed seeing some really nice old cars.
I hadn’t seen this degree of enthusiasm since I took the HET Historical Society’s “Doc Hudson” on tour. And it made me realize how much fun it is to share our cars with kids. And when Janee saw the girls today for a cooking class, they set aside two cookies and cake pieces expressly for me !!! :cheer:
Great story!
Those girls may one day own an old car...
Good that you let them touch and explore. Way too many "don't dare touch my precious car" signs.
My personal appreciation and love of old cars stems from the old guys who patiently answered the questions of a curious child, and then allowed me to touch, sit in, and and feel the cars.
Most were not restored, and I was allowed to play, pretend, and dream...
It helped too, that there was a small junkyard close to our home that was full of 30's-50's cars that I could crawl in and out of.
As an adult, the most memorable experiences at car shows or events have been allowing children to climb in and beep the horn, pretend to drive, etc.
I'm going on having owned 35+ different vintage cars now. It is a good hobby to appreciate and be able to share the past.
Rob
Rob, you would have had a big smile on your face seeing the club's many young families and their kids at the Chattanooga National Meet. It was really heartwarming for this old Hudnut !
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