First Car
Hockey fans may know the name Tiger Williams, who is recognized as the most penalized player in NHL history.
I didn’t buy my first car from Tiger.
I bought it from his Dad, Taffy Williams. They lived in a side-by-side in a high density housing area of Weyburn. It was the spring of 1968 and I do remember seeing some kids playing in the back yard — so one of them may have been 14 year old Tiger.
The car was a 1956 Plymouth. Three tone, pink and grey and rust!
When I saw this picture close up, I remember that this was in my “contact lens” era. My Uncle Stuart Boyle was an optometrist who said that I was a good candidate for this new product: contact lens. Turns out I was a good candidate, and loved wearing them. However, they were incompatible with the dusty conditions on the farms where I was employed.
Wedding Car
We had the “British Experience” with our 1960s Vauxhall Viva. This was our car when we set out on our Honeymoon in 1970. The tradition at that time was for “friends” and family to decorate the going away car of the Bride and Groom. Interestingly they chose the same “livery” as had been used for my parent’s car 22 years earlier.
The Viva broke down on our way to Shaunavon for Christmas seven weeks later. Bev’s Dad had to drive 100 miles to rescue us.
Here’s an online search for the Vauxhall Viva
1950 Dodge
Bev’s Great Grandfather gave her his 1950 Dodge for her 16th birthday. It was conveniently at the Seafoot Farm when the Viva failed during our Christmas travels in 1970. We got the Viva patched up and the Dodge was running beautifully so we drove both back to Regina. We then sold the Viva and drove the Dodge for several months including a trip to Kenaston and Blackstrap to watch the Canada Winter Games in February 1971.
The Dodge came with us as we moved to various addresses in Regina. We sold it prior to the move to Ottawa in 1981.
1965 Plymouth Fury
We bought the Fury in 1971 and put Grand-Dad’s Dodge back into storage.
I remember that it had a standard transmission and was quite a sporty car … into which we welcomed our first child!
1974 AMC Matador
This was our first car purchased at a dealership. A “new” demonstrator model with 5,000 miles. This car moved across the country with us three times. It created fond memories for our two oldest boys. With tent trailer attached we explored a great deal of Canada.
The first car that we drove for more than 100,000 miles.
1984 Plymouth Voyageur
The year was 1983. Baby Boomers like us had families on the brink of their teenage years. Lee Iacocca was the President of Chrysler.
As I rode the bus home from work one October day I looked twice when I saw a strange new vehicle drive by. It was an iconic mini-van, one of the first to arrive in Ottawa.
On November 11 we walked into a Chrysler dealership and placed an order for a 1984 Plymouth Voyageur. (To save money we ordered standard transmission, no A/C and no rear wiper!) It arrived in Ottawa on February 14, 1984.
We had three rules for buying cars: 1) don’t buy something we can’t afford; 2) don’t buy brand new; 3) don’t buy a model during its first year of production. We shattered all three of those rules!
This was our family adventure vehicle. We sold the tent trailer and equipped the van for tent camping. It transported us during our move from Ottawa back to Regina. We travelled to Mile 0 of the TransCanada Highway in Victoria. We travelled to Oregon. We travelled to Pittsburgh. We travelled to the staging area for our canoe camping trip. It transported us on moves to Calgary and then Winnipeg.
It was a huge part of our lives as the boys grew up!
Lada
In 1985 we became a two-income family. Bev needed a vehicle to commute to work so we bought a Lada (“Made in the U.S.S.R.”)
Therefore … in addition to a two-income family, we became a two-car family.
Our son Craig comments: “My friends and I called it the ‘commie car’. It’s rust spots looked like bullet holes from running Checkpoint Charlie.”
This car was notable in our lives for being very inexpensive to maintain. We could do a lot of that ourselves with the provided tool kit. (See Photo)
Bev loved this vehicle and comments that “it had the best heater of any of our cars!”
The socialist dream evaporated when new driver Craig had to brake hard and the driver’s seat disconnected from the frame … this was the first car that we donated to charity for a tax receipt …
