Grandpa's Caddy

I've previously written about my Grandpa Frank. While he left a very significant impression on me during the seven and a half years we shared, perhaps his most lasting concrete legacy was his 1964 Cadillac Sedan Deville. He bought his car in 1965 from Novak Cadillac in Omaha. He replaced his 1961 Chevrolet Bel Air.

I remember the Chevrolet Bel Air from one eventful trip in it when I was three or four years old. I was riding from Chamberlain to Winner with Grandpa and Grandma on a hot (and I mean HOT!) South Dakota afternoon. Air conditioning in cars was a still a luxury - one that Grandpa had not splurged on in that car. I was roaming the spacious back seat by myself. We were somewhere near Hamill, SD when we hit a bump on the road (South Dakota roads were the same back then - every bridge was three inches above the road!) that caused the back window of the Chevy to shatter and the glass to fall down on me.

Grandpa pulled over immediately. Grandma was crying and asked me if I was alright. I was crying and I told her that I was fine - though I probably needed to change my undershorts! When Grandpa asked me why I was crying, I told him I was scared because Grandma was crying. Grandpa scolded Grandma, they put me in the front seat with them and we set off on the half hour trip to Winner!

Shortly after that, Grandpa decided to get his new Cadillac. I remember sitting on the arm rest on the front seat between Grandpa and Grandma in the Caddy. It was like a built in booster seat. This was in the days before child car seats and even seat belts for all passengers. I felt like I was the king when I rode with them in that seat.

I remember Grandma driving that car after Grandpa passed. She was so little for such a big car but she handled it with no problem. After Grandma moved from Winner to Chamberlain in the mid-eighties, Grandma drove it very infrequently. She drove it for groceries and to church.

Grandma passed away in January 1987 and I expressed interest in purchasing the car from my Mom and her two sisters. I think they were excited that I was interested and that it might stay in the family. I bought it from them and began the long, slow process of reconditioning it.

The car was in great shape mechanically but had some cosmetic blemishes. Over a five or six year period of time, I put on a new vinyl roof, painted the body and put on a new set of wide whitewall tires. I replaced some interior parts that had been lost or broken over the years. Later I replaced the seat covers, replaced the in-dash clock, put in a Bluetooth MP3 player and speakers and a did few other small fixes,

The original owners manual, window sticker and sales contract were in the car when I purchased it. I found a service manual, showroom literature and some magazine advertisements.

When (daughter) Rachel and (son) Alex (this was BS - before Sarah) were young, we drove the car to Winner to the drive-in theater a couple different times. The kids loved rides in the Caddy because people would spontaneously wave at the car - not us but the car - with a big smile on their face. You could almost see that the car was evoking memories of their youth as they watched us pass by them.

One Fourth of July morning, I took Rachel over to Roam Free Park (which overlooks Chamberlain and the Missouri River) and took some photos of her (on her birthday). Years later, she would take some of her high school senior portraits with the car - one of which hangs in my office!

The Caddy played a prominent role in Rachel and Andrew's wedding last summer. Not only did it shuttle the bride and groom to the church and reception/dance, it was featured in the wedding photos. That was so appropriate since Rachel has been posing with it since she was about four years old.

When Rachel was in college, she commissioned a very talented friend to paint a watercolor of the Caddy sitting at Roam Free Park. It hangs proudly in my office.

Each summer, the Caddy glides out of storage where it is nestled in a car cover in a garage. It's white walled tires roll down the streets of Chamberlain for a month to six weeks. It accumulates a couple hundred miles every years - adding to its total of 78,000+. It's a great ride to church on a summer Sunday morning. The locals smile and wave as its rolls down the streets of Chamberlain. The tourists drop what they're doing and gawk.

The vanity plate on the Caddy reads "64 CADI". That's why is it so ironic when people want guess what year it is. Like a teenage boy with the Swimsuit Sports Illustrated, they are so smitten with the car's beauty that they don't even notice!

This year, the Caddy is 50 years old. While it may have had a few wrinkles, the "work" that's been done has served it well - it looks pretty damn good. Because it's half century has been spent mostly in a garage and receiving lots of TLC, it  may be just hitting its prime!

I love the Caddy. I love it because it is a classic. I love it because it represents a different era - a simpler time. I love it because of what it does to people when they see it. I love it because when you put your foot on the accelerator, the 429 cubic inch V-8 roars (and moves the gas needle). I love it because you can put a family of four in the trunk. I love it because any pre-1970 song, regardless of fidelity, sounds great on its stereo. I love it because the wide whitewalls make the car look like it is wearing sneakers. I love it because when you sit behind the wheel, you cannot help but smile. But most of all, I love it because it was Grandpa and Grandma's car - their pride and joy!

We have had a lot of fun with the Caddy. I'm pretty sure Grandpa had no idea of the legacy that car would carry when he made that trip to Omaha in 1965.

Update - 9/4/2014: On August 30, I took the Caddy to the Prairie Cruisers Car and Tractor Show in Winner, SD. The show is part of the community's annual Labor Day celebration. Ironically, in its return to its "old stomping grounds", Grandpa's Caddy won a Best in Class award. Several old timers recognized it as Frank Wurnig's Cadillac. It made for a fun afternoon.