A Generational Legacy

It was 1956, and a young man’s fancy was cars and girls. So far, the love of Bob’s life was a 1950 Ford sedan. She was sleek, she was shiny and she was lovely. Sadly, at that time, the only people to share the front seat with him were his buddies.

One night while out with a friend, Bob stopped at a red light, and there was a most beautiful scene - another 1950 Ford sedan,with two lovely girls in the front seat. They were able to convince them to pull over and Bob picked out his “preferred” girl. After a few words, Bob was able to obtain her name and address after grabbing her wallet from her partially opened window. She wasn’t happy about that so Bob quickly threw it back to her and the lovely ladies drove off. However, Bob had memorized those key items and found her address in the phone book! Their first date was at church and to her house to meet her parents, as this is what the girl, whose name was Millie, had insisted upon. They kept on dating and enjoying driving their twin cars.

Eighteen months later, Bob was drafted to serve in Korea and sold his beautiful car, but still had his pretty girl Millie! The night before leaving for basic training, Bob took Millie to the beach. Sadly, on the way home, through no fault of his own, Bob totaled Millie’s car out. Now, Bob was leaving his lovely girl, without a car, and the matching Ford sedan’s were no more! Thankfully though, with a continued growing relationship through letters and love, Millie waited for Bob’s return and became his wife on January 30, 1960! They had four children, Dawn, Diane, Deb and Dan, who since have added many grandchildren and great grand children to the family line.

In 2012, Bob excitedly purchased a 1950 Ford sedan, identical to the ones he and his girl once owned. He restored it, repainted it, and drove it in parades, car shows and Friday night dates with his favorite girl. His children rode in many parades with him, attended car shows and later helped him drive his ever changing collection of antique vehicles to and from the shows. However, it’s likely that the 1950 Ford was his favorite one!

Deep sadness came in 2021, when after 63 years of marriage to his dear Millie, Bob passed into heaven. After a few weeks, Bob’s oldest daughter Dawn was looking in her safe for the title to the 1950 Ford car promised to her. She saw an envelope with her name on it in her father’s handwriting. Opening it, she found a precious note: “Take good care of the 1950 Ford. Love you. Dad” with the title tucked behind.. Her eyes teared up, her heart beat faster, and she felt his love spread over her while sensing the voice of her dad, longingly asking her to care for the family’s vintage car.

So Dawn does her best to keep the old Ford running, clean and polished. Her husband, Jim, does the driving, as the steering and brakes are not powered and takes more strength than she has. They enjoy giving rides to Dawn’s dearly loved mom, Millie, bringing it to many car shows, and take ice cream dates togetherin it. They have also become members of a local car club to meet other car enthusiasts, gain knowledge about their car and find out how to keep it running with trustworthy mechanics, which is a must!

The legacy of the Black Beauty Ford lives on, as it was used fora get-away car for two of their daughter’s weddings and recently won a trophy as the ‘Best Restored Vintage Car.” Dawn is especially proud of that one, as it reflects her dad’s hard work and expertise in making an old car into a beautiful vintage auto,full of countless, fond, family memories.