Our Story

I grew up with old cars.  My dad belonged to the Horseless Carriage club and at one time owned 8 different makes and models of cars pre-1930’s.  His first and most beloved car was his 1911 Maxwell, in which he acquired in 1953.  When I met Steve, in our Sophomore year of High School, Dad had sold all his cars except for his Maxwell and a 1921 REO Speed Wagon.  

I never had a love of old cars or any cars for that matter and still don’t.  Steve on the other hand loved cars and he was especially smitten when my dad allowed him to work on the REO to get it running again! We had fun with the REO for several years until my dad sold it sometime in the ‘70’s. 

Steve also had fun working on my Dad’s Maxwell to help Dad keep it running for the local parades he was in.  After Dad’s death and the Maxwell was sold, Steve realized he wanted more than a parade car.  Thirteen years later Steve purchased a Shay, a replica Model A. Neal and Dave Anderson, his cousins, were in the Model A Car Club so Steve contacted them and joined the club. It wasn’t long afterwards that he sold the Shay and bought an authentic Model A.

By then he knew he could get parts for his A and he could drive on the back roads and highways like he wanted to do.

Steve continually fixed and improved his car and would take short trips with the club. Some of the trips I would go along, but I still had no interest in a long trip. Finally, after 8 years of owning the A he talked me into going to Marquette, MI MFCA’s convention. That was a long enough trip for me, but Steve wasn’t satisfied. Marquette only wet his appetite for a longer trip driving in the A.  Steve eventually began planning trips to different states and invited a few of the club members to join his caravan of A’s.  These were guy trips and I had no interest in them.

There was another MFCA convention to attend in Loveland, CO and although I didn’t relish driving in the A, I had friends living out there so I agreed to go.  Again, it was a caravan of A’s with Steve in the lead.  This trip wasn’t as fun as Marquette.  It was long and too many cars broke down along the way!  After CO. I felt I had done my duty and no more long driving trips for me, or so I thought. But Steve wasn’t satisfied yet.  

His next dream trip involved driving the A on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Mountains. He finally convinced me to go, but under my 2 conditions.  1.  We went to Mount Airy, NC.  (This is the home town of Andy Griffith and the setting of Mayberry on the Andy Griffith show.)  2.  It was only the two of us going.  

I have complete confidence in Steve and traveling alone doesn’t bother me. If we do breakdown the backseat is filled with tools so he’s prepared to fix the problem.  Lastly, we only drive on country roads or 2 lane highways. If we have no other choice, we will drive on a freeway, but that is rare. 

The car itself is comfortable riding in and Steve has it insulated so well that’s it’s not as noisy as another A could be.  Of course, that’s about as far as it goes for comfort.  Without air, when it’s hot, it’s hot and cold when it’s cold. What is most annoying is rain.  The car leaks through the front window and you can’t help but get wet.  We discovered it’s wise to have a towel handy for such occasions. We were lucky on this trip as most of the days were hot and sunny so driving was pleasant, until later in the afternoon when the temps hit 90+. 

We left home September 1st early in the morning. Steve had all kinds of places marked on the map to stop at, and we also spontaneously stopped at anything that looked interesting.  Our planned stops included The Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA, Lincoln’s home and burial site, in Springfield, IL, the Creation Museum and the Ark in KY, Jefferson’s and Monroe’s home in VA and lastly Mount Airy, NC, but we saw so much more! 

Steve’s dream of driving on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway turned out to be a little more difficult than he thought and after 50 miles he had had enough.  We were lucky if we could get our speed up to 20 mph traveling up the winding road.  Then we would speed down at 46 mph twisting and turning the whole way!  It was hard work to maneuver the car to stay on the road and a little scary too, but the breathtaking view was worth it!

Everywhere we went people smiled and honked at us.  Whenever we stopped, people came to look at the car and they were amazed a car of that age could safely travel so far.

WV was my favorite state.  The movie Deliverance was certainly playing in my mind as we drove up and down the steep and winding hills.  The state also had churches everywhere with unique names like Popcorn, Boomer, Friendly, Means, Lucky Stop, Pounce and Lovers Leap!  

The trip took 13 days and was 3200 miles.  We drove through 10 states with an average speed of 38 mph. No major breakdowns happened except to change a tire in NC. We only got lost once in WV, although it was all day, and that because we didn’t have a map.

This trip was unlike any other I have ever taken. We saw rural America in all its splendor. 

Steve, though, is still dreaming of more trips to come.  The next one is going to be along the St. Lawrence Seaway to Nova Scotia and back. So once again we will be traveling down a country road.

By Leah Barnacle