Remember Your First Set of Wheels? - Time Out #248

Teenage boyhood memories from Our Town in the 1960's. Today's All- American topic is certainly appropriate for Flag Day!

Family, school, girls, boys, sports, vacations, and, oh, yes, motorized vehicles, i.e., scooters, motorcycles, pickup trucks. and cars.

In those simpler/gentler times, really important memories were first loves, and, of course, first cars! Which was more important of those two items; in many cases, it was probably a coin flip?

I'll leave the human factor (first loves) on the sideline in this week's discussion, and direct my remarks to my wonderful first vehicle, dear readers.

The anticipation had a long lead-in time before I was actually in full command of my auto driving situation.

Because I have a June birthday (Next Sunday, in fact!), most of my high school peers earned their driver's licenses before our sophomore school year was completed at C.E. Donart (SHS) High in late May, 1963. Therefore, I had to officially wait my turn to get behind the wheel to legally drive anywhere from point a to point b. Because driver's education was always offered in school then, I was able to drive with a licensed driver (usually my brave father) in the front seat beside me when I turned 15 1/2. At 16 and having passed both the written and practical driving portions of the state requirement, I was able to drive anywhere, at any time; no restrictions requiring any other licensed driver in the vehicle. Remember, folks, way different times, then!

So, my generous father, Col. C.H. Breedlove, sort of (?) gave me our family's black, 4-door, 1961 Chevrolet Corvair, a low-powered. rear engine, small automobile. It had a white interior, bucket front seats, a small bench back seat, and a dash-mounted automatic transmission. Self-proclaimed national auto "policeman", Dr. Ralph Nader, thought this particular model was full of safety problems, but to me, "my" first car was absolutely wonderful!

Because it was black in color, and I lived in wind-swept and usually dust-present Our Town, my wheels were very, very difficult to keep clean. It seems like I would wash, dry and wax it all the time, only to soon after see a thin film of Oklahoma dirt/grime on my small General Motors' "beauty". Not to be overly discouraged, I would quickly pull out my faithful, damp chamois, and wipe it down, once again. Don't forget, I regularly drove through the first Sonic ("service with the speed of sound") Drive In at the south end of North Main Street, then would promptly drive about a half mile north to drag through Griff's Drive-In. This route completed the "to be seen" popular teenage loop. I absolutely had to have a spotless, shiny ride! Even today, I am not certain who I was attempting to impress the most back then; the teenage ladies, or the other teenage guys driving their polished wheels, too?

I also remember a few out-of-town trips to Oklahoma City and Tulsa with my buddies on-board in my trusty Corvair. We collectively thought we were pretty cool as we rode down those major city streets, looking over everyone we could see, and puffing ourselves up with our newly discovered confidence?

Cost to operate a vehicle in those days was not a big factor, as I recall. My compact ride could be filled at an Our Town "SERVICE" station for only a few dollars, since regular gasoline prices were less than 30-cents/gallon. It was true service, too, as a station attendant came out to your vehicle when you drove up, pumped your fuel, checked your tire pressure, washed your windows, and checked your oil, battery, radiator, and transmission fluid levels by opening your hood. Yes, those were certainly different times. Hence the name service station!

Several happy teenage years were celebrated in my beloved first car. I'm sure you have some of your own memories when you became your own master of the highway behind your first ride, too? Memories you will certainly have forever!