This past March marked the first month since August of 2012 in which I had returned to my hometown of Flint, Michigan twice. Last month was bookended by two trips, the first of which was mainly to watch a new documentary film (Remembering Flint Central) about my long-closed high school. The second trek was to participate in a celebration for a favorite, former teacher and also a significant birthday for one of my best friends, someone I’ve known since our fifth grade year at our gifted elementary school. There had been no formal party plans for my friend, who I’ll call Veronica, but that Saturday ended up being such a fun, impromptu evening with just her, her husband, and a handful of other friends, most of whom had known each other since at least the beginning of high school.
Veronica didn’t seem thrilled with being faced with this birthday, at least at first. This is fair, and our feelings are our feelings, even if I think she’s really beautiful and has only become more accomplished with time. I remember having had different reactions to my own significant birthdays throughout the years. As I continue to approach that same milestone myself, I look back at the utter ridiculousness of having thought of myself as “old” when I had turned thirty.
I have learned the mental hack of projecting into the future and looking back at myself at my current age. Stated another way, if and when I get to my late 60s, I’m sure I’ll see my current self as seeming and feeling like such a young dude. Why shouldn’t I just feel that way now and continue to fully embrace these times? I’m mentally sharp, independently mobile, a valued worker and employee, and still young enough to do and say the occasional foolish thing and mostly get away with it. Thankfulness for the win!
To be clear, though, I did get what Veronica was saying. It remains to be seen how I’ll actually feel about it once I also hit the big five-oh. Our friend Nadine, who was in the same classes as Veronica and me from the fifth grade on, had such a great perspective on being in this stage of life. Without saying anything to invalidate the way Veronica felt about her birthday, Nadine talked about the beauty of just not giving a s*** at this age about so many things that once seemed oh-so-important, years ago. As we all ate slices of legendary, Michigan-specialty Bill Knapp’s chocolate cake bought from the bakery at Meijer that day, Nadine announced that from there on out, her philosophy was simply to become Helen Roper from the Three’s Company television franchise. Before she said this, I hadn’t thought it possible for me to love Nadine any more than I already did.
For those unfamiliar with this character (which I will forgive for readers outside the U.S.), and to simplify, Helen Roper was a colorful, eclectic landlady who wore flowy, formless caftans and chunky jewelry that seemed like throwbacks even by the standards of the late ’70s. She was light, breezy, maternal, and hilarious. Together with her husband, Stanley – an uptight skinflint with seemingly no interest in her whatsoever – she ran an apartment complex in Santa Monica, California (before the Ropers moved and got their own show for a season). Stanley also wore hideous polyester shirts and slacks and became something of a thrift-store inspiration icon for me. I could write a whole post on the Ropers elsewhere, but I mention all of this to set up where this is going.
Two months ago when I had spotted our featured car, I was walking through the Boystown district of Lakeview in the north side of Chicago. When I had first moved to this city over twenty years ago and while in my late 20s, I had spent a significant amount of time on weekends in this area, hitting many of these bars for happy hour in the hope of making new friends. I had this misguided idea before moving to Chicago that Midwestern “niceness” was going to permeate every interaction compared with those in the area of southwest Florida from which I had moved. It turned out that it wasn’t all that easy to make friends here, and it took time. I made efforts to look my best, fight against my introverted tendencies, and be social with strangers over (lots of) drinks in the hope of finding a new tribe to which to belong.
This strategy, flawed though it was, did eventually work with some lasting friendships formed… along with a side effect of my having developed a stunning tolerance for and increased dependence on alcohol. Chicago can drink, for those of you who don’t know. (I’ve been sober for over four years now.) I can see myself now in my mind’s eye, twenty years younger, wearing my hip, distressed jeans and snugly-fitting graphic t-shirts, looking like every, single, other guy bellying up to the bar. Fast-forwarding many years from my early Chicago days to last February and a long time after I had spent any significant amount of time in this area, I found myself again walking down North Halsted Street on the way to a hardware store where I needed to purchase some bathroom fittings. So many places I remember having frequented have disappeared, with entire stretches of former storefronts having been demolished to make way for new developments.
It was then while at the corner of Halsted and Roscoe that the sight of this ’59 Ford grabbed me as it sat parked across the street from the 7-Eleven convenience store. This Galaxie, with its Thunderbird-inspired roofline, epitomized exactly how it felt for middle-aged me to be walking down the street in 2024, in the LGBTQ epicenter of the third-largest city in the United States. My trendy, clubby, barhopping days are long behind me, even if I will always try to present myself well even if only for me. This first-year Galaxie wasn’t even trying to blend in with the cars around it, much like the flared, boot-cut jeans I was wearing that day had probably (again) cycled back out of style years ago. I will always like the looks of the late ’70s, and that’s just how it is. That era is a happy mental place for me.
No, this Galaxie was me, my current self, sitting there at the curb in all of its unabashed, unashamed, unmistakable vintage-ness – aware of where it has been, not necessarily sure of what’s ahead of it, but mostly unbothered about it, either way. The Galaxie arrived for mid-’59 as a new subseries of Fairlane that featured a Thunderbird-inspired roofline with thick, upright C-pillars and similar ornamental trim. This example appears to be the pillared, two-door club sedan, of which just over 52,800 were produced in this configuration for the model year, representing 11.4% of ’59 Galaxie sales of about 464,100. The two-door club sedan was a distant third in Galaxie production that year, trailing the four door sedan (183,100 units) and Victoria hardtop coupe (121,900 units) by a wide margin. I feel that this car’s period-correct, two-tone Wedgewood Blue and Colonial White paint scheme complements its lines very well.
All ’59 Galaxies also wore Fairlane 500 exterior identification.
I have read that aging is generally harder psychologically on women than on men, but that doesn’t seem to apply to queer men, as there seems to be added pressure to stay physically fit and attractive also within that subcommunity. As for me, this is probably my favorite stage of my entire adult life, which I attribute to a relatively newfound sense of contentment and self-confidence following the implementation of different choices, prioritizing myself instead of looking outward, and (yes) years of therapy.
I have also learned valuable lessons along the way about the strength of diversity among those I count among my closest friends, as I have sought to build my inner circle with all kinds of people from different ethnic backgrounds, orientations, etc., where a mutual appreciation of each other as individuals has been demonstrated and felt. I feel neither trivialized nor under a microscope for just being me by those I love, and I have just as many straight friends, both male and female, as those who, like me, identify as queer.
As I head further into my own Stanley Roper years, I think about how fortunate I am to have found the confidence not to worry about how out of place I may look in comparison to the people, places, and things around me. It’s not that I don’t care about how I look anymore. Far from it. A certain, reasonable amount of care taken in personal presentation can be an outward indicator of self-love, and that’s where my personal journey has continued to lead me. It’s just that two months ago and like this ’59 Galaxie, I realized I haven’t been hung up on trying to stay hip or current by conventional standards for a very long time. I’m sure that Veronica, Nadine, and Helen and Stanley Roper would all approve.
Boystown, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, February 11, 2024.
Brochure photos were sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.org. Still of “The Ropers” was sourced from IMDb.
Really lovely piece, Joe Dennis. Evocative, and honest.
Three’s Company was a remake of the British show Man About The House, which, by CC effect, I have been watching a few episodes of on youtube just recently. Though most dated in certain ways – especially in relation to non-hetero sexuality, though in fairness, nowhere near as bad as most ’70’s shows in that regard – it always had witty bits in the scripts, and quite delightful performances from Mrs Roper, Yootha Joyce. It’s lasted rather well.
Personally, I couldn’t warm to the US version, but this is doubtless similar to the way in which this 1959-US normal car was always called the Tank Fairlane here due to the (perceived) extravagant size and (real) thirst.
And by further CC effect, I looked at one in a carpark not three days ago, marvelling both that it really wasn’t so large, the interior was tiny, and, that like a really old person who is much-loved in a nursing home for their essential character, the beast was clearly much-loved again now. It was a bit rusty and smoky, but age hadn’t wearied it.
Just as it is that if we work to keep our best inner selves intact, age won’t weary us either.
Thank you so much, Justy. And “Tank Fairlane” made me chuckle. Thanks also for putting “Man About The House” on my radar – I may need to check that out. I’m a fan of checking out originals of shows from other countries that have been adapted for U.S. television.
A wonderful commentary to start a Tuesday.
This ’59 Ford has me thinking of my father-in-law, who departed us in March 2023. Like the theme of this piece, he did not care what people thought; on the same token, he wasn’t shy of telling others what he thought. Perhaps that is why he and I got along so well.
He was in the Army when he bought a new ’59 Ford at age 21. Powered by a 292 with a two-speed automatic, he many times drove that car from St. Louis to where he was stationed in Southern California. After he married my mother-in-law and was reassigned to Texas, that ’59 Ford continued to make periodic trips back to St. Louis. He truly loved that car.
A story about that…one of his older brothers also bought a new ’59 Ford, also powered by a 292 but backed with a three-speed. At a family gathering the older brother complained about how sluggish his three-speed Ford was. My father-in-law (again, he who was not shy), offered to drive it for comparison purposes. My father-in-law then proceeded to smoke the tires and flat poured the coals to that Ford in the rural area near the family homestead, achieving some speed that was likely outdriving the design speed of the road. His assessment, as stated to his older brother: It’s got operator issues; there isn’t a thing wrong with this car.
Joe, this was a wonderful find. The ’59 Ford is perhaps my favorite Ford of that decade.
Operator issues hehehe
Jason, thank you, and I’m in the Jason Shafer Anecdotes fan club. To echo the comment above, “operator issues” was terrific.
Yep there’s a difference between not giving a shit, and letting yourself go. I’ve passed that Hawai’i police milestone, but stay determined to fit my Levi’s bootcuts because my boots are my favourite item of clothing. Vanity is entirely human, narcissism is the danger zone.
Agree with all of this. (Except I own no boots – just the jeans.)
I had some major seat time as a passenger in one of these back in the early ’60s, as a kid. My cousin owned one, and we rode with her from Toronto to Halifax in it. All I remember besides sleeping in the back seat, unbelted of course, was the massive, gargantuan beautiful taillights.
That and having to watch as the car was pushed by longshoremen off a ferry in Levis, Quebec, for some strange reason.
Great post Joseph.
Thank you so much. Now that you mention it, I wish I had paused to get a close-up shot of those giant, afterburner taillamps and their details. This is actually the second time I have photographed this car, the first being in April of 2012. I wanted to write it up for years, but couldn’t find the right angle. Then the car reappeared and I wrote this essay. 🙂
This is a great pairing of essay and car, as is your habit. This car adds another layer for me – on top of normal feelings of aging, this one grabs me by the collar and shouts “Hey there bub, you and I are the same age!”
Yikes. I can just barely remember a time when a car like this could be someone’s everyday driver. We took a trip to California in 1965 and my mother’s Uncle Roy had a green Fairlane 500 sedan as his regular wheels. Now, I look at a car like this and all I can think of is old, old, old. Even seeing the year “1959” in print says old, old, old.
I would really love to drive one of these to get a feel for how it might compare to the 59 Plymouth Fury that was my daily driver back in 1979. And finally, I really love finding these in some body style that is not a retractable hardtop – those are the only 59 Fords that seem to have been preserved in any numbers or that frequent places where old cars are found.
Thank you, JP. I honestly can’t remember the last time I have seen a ’59 Ford at a show that wasn’t a retractable hardtop, as you mention. I have seen many more ’59 Chevys. As for the driving experience, I would also be curious. I grew up with power, rack-and-pinion steering as the norm. In fact, I think the only recirculating ball-steering car I’ve ever driven regularly might have been the ’76 Malibu I owned for a time in high school.
I never really liked the front end of these Fords, but that back end it great. I miss those round taillights on the old Galaxies.
The color combo on this example is excellent.
Great piece as always Joseph, especially about just being who you are! And as far as approaching the big Five-Oh (wait, doesn’t Jason’s avatar have something to do with that? But I digress as always 😉) You my friend, are just a pup!
I am approaching a “Beatles” milestone here! Thankfully, I’m not “loosing my hair”, but that milestone is no longer “many years from now”…. we’re down to a month and a half.
But I can say, that the featured car is older than me, albeit by only one model year. 🤣
Thanks, Rick! For scale, I wonder how the size of those taillamps would compare to a household item like, say, a large cooking pot. I also like the color combo on this car and also wonder how much a set of proper, factory hubcaps would cost, though I don’t find these particularly objectionable.
Joseph, it makes me exceedingly happy to see how your weekly writings here have become such an important part of CC. I’m a bit jealous, actually; I wish I had more of your introspective abilities. Somewhat ironically, having passed the 70 milestone a year and a half a go, I’m now more oriented to doing physical activities than sitting and writing, something that was very compelling to me when I started blogging in 2006 as a break from all the physical work I was doing then. I guess it’s because I want to use my body as much as I can while I still can?
I have strong memories about an identical 2-door ’59 Galaxie; one of the assistant scoutmasters in the large and quasi-military boy scout Troop 750 in Towson hade one, but in white over yeallow. This was in 1965-1966, and in very comfortable middle class Towson, his car was surprisingly old at the time. But then he was also the oldest of the 7 or 8 asst. scoutmasters, and clearly less polished and more old-school rugged individualist than the rest. He was by far the best with all manner of outdoor skills and such.
He loved his ’59 Ford; it had dual exhausts and 3-speed w/OD, and he was the fastest driver of the bunch on camping trips. I longed to ride with him, but that never happened. Although my exposure to him was limited, he influenced me the most, as he was proud of his independence, skills and didn’t care what folks thought of his aging but still very competent ’59 Ford.
Paul, thank you so much. What you say about being active and doing stuff as long as you can also motivates me. I have a message board in my living room on which has been written, “We have only this moment”, for months now. Really like how the assistant scoutmaster’s ’59 Ford fit what sounds like his no-nonsense, functional personality.
Your pic of the deck lid center trim reminded me of why 59 Galaxies had Fairlane 500 Badges on the deck lid. Because that first 0 in 500 covered the lock. it swung out of the way to reveal the key hole. Ford saved a few bucks by not designing and pressing and chroming a separate lock cover for the Galaxie. I do remember as a kid liking the look of the 59 Ford, until dad brought home the new 59 Bonneville.
Jason, thank you for this. I honestly had no idea why the nomenclature of both models would have appeared on these Galaxies. I spent a substantial amount of time trying to research what visual clues separated a Galaxie from a Fairlane 500 when I was writing this.
It was a confusing situation. The Galaxie was introduced mid-year and initially tacked on to the Fairline 500 seres. Wiki says “Although a separate series from the Fairlane 500, 1959 Galaxie models carried both Fairlane 500 and Galaxie badging.” IIRC, the Thunderbird roofline was exclusive to the Galaxie. There was some overlap with Fairlane 500 and the Skyliner and Sunliner models during 1959 with some cars having both model names as part of their badging trim and then later year models exclusively labeled Skyliner and Sunliner.
These 59s were quite popular in the Midwest when I was growing up and I rode to Cub Scouts in a 59 Country Squire. The same family had a Sunliner convertible later on. Ford made a big mistake in trying to emulate the 59 Chevy in 1960 (ironic since the more staid 59 Ford ended up outselling the futuristic Chevy) and quickly reverted to a more conventional Ford family look in 1961.
I never held a negative connotation toward the 59 Ford until Tex Watson drove one to Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon on August 8, 1969.
Tex Watson… wow, what an association.
Thanks for this, and I had found the Wikipedia entry when writing this, which had led me down the path of search terms. I remember being impressed that the first-year Galaxie sold as many copies as it did, given that it was a mid-year addition.
I remember one white/red, 4dor roaming the streets of “Butler PA”, into the early, mid “70’s.
For some reason, don’t recall much about the driver.
Do recall rust on the bumpers.
I think it’s awesome that a fifteen-plus year old car would actively have seen use in the Rust Belt in the ’70s. Whenever I see any of Rich Baron’s great posts with collections of photos of vintage vehicles on the street, examples like the one you describe very often make me think about their backstory.
A very thoughtful “coming of age” story, Joseph. The funny thing is that there are many of these transitions that take place in a person’s life. These are related to the changing aspects and responsibilities that we will take on in different periods of our lives.
Of course we are all going to change as a result of our life’s experiences, the difficult part is to hold onto our authentic selves during this process.
I’ve been going through a box of photos as I’ve been preparing my latest COAL series. I hadn’t seen many of these photos in a couple of decades. It’s somewhat surprising to see the “twenty something” me. Man, was I thin back then!
I’ve got a big Birthday coming up this year. the big 7 0. Time doesn’t slow down for anybody, and I’m just thankful to have made it this far, still in one piece! I’m just going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing. Until I can’t. My only advice for the younger folks is to not waste your time with things that don’t reflect, and reinforce your core values. Life IS too short for that.
Joseph, the depth of your articles adds a lot to this website, and we do appreciate them.
Thank you for this perspective, Jose. In the first part of your comment, I completely feel like so much is relative in terms of things I considered important and whatever stage of my life. Stated another way, challenges I faced when I was in my late 20s were no less legit, even if less complicated than issues I may face now.
I also agree that authenticity, or a return to authenticity (or whatever looks like) is also so very important. In a lot of ways, by simplifying my life in recent years (or at least since the pandemic), I feel like I’ve returned largely to who I am at my core, and it feels great. It’s back-to-basics time for me.
I hope that when you start on your latest COAL series, that you are able to remember some of your knee-jerk reactions to seeing some of those photos for the first time in many years!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful perspective on life, Joe.
The “wedgewood blue” of this car, complimented with the white, is what strikes me the most. While of course common for its time, such a blue and also the two-color paint job really stand out in today’s automotive landscape. And yet this car is just being its original self. So cool.
Thank you, Jeff. I can’t think of another car built within even the past 30 years that has this kind of color palette from the factory, but now I’m also thinking about when the last factory two-tone paint job was offered (on a mainstream car). This might have been a CC QOTD years ago…
Well, the MINI comes to mind, as does the current generation Bronco. Although those are weak sauce (just contrasting roofs) compared to what was available back in the day of your featured Galaxie.
A great read, as always, Joseph. I think maybe my 50th birthday was the last time I cared about the number itself. By 60, I was mostly retired and much fitter and happier than while I was in my career slog. And while my fitness goes up and down a bit, my activity and travel in our not-yet-COALed van, make me feel pretty good. So don’t worry about the number! As for the car, not really a fan of any Ford from 1950 through ‘62. I think GM styling, for all its excesses, set the mark and Dearborn never matched it. V
Dman, I am looking forward to that van write-up, and thank you for the good words. Especially now, I’m always interested in what retirement looks like for many, for inspiration. As far as GM styling (and I feel like I have to say this, coming from the birthplace city of GM), it has often felt more compelling than offerings from Ford, even though Ford hit it out of the park occasionally (as did Chrysler). If asked to choose between a ’59 Ford and a ’59 Chevy, only from aesthetic perspective, it would probably be a push for me.
Joseph, given your parents owned a Plymouth Volaré coupe, I figured you have seen every Volaré commercial in existence. I am honoured to share this commercial with you, if it is new to you.
Richard Kline/Larry Dallas promoting the Volaré sedan. lol
Obviously, the sedan is not Larry’s style. He would have been a coupe man, of course!
Daniel, I haven’t seen this one before – thanks for posting it! I like how in the first example, there was a brand new *Ford Fairmont* that was the subject car. In my mind, the Fairmont and Volare were the same size, or at least very similar. And I agree – Larry Dallas would have been rolling in the coupe, with padded vinyl windows (the Premier) and maybe even t-tops!
Great take on this commercial Joe. By 1978, both the Volaré and Kline were B roll actors! A nice marketing match.
Wonderful post, Joseph!!! Very well written!
I had the a similar reaction when Rick and I moved back to Seattle in 2016 after being away for 34 years. All the old places we used to hang out in were gone, even the bar where we met in 1976. The Capitol Hill neighborhood where we used to live (the Seattle equivalent of Boystown) was totally different, now full of arrogant techbros and homeless people and latte joints and ugly condo buildings that pushed out most of the LGBTQ folk. But, being Seattle with little use of ice on roadways, we still see neat old cars like the Galaxie in this post. The other day I saw a JDM 1960’s era Subaru 360 with left hand drive puttering down my suburban street.
Thank you so much, Steve – I appreciate it! Gentrification is such a tricky thing. Often, and not to over-generalize, it takes the LGBTQ community to see the beauty or desirability of low-rent area, live there and make it nice / fun / etc., and then when others feel safe enough there, everyone gets pushed out for other development. I have friends who have bartended at Sidetrack for decades, and they tell me how Boystown used to be a very dodgy, scary place. Plusses and minuses.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a little Subaru 360 in person. I wonder how many survive, or are left in the U.S.
Really nice essay. Thanks for sharing our experiences. As I remember this car it was advertised as “The World’s Most Beautifully Proportioned Car.” Also note, “You’re ahead in a Ford all the way. It’s got the style for fifty-nine.” I’m convinced. I happen to like the looks of the fifty-nines. I did not need Rosemary Clooney to tell me.
Thanks, Thomas. I like that those ads were in the time of superlatives like “world’s most / best / greatest”. Having Rosemary Clooney sing their praises didn’t hurt, I’m sure.
As another member of the over-70 club, I’d say not to let age 50 bother you at all. You’re still young!
I grew up in a Chevy-owning family. The couple next door on one side had Plymouths, and the couple on the other side had Fords; the earliest of the latter that I remember was a 59 model white 4-door sedan, with almost no chrome trim, so it must have been a Custom.
Regarding the featured Galaxie, I love the 2-tone light blue and white.
I like that there was Low-Priced Three representation with the three consecutive houses on your block, including yours. I also think this car has a very effective two-tone treatment that seems very much of its time.
Seeing a vintage car as a “regular” fixture of a community reminds me of my own story…. As I head to another year of Spring Carlisle in Pennsylvania I recall a 1969 Chevrolet Impala 4-door sedan that I first spotted there parked on the street in 1989. It was obviously a daily driver and showed some well earned patina. I saw it every single time I would attend a show there, as it was always on the residential street where I would easily find free parking only slightly away from the thundering herd.
These sighting of what I later called the “Bad Santa” Impala finally ended after 2016. Why? Well because that’s the year I bought that Impala and drove it home!
No, I don’t still have it. Like many of my brief ownership adventures it was short lived, but makes a great story like the ’59 Galaxie. I love the stories that best inspire the words, “But I digress….” and yours was an excellent one!
Digress is what I do – thanks Scott!
No pressure, but if you could dig up and post a pic of your ’69 Impala, that would be so great.
Theres a 59 Sunliner Ive been driving past recently at the curb and for sale in Paeroa NZ rasre car here and likely a recent used import so uncomplied for our roads thats the catch it can become horribly expensive to get over that step.
I was brought home from the hospital after I was born in my Dad’s ’59 Ford….It was a base model 2 door sedan with the six cylinder and three speed manual
My Dad ended up selling it with 150,000 miles on it when he bought a nearly new ’65 Chevy Impala 4 door hardtop.
What a beautiful car .
Especially the two tone .
In the very early 1970’s I worked with a man who was ga-ga over ’58/’59 Fords, mostly retractables but he’d buy them for $75 or so from his favorite junkyard whenever they came in, most were tired but decent daily drivers no one wanted at any price then .
Your writing style is great, mixing thoughts, ideas and memories with interesting cars .
Keeping active is _really_ important ! all my injuries are catching me up so I often am not as active as I’d like but still and all, keep moving .
-Nate