I was raised a Catholic, so this photo -almost- makes sense to me. And well, what better day to post it than a Sunday?
Incidentally, my mother-in-law usually attends mass on Sunday evenings and it’s been a while since I joined them. Maybe I should tag along with the whole gang later today and attend. No idea if they do any car blessings at her church, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: 1955 Dodge Coronet – Your Choice of Hemi, Poly or Flat Head
They still do The Blessing of The Cars in Los Angeles once a year .
It’s mostly Low Riders but always fun to see what’s there .
They also do a Blessing Of The Animals where most any animal you can imagine might turn up .
-Nate
Episcopal church next door to me des the “yearly blessing of the animals”. So much fun to watch. Not so heavily attended the last seven or so years though.
Used to have birds in cages, rabbits, turtles, the requisite dogs/pups , cats..
Was always a blast to watch them all check each other out. 🙂
Makes me wonder if the Dodge belongs to the parish, either for the school, the rectory, or the convent.
I remember from childhood that we had a trading stamp collection drive to amass enough stamps to buy the sisters a new car. Yes, back in the day Speery and Hutchinson (S&H) and others would let you trade enough stamps for a car. Check out this link: https://forums.aaca.org/topic/360109-buying-a-new-car-with-trading-stamps/
Well, it is a wagon. So I say, Convent.
I tend to agree, but I’m surprised that the sisters would be seen riding around in something with a flashy two-tone paint job!
“Raleigh Coupons” had a “Thunderbird” ((beige/brown top)) in the “65” or “66” catalogue.. Remember counting ours to see how close we came.
Even with my dad’s chain smoking, we were “waay shy”..lol
My Rambler could have used many blessings, and I’m not Catholic. That car was possessed!
Neighbor “3 house down the hill” had one of these in dk blue/white top. She was not ((by appearances)) fond of her’s.
About “65”, it was replaced by a “Buick Special” , tudor hrdtp”. (nearly the same color)
I recall she still had it round/about “1968”.
There is actually an official blessing for cars – there is more information here: https://www.churchpop.com/behold-the-official-catholic-blessing-for-your-car/
If you go, I think you will find that this is the weekend for blessing of homes. I don’t know if there is a specific time for blessing cars, or whether that is something done on an as-desired basis.
As I think about it, I don’t think I have ever had a car blessed. My priest son was visiting this past week and took care of the house. I will have to get on him about his oversight on the cars. 🙂
Oddly enough :
I have unshakable faith .
I don’t think many machines can truly be blessed although I’ve had more than a few that could have used it as I roundly and routinely cursed them to no apparent effect .
The blessing of cars. What a joke and I can say that. When you are born into an Irish Catholic family and sent to parochial school K-12 you learn a thing or two about said Church. Leave it at that tbm3fan, leave it at that…
Thankful we had no “catholic high school”, readily accessible where I grew up.
Had there been one, I’d a been dub enough to go and I know my parents would likely have sent me..lol
When I got to “public school”, (9th grade) realized i actually didn’t mind school that much at all.
JT :
FWIW, almost everyone discovered that Parochial School girls are amongst the easiest to bed if that’s all you’re looking for .
Sad but true .
-Nate
Ok, I’ll bite and how the hell do you know? Did you try??? See my very catholic language. Now I wouldn’t know since my high school was boys only till my senior year and that was a strange transition.
That’s a fair question .
Once, I was a randy teenager with zero parental teaching, I noticed those cute (some) girls many of whom used the mandatory garb to look like hookers, I naturally went to see what’s what and ever since I’ve known that the louder they speak about piety and God they more frustrated and tightly wrapped they are and so the easier to bed .
This can be a scary bad thing if you’re not careful .
I have learned not to simply chase sex, doing the do with someone you have good chemistry with changes things incredibly .
I hope this isn’t an upsetting / insulting answer, you asked, I told the truth as I learned it .
-Nate
Doesn’t upset me at all. I personally was not around girls at that age due to it being an all boys school. One had to go to dances at the girls Catholic High which I didn’t. One you needed to drive. Still as senior in a coed school I dated a few times but felt zero desire although I knew, as you put it, randy classmates.
Now this being 1971 there was a double standard here. The boys hadn’t had uniforms for several years while the girls did and that carried over to the 1971 year. Girls would do their best to shorten the skirts as much as possible before their Mother Superior saw by making the girls kneel on the ground. I recall one freshman girl, dark hair, small, and large breasts for her size cause all kinds of havoc around campus with the sophomore and junior boys. LMAO still.
Me, I waited to college and always had a firm rule to stay away from girls in my major as I would have to associate with them for possibly four years. Came in handy during grad school (77-81) of 64 students together for four years. Didn’t need no drama so went out with undergrads from Cal.
All is good, Nate…
Indeed all is good ! .
Sadly, when I was in the 9th grade I also had a full time job and a Russian girlfriend, she said she was taking care of things and wasn’t so I had a son when I was in the 10th grade and wound up loosing him and the G.F. both .
=8-( .
Life goes on .
-Nate
Ok, now I am going to say Yikes!
Truly I was ‘dazed and confused’ at that time .
Embarrassing but I cannot change what is past .
I wonder where Michael is now .
-Nate
Well my name is Michael but I assure you it isn’t me, LOL.
Billy Joel, who isn’t even Christian, claimed the opposite, many times over: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46n1WSuaxOs
Anyone who can have the Church of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas figured out by the time he is graduated from high school must be congratulated.
The more superstitious Buddhists also do blessings of any new vehicle bought.
I think or heard that in Thailand, the national airline,Thai Airways, will have Buddhist monks bless aircraft
makes sense!
Picturing that “shiny wagon” in drk/light green, or brown/beige combination colors.
If he was still blessing cars in 1971, he may have had to deal with the Dart Demon !
And the Swinger!
Don’t leave out the “Gremlin”.
Ambassadors enjoy diplomatic immunity. So, let’s not leave them out either
I was also raised Roman Catholic. I can remember folks taking their cars to the church to have the Monsignor to bless them. As devout as my folks were, we never had one of our cars so blessed.
I also went to parochial school, through 8th grade. The nuns in our church had the exclusive use of a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Vista Cruiser. Occasionally, we got to go on field trips with their Vista Cruiser. I marveled at the windows in the roof; our Ford Fairlane had nothing like it.
Coincidentally, today is Orthodox Catholic Christmas. Happy Christmas to all who celebrate.
I remembered it’s “orthodox Christmas” about “3pm”. I’m better at remembering “orthodox Easter”.
With all of the cruelty and suffering in this world it seems to me that the church could make better use of their time than blessing brand new cars. Nuff said.
Yeah and the Holy Roller priests shouldn’t be driving new Caddies either but life’s funny that way .
the nuns get stuck in a crappy station wagon .
-Nate
Yes, the priests don’t take the “vow of poverty”.
For the life of me I cannot make out the name on the hood on the car. Allpar does not seem to offer any insight into a many letter name not named Dodge on the hood of this wagon.
It’s “Dodge,” in a highly stylized script.
Did they call the “Canadian Dodge’s” something other then “Suburbans” or “Sierras”?
I can see that Canadian Dodge Wagons came in Mayfair, Crusader, and Regent options, all as “Suburbans”. I.e. Mayfair Suburban, Crusader Suburban, Regent Suburban.
That script on the front hood looked like it had like ten letters or something, not resembling Dodge at all.
Had my Dad wanted or needed a wagon, it would have been the low trim Crusader. Nice to see you could still get them in two tone colour paint.
Since you alls are so fixated on the Dodge Dart “Swinger” edition, I remember a very good looking if socially awkward teacher way back when, she bought a brandy new Dodge Dart Swinger in…..?1968? when it first came out, then of course we all teased the living hell out of that poor woman for the alternate meaning of “swinger”…..
We/I had no shame then, I do now and she’s one of the many I wish I could apologize to .
-Nate
The parish priest blessed our family Rambler once a year. My brothers and I cursed the geeky Rambler while regularly trying out new and imaginative ways to abuse it.
The Rambler’s survival at the hands of 3 teenage tormentors is either a testament to the power of an annual blessing or Kenosha’s build quality. It remains an unsolved mystery to this day.
St. Peter is holding the keys. Therefore, better hope that you and your brothers cash out your due Karma, before your inevitable arrival at the Pearly Gates