Text by Patrick Bell.
Station wagons were the utility vehicles of their day and were a popular part of the typical American family; as such, they make for a good amount of family memories for many. While the wagon style body is even more common today, the execution is different. Let’s take a look at some vintage wagons and the several daily activities they were part of back then.
Our lead image was Mom sitting in the third seat of a 1970 Chevrolet Kingswood 3-seat with a load on the roof rack. She was passing out lunch to the youngsters and the cooler was on the ground. It looks like sandwiches and hard boiled eggs were on the menu. To the left was the right front corner of a 1965 Plymouth Fury III or Sport Fury with a 318 cubic inch V8, and a 1968 or 1969 Volkswagen Type 1 with a Connecticut license plate.
Here a couple had parked under a shade tree for a break and to allow their 1953 Ford Mainline Ranch Wagon some cool down time. It was equipped with the 239 ci “Strato-Star” flathead V8 which was in its last year of production.
Two likely brothers were having a roadside breakfast of grapefruit and milk on the tailgate of a 1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten 4 door wagon. It had the 235 ci six cylinder for power, two tone paint, and a 1957 issue New York license plate.
Dad was loading the 1956 Ford Country Sedan in preparation for a road trip or perhaps a camping trip. It was wearing a 1957 Pennsylvania license plate, and visible optional equipment was the “Style-Tone” two tone paint, radio, and full wheel covers. Still to load was a potty seat and a folding trench shovel.
A mother and her two daughters were having lunch with a lake in the background. Dad was likely the photographer. Their travel vehicle was a 1958 Chevrolet Yeoman 2 door, Chevrolet’s entry level wagon with a one year name. It was a basic model and had a 1963 Florida license plate issued in Dade County.
A group of men were observing something behind the photographer while one was passed out in the back of a 1956 Ford Parklane. The Parklane was a one year nameplate that was later revived as a Mercury model, and was the “ultra-fashionable addition to the Ford station wagon line” per the sales brochure. It was based on the two door Ranch Wagon, with Fairlane trim inside and out. The one above had a 1956 or 1958 Ohio license plate.
Somebody was climbing around in the back of a 1958 Plymouth Custom Suburban 4 door. It looked like there was plenty of camping equipment and the person was on a mission to find something in particular. I see it had one of the Push-Button automatic transmissions, as well as two tone paint, a fender mounted mirror, full wheel covers and whitewall tires.
It looked like a warm day when these folks were out in this image from 1960. Their ride was a 1956 Ford Custom Ranch Wagon that was registered in California. They had a cooler and thermos in the back, and appeared to be taking a smoke break.
The kids were sitting on the bumper while Mom was nearby. It looked like they were waiting for someone or something. Their wagon was a 1959 Plymouth Sport Suburban 9 passenger that had a California license plate with a 1960 validation sticker and a “Bank Motors” frame. To the left was a 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix 2 door hardtop, and ahead was a 1959 Rambler Super.
Mom was the photographer as the family was relaxing after a meal. They were traveling in a 1959 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Fiesta, the least expensive yet most popular Oldsmobile wagon of the year. They were well equipped for a meal on the road with a cooler, thermos, and a picnic basket.
These girls didn’t look very happy while eating their breakfast. Perhaps there was fun to be had that they were missing. They each had their own brand of cereal, and appeared to be reading the back of the boxes. The family wagon was a 1965 Rambler Classic 550 or 660 with two tone paint.
Someone let a stinker, or at least the boy thought so. They were sitting in the back of a 1964 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon with the optional roof rack, third seat, and backup lamps, to go along with a New Jersey license plate. Parked in front of them was a 1967-1972 Ford F-series pickup with a Flareside bed.
Two well dressed ladies were taking a snooze in the back of what appeared to be a 1965 or 1966 Dodge Polara. Perhaps they were traveling to an event of some sort.
A group of young ladies were in the back of a 1963-1965 Jeep Wagoneer. They don’t appear to be wearing any kind of uniforms, but they obviously were traveling together for some reason, though likely short distance as I don’t see any stuff in the back or on top.
Our final shot today was a new kind of station wagon, what is now known as a SUV. The featured one was a 1969-1972 Chevrolet Blazer or GMC Jimmy with a Pennsylvania license plate. It was equipped with the optional hard top, upgrade interior and exterior trim, and a two way or CB radio with a whip antenna. They were out on a cool fall or winter day, perhaps on a hunting trip.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Note: If you wish to see your vintage photos featured at Curbside Classic, send them to us at [email protected].
That photo of the ladies in the Wagoneer reminds me of pretty much any Girl Scour trip in the late 60s & early 70s. Sometimes all the gear was back there; sometimes lots of elementary school age girls were back there. Maybe some moms had station wagons but I remember the Travelalls and Wagoneers.
We took a two week trip across the country in my grandma’s Mercury station wagon to visit relatives. There were six of us. We had an ice chest in the back and often I would sit back there with it as it got a little bit too cozy in the back seat. Those metal bolts on the transmission hump that held the front seat belts got really hot.
It looks like the fellow with the ’56 Ford, potty seat and trench shovel had a beard! Pretty unusual for the time. It’s strange how unfashionable it was back then.
Love that Sealtest quart of milk, in the back of a ’55 Chevy wagon.
White script on red background is exactly as I remembered it .
Sealtest milk was a childhood staple I remember quite well.
This certainly takes me back to my early formative years where I remember riding in a car. Loved that third row facing backwards.
The thing that struck me the most going through this article is how people back then really used that wagon for hauling and life in general. Now here we are today with these huge SUV’s that everyone thinks they need to pilot around and seldom do you see them being used in any way like this. Everyone “needs” that huge gas hog to haul “stuff” that they seldom if ever haul. And most you see driving around daily with one or two people at most. What a waste.
I’d love to go back to these days of wagons and families using them like they did.
Another +1
I do wonder what the kid eyeballing the hard boiled egg grew up to do? There was always one like that in a crowd of kids. Maybe even Paul.
Yup. That’s the kid I wonder the most about.
The picture of the group of men with the Ohio plate, either 1956 or 1958, is probably from the Akron area. Could be a park in the Portage Lakes area.
As a child my family vacation consisted of piling in the car, driving a long distance, and pitching a tent for the week. As my dad was an assistant scout master, I also went camping with the scouts for a week every year. I got very good at camping but hated every minute of it.
A great bunch of photos.
The 1964 Fairlane with the New Jersey plates is clearly on a large car ferry. I wonder if it might have been the Cape May/Lewes ferry.
One of the cool things about these photos is the range of old camping equipment. My family had the same Coleman gear. The cooler, the jug, the lantern, the 2 burner camp stove.
I also love how most of these photos feature non-disposable plates and cups (aside from the Miami ladies in the Yeoman with their box of Dixie cups).
Growing up in the 60s mom and dad had a ’54 Ranch Wagon. So the pictures of similar Fords bring back memories.
I too rolled around in the ‘way back’ of full size American Station Wagons, my mind shudders to think if we’d crashed or rolled over .
Happy faces, happy places =8-) .
-Nate
Reading the backs of cereal boxes was the start of a lifetime of reading while I eat breakfast. Like right now, for instance.