Text by Patrick Bell.
Station wagons were the utility vehicle of choice during this time period. They were comfortable enough for people, and rugged enough for trailer towing and everything in between. Today, we have a good selection of the common and not so common, so let’s get underway.
Our first image was springtime in the snow country at a parking lot of some kind. It was relatively warm as the snow was melting but there was still plenty left. The two wagons were both Ford Falcons; the lighter one in the foreground a ’62 Deluxe 4-door, and the darker one a ’60 or ’61 standard 4-door. Both of them had a roof rack, and one of them was loaded. The ’62 had a license plate visible, but it was not one I recognized or could read. Hanging out with them was a sharp V8-powered 1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe.
We are now at Al’s Chicken House in Fort Stockton, Texas, which had quite a varied menu. It looked like a warm to hot summer day. The most prominent wagon was a V8-powered 1958 Chevrolet Nomad that was sporting some window shades for protection from the sun. I see some water underneath, so perhaps it was air conditioned. To the left was a 1959 Plymouth Custom Suburban wagon, the newest in the photo. It was from out of state, with a yellow license plate that could have been California.
Here was a delivery vehicle for Samuels Pharmacy in Winthrop, Massachusetts. It was a 1957 Ford Courier with a spotlight on top. Behind it was a grey V8-powered 1953 Ford Customline Club Coupe, with a black 1950 Plymouth on the right edge.
A new neighborhood was underway with at least two houses so far, presuming the new lawn and flower bed belonged to a house. In the driveway was a 1956 Rambler Custom Cross Country with three tone paint. The girl had a fancy bicycle with whitewall tires, while the boy’s looked like a basic model, although they both had baskets. Plus another girl’s bike was parked to the right. In the background was a 1955 or 1956 GMC truck with a dump body.
This neighborhood was in Ohio and the celebration was Independence Day, 1961. The wagon was a V8-powered 1959 Chevrolet, either a Parkwood (6-passenger) or Kingswood (9-passenger). The standing lady had an armload of carrots, and the children looked like they were heading out to see what the excitement was. On the house next door, there was another table full of people.
And another V8-powered 1959 Chevrolet, this one the top-of-the-line Nomad model. It had a loaded roof rack and a ’62-’64 vintage Michigan license plate issued in Ingham County, where the seat is Mason. The other wagon, at the left, was a 1957 to 1960 Vauxhall Victor F Series II, also with a loaded roof rack. Also camping out was a tan 1955 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan.
Now here was a wagon you never saw much of, a 1963 Mercury Meteor. The Meteor (not to be confused with the Canadian Meteor) was Mercury’s version of the intermediate sized Ford Fairlane, and both debuted in the ’62 model year. The Comet was promoted from compact to intermediate size in ’64, so the Meteor existed for only two years. The wagons did not become available until ’63, which made this a one year wonder. Just over 8,000 wagons were produced in three series, with this base model amounting to 2,904 of them. It had a luggage rack and a ’69 issue Ohio license plate.
In case anyone is wondering; the house painters started at the top so the maroon was the new color. I wonder if they used those same ladders to reach the third story/attic area.
An official-looking 1963 Plymouth Savoy was attending the moving of a Mooney M20 aircraft on a flatbed trailer. I have to wonder what they were doing, as it could not go down the road with the wings attached. And if it wasn’t going down the road, why did they need such a big rig?
Three wagons were parked in a row in this image, with the most obvious a 1966 Mercury Colony Park 9-passenger station wagon with a ’67 Georgia license plate issued in Gwinnett County, where the seat is Lawrenceville. It was a business owner’s car, as there was a sign in the quarter window that I see but can’t read. The stuff in the back does not give an indication of his type of business. In front of it looks like a 1966 or 1967 Buick Special, and in front of that a 1958 Chevrolet Brookwood. And to the left a white over green 1962 Chevrolet C series panel, right next to the red 1967 or 1968 Pontiac Firebird convertible.
Now we are in front of an antebellum style house that appears to be close to the beach as I see water to the right. Parked in the street was a V8-powered 1967 Chevrolet Bel Air with a white and green license plate that could have been a North Carolina 1969 issue. Out back was a white 1963 Chevrolet Impala 4-door and a black 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 or 500/XL Sunliner.
Union Station in Los Angeles was the location of this shot, taken in 1974. Front and center was a 1968 Ford Country Sedan that was well traveled, going by what appears to be destination decals in the quarter windows. It also had a well secured luggage compartment on top. Parked on the other side of it was a white 1967 or 1968 Pontiac Catalina or Bonneville. And, typical of Southern California, there were several other items of interest starting behind the Pontiac with a Toyota FJ40, Volkswagen Type III Notchback, 1968-1970 Datsun 510, and facing this way a 1965 Cadillac. On the far left was a white Triumph GT6 Mark 3, and on the left edge, the quarter panel of a Mercedes-Benz W108.
This 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban appeared like it had stopped for gas, but they were parked on the wrong side of the pumps for the hose to reach, unless they had an extra long one. Maybe the driver was asking for directions. Parked at the side of the building were a 1968 Chevrolet C10 Fleetside long bed and a 1964 Ford Custom or Custom 500 2 door sedan. I wonder what they were asking for the Ford? The license plates are hard to see but Oregon is a possibility.
Our last stop of the day is at Quackenbush’s Hardware in downtown Eugene, Oregon. It originally opened as a hardware store in 1903, and later became a little bit of everything type store. I wasn’t able to find a clear closing date, but it was in the 70’s perhaps as late as 1980. So this image was in its last days. Out front was a 1971 or 1972 Ford Country Squire with a 1975-1977 Triumph TR7 parked in front of it. In the window above the TR7 I see a reflection of a ’60s Dodge D series pickup, and in the lower right corner was a 1977 or 1978 Ford Mustang II 2+2.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Yes, those wagons were everywhere! #1 seemed for a moment like a Ford ad photo, until I saw the Chevy. #5 (Ohio) is especially familiar territory, with a zillion modest/starter postwar homes built like that. I *may* be seeing what was common: driveway poured to the back of the lot, expanding out to double-wide at the back so you could get either car in/out, and you could build a garage over it once you had the money, if you wished. Practical thinking!
The one in the background on pic.6 is a Vauxhall Victor F series II in Banff Blue over Regency Cream.
Thanks, Bernard, I’ve amended Patrick’s text.
The “Opel Rekord P1 Caravan” looks more like a Vauxhall Victor F. Oops, Bernard Taylor beat me.
Thank you all for your correction.
Such nice memory inducing pictures =8-) .
The Notchback VW At Union Station is notable for never being offered for sale in the U.S.A., many were gray marketed from Canada .
-Nate
My moms , cousin, family, had that same ’67 Chev, wagon”. Believe the color to be a match too. I know they got it near “70”. Probably had it “6”, or so, years.
The Mercury Colony Park with Georgia plates is actually parked in New Orleans by the busy farmers market.
The Chevy wagon that follows it also looks like NOLA.
The area where the 1967 Chevrolet station wagon is parked looks like the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina.
Geeber, you are correct. I live in Carleston, SC and recognized the house right away. I walk past it frequently when walking my dog at the park. It is downtown in the historic district and looks very much the same today – including the fence out front.
Thanks to all of you for the location ID’s!
The Quackenbush building is still very much there and houses a lovely book store on the street level right side. We walk by it quite often.
Which bookstore is that? I thought it might be the wonderful Smith Family bookstore but it’s in a different building.
J. Michaels. It’s a fairly small but well-curated store. Smith Family has a large two-story building of their own a couple of blocks away.
Thanks to Geeber for his identification of the locus of the antebellum home. I was thinking Charleston but am no expert. Gorgeous architecture.
Pure speculation about the airport shot, but…
I can’t be sure if I’m looking at a propeller on the Mooney. If I’m not, and if the plane is engineless and therefore immobile, and if they wanted to get it into a hangar from the storage yard, then they might put it on a trailer. And if that was the most convenient trailer they had, then that’s the one they used, overkill or not.
You are likely correct, BelAir. I figured they could tow it around if need be but that probably was easier said than done.
Thanks for your comment!
That Mooney overran the runway in Indiana, on 8/5/65, when it was just two years old. The pilot had only 13 hours in the airplane “of type”, and a common mistake of new Mooney pilots was getting them down to landing speed at the right time, because Mooneys like to keep going. This model is a Ranger (the lowest price model). Plane was repaired and then was de-listed around 2005.
The 63 Mercury Meteor picture shows something not seen anymore. The house is being painted with oil based paint and it was good practice to start at the top and work down so that you could see any drips that oil will make and smooth them out
That Mooney overshot a runway and was wrecked on 8/5/65…only 2 years old. The pilot had only 13 hours of experience in the complex, fairly high performance Mooney. And one of the most common pilot mistakes in Mooneys is misjudging landing speed. My uncle bought one back in ’67 and called it “the sports car of single engine aircraft” and that was a good description.
Thanks for that information, Paul!