Let’s delve once more into the colorful realm of vintage cars in period livery, a topic we touched on once before. As on that occasion, the photos are a mix of quite a variety of rides in bright hues with ornate livery. From the utilitarian to promotions, there’s quite a bit to see in this short series of images.
The photos should also bring memories of the trades of the times. And if for some reason you still have a working cathode TV, one of these fellas may be your solution.
Great shots! The only one I can place is the 58 Plymouth getting towed at General Grant Grove. I wonder how much more forested those hills are in 2024.
I always wonder at the backstory of these photos. Did Foster’s son sell out to a larger outfit? Did that kid beside the 56 Chevy go into industrial photography?
I’m always wondering, too! And always wondering about what these locations look like today!
Image #8, Ford Ranchero, proof that there was a time you could build an addiction without driving a F250 Super Duty.
What kind of car is that in pic #4?
1960 Ford Anglia, a British import (also used as the ‘Harry Potter’ car).
‘Peanuts’ cartoon character (Linus) was part of the ad campaign that year for the Ford Falcon. Fun fact; the television commercials that appeared for the Falcon were produced by the same animation team that would make the “Charlie Brown Christmas” a few years later (Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson).
I found it strange that a Ford dealer would use an import car as a sales tool.
British Fords were imported to the US in varying numbers starting in 1948 but until the Capri (“from Lincoln-Mercury”) they weren’t part of the regular Ford lineup, instead being considered a quasi-division itself.
Existing Fomoco dealers had a right of first refusal for their territory but if they passed up the “English Ford Line” franchise it would be tendered out on its’ own, often to a multi-make foreign-car shop.
Keep hearing “Linus” with “brit accent” in my mind.. Way, cool use of the character and car!
Hillman
Ford Anglia, British Ford import.
Love the 59 Ford Wagon. I can’t make out if it says Crown Victoria on the rear quarter fin. I imagine it’s being used by a TV repairman, out to change a tube in someone’s TV. But never the picture tube!
It says “Country Sedan”, the middle wagon model, Ranch Wagon was the stripper, and the car Dad had was a “County Squire”, the one with fake wood siding.
One of those “country squires”, used to always be parked in the monthly lot , by the courthouse, when I was a kid. Light blue and “faux wood”.
May have been a “59-60”.
Been too long to remember that detail.
Don’t ever recall seeing it elsewhere; lived in a rather small town too. H’mm.
These are a delight, and a tribute to the professional “sign painter” artisans that did the lettering.
For a nice coda to photo #6, here’s the Canadian woman whose father is/was Doug Powell, the appliance repair man who worked for another firm before bravely going independent:
https://kathystinson.com/my-dad-doug-powell/
Home seems to be 288 30th Street in Toronto:
Try again with photo upload:
👍!
That was indeed our address, George — where I lived from ages 4 to 11! Oh, the memories!
That’s terrific to find the backstory to one of these shots!
Wow! What a beautiful tribute to her father! Thanks for the link.
Thanks for taking the time to check it out, M. I appreciate it! 🙂
Thanks for the shout out to my blog post about my dad. 🙂
I was trying to figure out which 288 30th Street that house was, looked at house in Toronto on Google Maps, compared it to the old photo, and concluded it was a different house. The front window looks the same but everything else, including the roof and a big front porch, was different. The house to the left looks completely different too, with a garage where the living room is in the older photo. Did your dad (or anyone else) do an extensive renovation/addition somewhere along the way?
LOVE THE MILLER HI-LIFE 54 CHEVY SEDAN DELIVERY. ?ON THE TOP PHOTO, HAS THE GRILLE ON THE TRUCK BEEN CHANGED OUT? IT DONSN’T SEEM TO FIT THE SHEET METAL I SEE HOME HEATING OIL TRUCKS LESS AND LESS. MY LATE-50’S SUBURB (BRAMALEA, ON) WHERE I GREW UP, EVERYONE WAS ON OIL, AND MOST, IF NOT ALL, HAVE GONE TO NATURAL GAS WHEN THE SERVICE FINALLY CAME TO THE AREA.
These is among my favorite of these photo sets – the company names gives us a pretty good chance of finding more information, and also the locations.
Picture #2 (The Fox Restaurant’s Nash Rambler) was taken in Huntsville, Alabama. I believe that’s Mr. & Mrs. Fox in the photo. The restaurant operated from 1951 to 1960.
Back in the day, you could have a complete Thanksgiving dinner there for $1.50:
Based on the menu, I’ll take the Virginia Ham.
Turkey is not my favorite.
Phone #1 is for the same company (Earl C Foster & Son) as photo # 9.
Looks to be a heating oil distributor for home furnaces based in Attleboro Falls, Mass.
These home owners took a big hit in the ’73 fuel crisis.
beat me to the punch!
I think I found that house – the address is 40 North Ave. in North Attleborough. The house seems to match, even down to details like that unique arch above the garage door. Also, the neighboring house appears to match as well (it’s eave is barely visible in the vintage shot, partially covered by snow, and the neighboring house in the modern scene has the same eave pattern).
Most importantly, in the 1950s, this house was owned by Stewart Foster, who I believe was Earl Foster’s son.
Oddly, the topography of that street doesn’t appear to match up entirely with that in Photo #1, which appears to show the same house. Also, there’s what looks like a gas pump or something similar in behind the truck, which would be odd for a residential street. I can’t quite figure that discrepancy out, but maybe my eyes are tricking me.
But given all of the other evidence, I’m pretty sure that’s the house shown in Photo #9.
StreetView link here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KWeszudEMyvvBNAd7
Thanks! Love seeing before and after pics, but I’m inclined to like the earlier photo best.
That gas pump is an oddity. Seems unlikely that Foster would have a real connected pump in his yard, though zoning and environmental laws were looser back then. Maybe it was serving as an advertisement, or holding his mailbox?
I think you are definitely right about #9 being the house on North Ave, but I’m pretty sure the house in #1 is different. They are certainly similar, but the roofline of the 2 dormer windows are different and the #1 house has that screen porch on the right side, that the North Ave house doesn’t have.
I agree about those houses being different. It seems awfully coincidental to have two nearly identical houses in two of these photos, but the setting just doesn’t look the same, and that’s a good catch about the roofline.
I wonder if two members of the Foster family built similar homes? It’s not out of the question, and the house in Picture #1 could be across the street from one of their gas stations, which could account for the gas pump in that photo. Just a guess.
Looks like the Foster & Son fuel truck in the last pic has Attleboro Falls lettered on the door. Massachsetts was the only one I could find.
Trucks like this were a common sight when I was a kid, before natural gas became common.
We had a 200 gallon furnace oil tank beside the house, I shudder to think what it would cost to fill it up today!
Oil heat’s still fairly common in New England especially outside the bigger cities, with NG infrastructure buildout having not reached a lot of areas which are leapfrogging directly to heat pumps. That’s not counting areas with large-scale hydro power where electric resistance baseboard heat becomes cost-effective.
mine just got filled. High 800s.Ontario
Photo #8 Red Chevy wagon in front of construction
Are they adding on the the house on the right? inside, looks like a set of steps to a loft or spare bedroom on top of the garage.
The ’59 Ford’s removable signwritten panels are very much of their time, a small businessman who could only afford one vehicle and who didn’t (or his wife didn’t) want to show up at certain places and occasions in the shop “truck”.
On the East Coast it would’ve been a legal necessity for travel on parkways with status-based bans on commercial vehicles (aside from clearance-based ones, not an issue for a wagon however it’s signwritten), much less of a concern in California as the ’56 Chevy in the last photo shows.
Next to last photo, checking the oil on a B61 Mack car hauler (rag in hand hood unlatched) unusual to see a box sleeper as Mack had a nice integral sleeper. Note the extra tall exhaust pipe to get the soot above those new cars.
He should be looking at his tires. They’re as bald as Kodak.
Kojak. Autocorrect sucks.
I always love these photos, especially the snowy ones. Great photos always!
Thanx again for the memory boost ~ in the mid 1960’s in New Hampshire I was working a 1949 Chevy heating oil delivery truck, loaded ot was *very* slow but always got the job done .
Early morning, crisp and clear with the tank vent whistling merrily =8-) .
In New England, Anglias were common then suddenly they weren’t .
-Nate
Picture #2 is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa – the City’s Central Fire Station is the building on the far side of the image. The business here was called Midwest Food Distributors, which serviced restaurants, hotels, etc.
It’s nice to see that both the fire station and the brick facade of the food distributor building have been preserved.
Google StreetView link here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/cgrN6MTczoKy8qM96
The trouble with the Linus depiction is that the “balloon” in which his words are wriotten is shaped like a lemon and is lemon yellow. OOPS!
These are fantastic photos. They reminded me of this photo of my Grandfather, taken in February of 1966. Thanks to my Grandmother for writing dates on all of her photos!
Thinking the “Nash” would not entice me to “lunch @ “The Fox”.
Great pictures! I love the Miller High Life car, and I’d love to see the rest of that red advanced design peeking out of the garage.
Great photos of hard working vehicles and in some cases their owners or operators. It does trigger the old memories of the days before the big corporations in our everyday life.
#1 Foster & Son Shell Heating Oil in Attleboro Falls, MA. Perhaps that is Earl himself posing next to a ’60 Ford F-100 Panel with a ’51 Chevrolet in the background. Both of them have Massachusetts plates used issued ’59 and updated in ’60 with the windshield sticker seen on both vehicles in the upper center. I am going to say that this house is not the one at 40 North Ave. They do look very similar, but this one looks more rural which may explain the gas pump, the dormer roofs are different, the driveway appears to be curved, the mailbox is on the road, and I don’t see the barn red house next door.
#2 The Fox’s and their ’51 or ’52 Nash Rambler Country Club. I hope they kept their kitchen cleaner than their car.
#3 Cedar Rapids, IA. It is interesting that a fire station is next door to a food/liquor distributor. Hmmm. Front and center is the company’s new delivery vehicle, a ’54 Chevrolet Model 1508 Sedan Delivery with a ’54 Iowa commercial plate. To the left is a ’49-’52 Chevrolet Model 1508 Sedan Delivery that has had a rough life. The box van in the building may be a ’48-’53 Dodge Job-Rated. The one in the center I am not sure about, and the one on the right is a ’47-’53 Chevrolet Advanced Design at least a 4100 Series going by the big bumper. On the right edge looks to be a ’50-’52 Plymouth 4 door sedan with a sun visor.
#4 Linden Ford. This may be Linden, NJ. An early sixties Ford Anglia used as an advertiser, perhaps a customer courtesy car? It looks like it has been around the block a few times. Parked behind it is a red and white ’66 Ford F-Series with a V8. To it’s right is a black ’65 Mercury Comet 202 2 door sedan, and behind it may be a ’63 Ford Galaxie 500 4 door hardtop in white. To it’s right is a black ’58-’60 International Travelall. The row in the background on the left has a white or tan ’63 Buick full size, a maroon ’57 Buick, skip one, and a white ’64 Pontiac full size.
#5 Mr. Wesley has a very nice looking rig and is dressed nicely as well . A ’47-’50 Chevrolet Advanced Design Model 3105 De Luxe Panel.
#6 And Mr. Powell also has a nice rig, a ’59 Ford Country Sedan. Plus we were provided with a link to an article by his daughter. A very interesting read.
#7 Kings Canyon National Park. A V8 powered ’58 Plymouth Sport Suburban apparently having some trouble on a warm summer day with a ’54 or ’55 GMC Advanced Design tow truck with a De Luxe Cab to the rescue.
#8 Someone is adding a huge addition to their house. The drapery man is there to measure so he can get started on the order. He has a ’54 Chevrolet One-Fifty Handyman wagon with a what looks like a Pennsylvania commercial plate used from ’58-’65. To it’s right is a ’58 Ford Ranchero, and to it’s right may be a ’48-’53 Dodge Job-Rated long bed pickup. On the very left edge is a ’63 or ’64 Cadillac.
#9 Foster & Son once again. This time with his tanker, a ’48-’50 Ford F-5 or F-6. I think this is the 40 North Ave. house. I do realize there is potentially a twelve year time difference going by the truck ages, and a lot can change in that amount of time. Just my two cents worth.
#10 Bath time for the Mack car hauler (wet ground) with a white ’59 Ford parked behind it and a neighborly gab session going on in the background.
#11 Meriman Photo Art since 1908. That feller does not look that old. He may be the second generation with the third or fourth standing next to him. The car is a V8 powered ’56 Chevrolet Bel Air Beauville wagon from Mullen Chevrolet in Los Angeles. It is wearing a California plate issued in ’56 with a ’59 sticker. In the background is a black ’50-’53 Cadillac sedan.
Thanks for the photos.
I responded to a comment above (by Dan C.) about the Foster & Son houses – I agree that they’re two different houses. The locations just don’t look the same. I’m wondering if different members of their family built houses from the same plans? That kind of thing did happen back then (I live in 1920s-era house, and I’ve never seen another one like it, except for a house down the street that was built a few years later… I think someone liked this house and got the same plans to build another one).
I also wonder if Picture #1 is a house owned by the Fosters that was across the street from their Shell station?
I had the same thought on the houses belonging to the Foster family. Since there is only one gas pump visible I wondered if it was for the company vehicles at their business location. I am thinking they would need a storage facility for heating oil so they added a tank for gasoline as well. But since I am not from heating oil country this is purely speculation on my point.
It is always fun and interesting to try to solve these puzzles but clues can be hard to come by after fifty or sixty years have passed.
Growing up in Southern California, we didn’t have snow much less heating oil trucks. But there were plenty of delivery trucks around. Blue Seal dry cleaners would pick up and deliver your dry cleaning. Helm’s Bakery panel deliveries with barn doors that opened wide so the driver could roll out the sliding trays of baked goods : since it was during the day, it was usually women who gathered to purchase items from the driver.
Television repairmen who drove the usual Ford or Chevrolet panels. Local police and fire departments that had, I assume, supervisors / captains who drove station wagons (usually Fords). There were also drapery / interior design people (usually women) who drove station wagons of varying makes and models.
The Shell jobber’s truck reminded me of this Dinky Toy I got in Holland as a child. My Dad worked for Shell in The Hague. It says A.E.C. Monarch Thompson Tank.