A Millennial’s Love for a Classic Ford

Kimberly Claybaugh, 22, a recent graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University from Tulsa, Okla., on her 1952 Ford Customline, as told to A.J. Baime.

My parents took me to my first meeting of the Early Ford V-8 Club of America when I was 3 days old. My father had a 1949 Mercury. My earliest memories are holding a wrench while he worked on the car. I grew up going to car events, and about 10 years ago, I first met Alice Culhane and her 1952 Ford, which she had named Myrtle after the original owner, Ms. Myrtle Rae.

We would see Alice at events around the country. A Texan in her 50s, Alice would drive Myrtle all over, and it got to be a habit for her to reach out ahead of time and ask for my measurements, so she could bring me period clothes that fit. Alice and I would go on these driving tours in Myrtle. With the exception of some red pinstriping, the car was pretty much original—239-cubic inch V-8 engine and all—with some period-correct accessories. Whenever I would see Alice or one of her friends, I would tell my parents, “See you later!”

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When it was time for me to go to college, my parents told me they would get me my own car if I graduated in four years, so I could go to events in my own vehicle as they had always done. When the time came, however, my father said that it wasn’t the right time. There was no room in the garage, etc.

The night before graduation this past May, we had a party for friends and family. My mom blindfolded me and led me outside, and when she pulled off the blindfold, there was Myrtle. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I called Alice immediately. She was very emotional, because this car had been a 50th birthday present from her husband, who had since passed away, and it meant so much to her. By this time she had owned the car for 17 years. It was time for her to let Myrtle go, and she thought I was the right person to take care of her and to keep her original. It turns out my parents had made a deal with her six weeks earlier, and they had kept this a secret.

Source: A Millennial’s Love for a Classic Ford