By Bud Wilkinson /
HARWINTON, CT – Bruce Richard’s mother passed away nearly three years ago but it was only recently when going through some of her things that he made a discovery. “I opened up this box and there was this plastic bag in there. I looked inside the plastic bag and I found all these old newspapers,” he said Friday.
There was a “New York Journal-American” dated March 18, 1951. The newspaper was a blue collar broadsheet owned by Hearst Corporation that lasted from 1937 to 1966. There was also a “Hartford Courant” from May 19, 1963.
![](https://classiccars.ride-ct.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/JA-Sports-1-1024x663.jpg)
As a classic car lover who owns a 1941 Studebaker Commander, Richard found his eyes focusing not on the stories in the newspapers but on the advertisements. “As I started flipping through, I saw all of these old car ads,” he said.
The “Journal-American” had a large ad for Dodge that promised “engineering advancements” resulting in “greater value than ever.”
![](https://classiccars.ride-ct.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Dodge-ad-tight-1024x633.jpg)
“The Hartford Courant” had ads for such local dealers as Lipman Rambler and Calvin Ford. New Ramblers ranged in price from $1,695 to $2,295. Barberino Rental Corp. was offering a lease on a 1963 Cadillac “for as little as $159.50 per month.”
![](https://classiccars.ride-ct.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Lipman-top-1024x471.jpg)
![](https://classiccars.ride-ct.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Calvin-Ford-wide-702x1024.jpg)
Other ads in the newspaper touted Goodyear, Firestone and Allstate tires. A set of four new Goodyear tires could be purchased for as little as $38.48 for blackwalls and $49.50 for whitewalls. Allstate tires from Sears sold for as little as $8.45 plus tax.
![](https://classiccars.ride-ct.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Goodyrea-tires-1024x706.jpg)
![](https://classiccars.ride-ct.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Allstate-Tires-711x1024.jpg)
Richard found the prices for new and used cars to be “unbelievable,” and lamented he wasn’t around at the time with the money to snag a few. “I would have bought 10 of ’em and put ’em away,” he declared.
![](https://classiccars.ride-ct.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/31_FEA_033118BW01-1024x683.jpg)
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Bruce Richard talks about finding the old newspapers in this RIDE-CT video…
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