RIDE-CT – Classic Cars Celebrating Classic Cars in Connecticut
HARWINTON, CT – It began with a classified ad in “The Hartford Courant” newspaper that was published on Dec. 7, 1959. Gengras Motors in Hartford was seeking someone to drive a new 1959 Ford Thunderbird to a dealership in Los Angeles and stated, “Car ready to leave immediately.”
At his family’s home in New Hartford, CT, Jack Sheedy’s father was sipping his breakfast coffee on that Monday morning when he spotted the ad. What happened next provided the subject matter decades later for Sheedy’s book “In My Father’s Tire Tracks,” which was published last year. A picture of the stylish yellow T’bird on the book’s cover provided reason enough for RIDE-CT to write about it now.
So, what followed? Yes, Sheedy’s father volunteered to drive the T’bird across the country, and did so solo in the days leading up to Christmas. And, yes, 62 years later and also alone, the Harwinton resident retraced the route in a rental car. He followed in his father’s tire tracks as best he could as Interstate highways have since overshadowed state roads. And many roadside attractions, restaurants and places of lodging no longer exist.
Jack gave me (and signed) a copy of “In My Father’s Tire Tracks” when we met recently for a bite to eat. While eager to read it, I also had a bit of trepidation because it would inevitably take a point A to point B to point C approach. I recalled once interviewing actress Bea Arthur (best known for the sitcom “Maude”) when she was trying out her one-woman show “Bea Arthur on Broadway – Just Between Friends” on the road.
Having attended opening night in Tempe, AZ, Arthur asked me during the interview whether I’d enjoyed the show. I replied that I had, but that the show’s repetitive “And then I…” approach left me feeling let down. I explained that because I felt that I never got to know her as a person as she navigated from tale to tale, her performance consequently seemed superficial and insufficiently revealing or real.
Fortunately, Sheedy’s tome didn’t fall into this connect-the-dots trap.
Just like any long trip, though, the book does takes a little time to get to rolling and develop a rhythm. But just as speeds on U.S. Interstates get higher the farther West one drives, the pace of storytelling picks up as the reader gets deeper into “In My Father’s Tire Tracks.”
Sheedy’s recollections and anecdotes of growing up in the 1950s are bound to stir up memories for any Baby Boomer who reads it. Jack was raised Catholic but just as the “Jewish” musical “Fiddler on the Roof” speaks to everyone no matter the ethnic or religious background, his recollections of childhood and the father-son dynamic do likewise.
(The observation that “Fiddler on the Roof” tells a universal story and is relatable no matter one’s background isn’t mine, rather an assessment the musical’s lyricist, Sheldon Harnick, shared with me during another interview.)
“In My Father’s Tire Tracks” is an enjoyable, well-written and nicely organized read. It also offers a bit of a “how-to” advice for anyone contemplating such a long drive. His understated message is get off the Interstate, look around and meet people.
The classified ad that spurred the journey by Sheedy’s dad had a minor error. It wasn’t a 1959 Thunderbird that the dealership needed to get to SoCal, rather a 1960 model.
“In My Father’s Tire Tracks” likewise has a small slip-up. Sheedy writes that when his dad picked up the Thunderbird at Gengras Motors on Dec. 11, 1959, a “red-and-white Bronco, squat and big-wheeled, trying it darndest to be a Jeep, sat squarely in the center of the (showroom) floor…”
Ford didn’t introduce the Bronco, though, until six years later. The first generation Bronco was sold from the 1966 through the 1977 model year. This being a website devoted to classic vehicles, it would be an egregious oversight not to mention the premature debut of the Bronco.
Otherwise, the advice here to take “In My Father’s Tire Tracks” for a test drive. It may be purchased here on Amazon.
