My Grandfather’s Pontiac

My grandfather’s Pontiac

GRANDFATHER’S PONTIAC

This car was rumored to have been acquired brand new around the time I was born in 1956.  The GM cousins of the mid-50s weren’t as popular at the Chevrolets, but this Pontiac apparently caught my grandfather’s eye and remained in the family all of its motoring days.  My granddad was too practical a man to be taken in by the top-of-the-line hard tops, choosing rather the sturdy lower priced sedans with full framed doors. One of my distinct memories as an inquisitive youngster was the beautiful porcelain-looking matching knobs on all the levers and handles inside the car.  One day I had remained in the car while Grandpa made a brief visit to the hardware store.  I had twisted the knob on the glove box door until it fell into my hand.  About that time, Grandpa came out of the store.  I did some extremely quick twisting to re-thread the knob into the glove box door by the time Grandpa got back into the car.

The garage behind the car was originally a carriage house with matching doors front and back so the wagons would not need to be backed out to hitch to the horses.  When the building was converted to automotive use, the front doors were nailed shut.  The larger cars of the late 50s and 60s were too long to permit the doors to be closed behind them, however. The side-hinged doors were replaced with single-unit overhead doors which lay down over the trunks of the cars- better shelter than nothing!