Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Nostalgia

A Classic 1955 (or so) Ford V8 Utility Truck

Ford Truck

In the old Minstrel blogging days when the site was still active, I would post Classic cars and trucks from time to time. We now post classics on this blog, but it has been a while. Part of the problem is the cancellation of some of our main car show events due to the DEMpanic pandemic. Hopefully, this year we will get back to normal with the shows.

Regardless of the absence of car shows, we see classic cars and trucks around town either on display like the truck above or on the road being driven by the owner. We see them but sometimes the camera isn’t ready. This time, however, Damsel was ready and captured the classic truck on the lot of our local Ford dealer as we passed out of town on our way for an appointment with the optician to get a new pair of prescription eyeglasses for her.

Click on the image to enlarge.

09 Jul 2021 by Arizona Classics Nostalgia

38th Annual Toyz 4 Totz Cruise and Car Show

Damsel and I went to our usual first Sunday of December event which is the Cops Who Care and Remember When Cruise Wickenburg Run for the benefit of local kids at Christmas (see poster below). We packed in a couple of unwrapped toys to donate to the cause even though we didn’t participate in the cruise. We consider it a photo op and an enjoyable trek down memory lane.

As usual, Damsel took a lot of photos but these three caught my eye to post here today. There were several Jeeps (Mfg. Willys) on display at the show. The first two images below are of a very clean (and new-looking) Jeep. I recall driving the Navy version of one of these for the Division I served in at NAS Point Mugu in the early 1960s and this one reminded me of that vehicle.

Clean Jeep Front View Clean Jeep Interior Modified Jeep

Well, as you can see, the third image is of a slightly modified Jeep. I didn’t get to talk to the owner, but the card in the window said it had a “blown big 8 cylinder block” for the engine. I had an urge to ask him to start it up so I could hear the unmuffled sounds of the eight chromed exhaust ports. I resisted and was satisfied to have the photo of the beast. Click on any image above to enlarge.

cops38th.jpg

06 Dec 2020 by Arizona Charity Classics Nostalgia Notions

Memorial Day 2020

Rockwell Military

When Norman Rockwell painted this, he could not foresee past WW2 military action, so those conflicts are not included. We all know the conflicts after that only too well and some are still going.

Today, we salute the fallen and pray for those still active, especially those in harm’s way. God Bless Them All.

Artwork purloined from today’s Ace of Spades Art Thread

25 May 2020 by Holidays Military Nostalgia Patriotism

Armed Forces Day, 2020

Pair of AT6 Aircraft

In the past, we have posted about Armed Forces Day on this blog. Our old home in K’Stan was located in a community that actually had an Armed Forces Day parade annually and we blogged about those back then. Well, today, there probably aren’t any parades out there because of the dreaded COVID-19. That’s a loss for them for sure.

The lack of parades, however, did not deter the intrepid airmen piloting the two North American AT6 Airplanes shown flying in formation above our Wickenburg home today. The resonant sound of the radial engines overhead brought us out of the house this morning and what a sweet sound it was to hear.

I managed to capture the above image of the high-flying planes as they passed over our place with the new 400mm lens. They were quite high, perhaps eight or ten thousand feet AGL. The planes made several passes over the area which was a delight to see these two nostalgic beauties as they transited the area.

We see that there have been several organized fly-overs in various places around the country, including the Phoenix area, but unfortunately not visible here. It is not known by us if this was an organized fly-over or just a couple of vintage AAF Trainers out for fun. Regardless, they were awesome.

We wish our Military Men and Women Godspeed on this Armed Forces Day and pray for their safety in harm’s way. May God bless them and their families on this day.

16 May 2020 by Aviation Classics Everyday Heroes Military Nostalgia Photography

Gold Rush Days Classic Car Show

Olds Convertible

The Town of Wickenburg celebrated the annual “Gold Rush Days” event this weekend; included in the festivities is a lot of Rodeo, a big parade and a Classic Car Show. Damsel and I attended the Car Show on Friday and the Parade on Saturday.

The image above is of a classic 1960’s Oldsmobile Convertible with a very nostalgic accessory (see inset) showing how some of us used to hear the sound track of movies at a Drive-in Theater. This set of Drive-in Theater Speakers was typical of those mounted on posts throughout the drive-ins in those days (I believe there are some active drive-in theaters still in existence today; we saw one in Barstow, CA last year).

The rest of the car show was as per the usual guys that show up with a few items that stood out. Upper left below is a 1930’s Auburn which was sometimes marketed as a Cord. Upper right is a very nice Chevrolet Touring Car. Below lower left is a very clean ans shiny 1940 Chevrolet. Finally, the lower right is of some sort a rust bucket with rip saws for a grill. There were only a few shiny parts including the hood ornament – we felt like we needed tetanus vaccinations after standing close to it.

Auburn Chevy Touring Car
1940 Chevrolet Rustbucket

We both enjoy the Gold Rush weekend; it gets us out of the house, gives us a lot of walking exercise and is always a great #photo-op. Click on any image above to enlarge.

16 Feb 2020 by Arizona Classics Nostalgia

Lincoln’s 1860 Election

This being the 211th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, I thought it would be interesting to post about how he was elected president in 1860.

In the US Map of the Electoral Votes in 1860 (below) the four candidates for President were:

  • Abraham Lincoln – Republican
  • John C. Breckinridge – Democratic
  • John Bell – Constitutional Union
  • Stephen A. Douglas – Democratic

Lincoln won the election with a total of 180 electoral votes and a popular vote of 1,866,452. Breckinridge was second with 72 EC and 847,953 popular, Bell was third with 39 EC and 592,906 popular. Last but not least (look at the popular vote) was Steven Douglas with 12 EV and 1,382,713 popular. It’s interesting that Douglas and Breckinridge were both Democrats but even if their Electoral votes were to be combined they still would not have defeated Lincoln. Their combined poplar votes, however were over 364 thousand greater than Lincoln’s.

Note how the demographics and population shift have switched this old map around over the last 160 years. If only Kalifornistan were a red state today with their current 55 Electoral Votes.

1860ec.png

Map Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege1860.svg. Click on the image to enlarge.

1860 Election

The United States presidential election of 1860 set the stage for the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout most of the 1850s on questions of states’ rights and slavery in the territories. In 1860, this issue finally came to a head, fracturing the formerly dominant Democratic Party into Southern and Northern factions and bringing Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party to power without the support of a single Southern state.

Hardly more than a month following Lincoln’s victory came declarations of secession by South Carolina and other states, which were rejected as illegal by the then-current President, James Buchanan and President-elect Abraham Lincoln.

12 Feb 2020 by Nostalgia Politics

The Wickenburg Quilt Show

Hot Rod Quilt

The Damsel and I took time out from our busy retirement lifestyle today to attend the Quilt Show being put on at the Community Center Downtown. I posted the photo I took of one of the unusual quilts featuring “Hot Rodding USA.” Click on the image to enlarge.

There were hundreds of quilts on display, each one being a unique artwork unto itself. There were themes of Christmas, Halloween, Cowgirls, Boots, Aprons, Winter Scenes, Animals (Dogs, Cats, Horses, Livestock), Rodeo, University of Arizona and a myriad of more conventional quilting styles.

The people attending and running the show were mostly in the “senior” category, although I did see a couple of under 12 kids at one point. Despite being a weekday afternoon, there were a lot of people attending. We had to park out in back of the community center and walk a bit to get inside.

Inside the community center, there were vendors catering to quilt hobby aficionados as well as vendors selling finished quilts. Some, but not all of the quilts in the display area had Price Tags on them. Like you might expect of original folk art, some of them were a bit pricey now, but might continue to increase in value as time goes on.

We enjoyed our little outing today, and expect to attend more local events in the near future. There’s always something going on of interest in our little western town.

24 Jan 2020 by Arizona Classics Nostalgia Notions Retirement

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