You Auto Seen Me Then

I was about 12 years old in the summer of 1912 and living in Cincinnati, Ohio. In them days there were more Fords then Chevys on the streets. Gilbert Avenue was a long street. There was a steep hill in one section. The hill was made of cobbler stones on the hill called Walnut Hills. This was where a lot of the upper crust lived. There were some paved streets, but Gilbert Avenue was so steep that cars in the winter couldn't have made it up if it was paved. The old Model T Fords we called Flivers or Tin Lizzies. Cars in them days were cheap, but then we didn't get much wages either.

The old Model T Ford you had to crank up by hand. You had to be sure you had the spark lever way up, or the handle would go backward. Many of the men had broken arms over it. Later on they got the self-starter. In the olden days if you went on a long trip, say 20 miles or more, you had to have a couple of wrenches and some hair pins. In about 1914 my brother had a Model T touring car. You could let the top fold back in the summer. If a storm came up, so did the top, and you had side curtains with isinglass and it kept out some of the rain.

I remember when Ford raised all his employees. The lowest pay was $5.00 per day of eight hours, which was a little over 60 cents per hour. Others were paying 25 cents to 35 cents an hour and they said Ford was going to wreck the country. He even paid janitors $5.00 per day.

Early 1920's I had a Ford. Later I got a Maxwell. In the twenties I drove my Ford from Eugene, Oregon to Portland, which was about 112 miles in 5-1/2 hours. My friends said I was reckless and was going to kill myself going so fast. The average was about 20 miles per hour. Outside of 20 miles paved outside of Portland, it was a dirt road with chuck holes so large that if you hit them right you would go pretty near out of sight.

In 1978 on my last visit to see my sister who lives in Port Charlotte, Florida, she took us over to Fort Myer, Florida to see the old home of Thomas Edison. They have a separate building which holds the things he invented. There were hundreds of things Edison invented. And there was one of the first Fords that was put out with extras on it. It was given to Edison by his very good friend, Henry Ford.

*****

My Dad rambled through this piece like a model T on one of those unpaved road. I'm sure I was with my folks on the above trip. For some reason I've never gotten Florida in August out of my mind. So this was also the last time I saw my Aunt.

After finishing her schooling, Allene went to work for the IRS and stayed with the government until she retired and moved with her brother Harry from Cincinnati to Florida. By this time I'm sure Harry's wife Clara had died. Allene was married once late in life for a short period of time before her husband died of a heart attack. Neither Harry and Clara nor Gil and Allene had any children. I was the only child on the Julius White side of the family.

After my father died on December 6, 1981, Allene never contacted my mother or me again. Allene died three days after her 93 birthday in Florida. If I bought a souvenir in Florida, I can't find it.

The above was quickly returned with a note on it that read:

Senior Edition, Inc.

Dear Robert:

Thank you for your contribution to Colorado Old Times. We have read your manuscript with interest and regret that we are unable to use it at this time.

We look forward to your continued interest in Old Times.

Sincerely,

Allison St. Claire
Editor, Colorado Old Times