Category: Every car is a story.
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ROSE COLORED WAGONS
“Good gosh almighty! Just a stunningly beautiful wagon,” Rex Hall, the pharmacist here in Fort Stockton said when this 1959 Mercury Park Lane came up for auction on Bring a Trailer. “Hadn’t seen one of these in years, especially not one in this good of shape.” I nodded in agreement. The Ford Motor Company produced some of…
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BARNABY WAS JONESING FOR AN LTD
I stopped into Barnaby’s Barber Shop for a trim. The shop, located over at the corner of Quinn Street and Martin Boulevard is kind of a production to get into, but he’s got a steady stream of devoted customers coming in. If you’re worried about the quality of haircut you’re going to get, you probably…
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THE EARL OF SALVAGE
So LaVance Earl came into the Grounds for Divorce for coffee this morning. He doesn’t make it by very often, what with the brisk business he does out at Earl’s Salvage Yard and Formalwear, so it’s always kind of a treat. I suppose that, with it not being the season for weddings and proms, and…
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WARM AUTUMN, HOT TEMPERS
We all thought fall was here. We’d broken out the sweaters and shifted to Pumpkin Spice flavored everything. Then it hit 94 degrees here in Fort Stockton and put everyone in a melancholy mood. Eventually, one by one, folks wandered into the Grounds for Divorce, trying to reset their internal thermostats. Neverenoughgold seemed a little out of…
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SWEEPING UP
Back in the day, long before a 1960 Pontiac Catalina convertible would be priced out of reach of all but the most wealthy, these cars were a dime a dozen on used car lots all over the Great Southwest. In the late sixties, early seventies you could pick up a nice, clean example with 8-lug wheels,…
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ESCAPING IT ALL
Officer Emory, one of the guards over at the Fort Stockton Correctional Facility for Women, bought one of these brand new off the lot at Frontier Ford (“Home of the Straight Shootin’ Deal”) back in the day. Having never been married, he wanted a vehicle that he could drive over to Lake Leon whenever he…
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PICK OF THE LITTER
Marv made his way into the living room where the boys were sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV watching Saturday morning cartoons. In his bathrobe and boxers with a cup of Folgers in one hand and the Stockton Telegram-Dispatch under his arm, he stood in front of the Magnavox for an announcement. “Get dressed. We’re going…
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BROTHER BOB BACKPEDALS
Brother Bob over at the Second Baptist Church of Fort Stockton was a bicycle enthusiast in his younger days, back before he got the calling. He’d even been moderately successful on the Lone Star Loop racing circuit before an unfortunate accident on the Farm to Market Road from Marfa left him unable to compete (or…
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GOD VERSUS GOVERNMENT
It was tense. Always is when Webb Duval comes into town and stops by the Grounds for Divorce. He’s just an argumentative old cuss, and sows seeds of discontent wherever he goes. Probably why his wife left him 40 years ago. It’d almost be comical if he didn’t get everybody so riled up before he got…
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PEEPER’S CLOUD
Anyone in Fort Stockton would tell you one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Can’t believe HAN2014 hasn’t already shared the story of the ’76 Monte Carlo Custom Cloud that used to cruise the streets of Fort Stockton like it owned the place. Peepers Clausen bought the thing when his design for adult diapers was purchased…