My fondness for the basic, Plain Jane automobile started at the age of seven when my father bought his first new car, a 1962 Mercury Comet.
My father Joe grew up in a border area between Poland and the Ukraine. He had dreams of being a carpenter which ended when the German army rolled into the hamlet in 1943 and ordered all young men over the age of 16 to join their ranks. His service nearly ended in a mortar blast in Germany where he was wounded with a broken jaw and shrapnel to the to the arm. Perhaps that’s also how he lost part of his ring finger (he never clearly explained how that happened). Moments after the attack he stumbled onto a road and was picked up by a couple of German officers who took him to a medical facility for treatment.
Sometime during his recovery word came that the Soviet Army was moving west so my father fled not wanting to encounter those forces and perhaps risk execution or imprisonment in the eastern Soviet Union. Thankfully he made it to the American lines where I believe he was jailed for a time and then released once the Americans learned he was from eastern Poland. Dad spoke very highly of the American GI’s and we used to have a picture of him hamming it up with them. Sadly, that pic is gone. But there is one of him on a horse near the American compound. Dad through whatever channels gained documents to come to Canada after 1946, although Brazil was an option, but he had a job in Ontario as a woodcutter and so the decision was easy. He feared going back to his home not sure if there would be repercussions for fighting against the Soviets.
He eventually made it to Edmonton, married mom and three years later I came along. Life started in a central Edmonton boarding house where the rent was free in exchange for mother for cleaning the entire house. Dad by then had a good job as a labourer with the City of Edmonton. Frugal living got them a small two bedroom bungalow in the Forest Heights neighbourhood complete with single car garage and white picket fence. About 800 square feet for around $8,000. No car, that would not happen until the spring of 1962 after Dad learned to drive. The house had to be paid off first which it was. I remember my father saying the Comet sedan cost him $2700.00. It was either Sea Blue or Light Aqua with a black and white cloth and vinyl interior. No carpeting just a black floor mat. If I think for a moment, I can still remember the aroma of the floor mat and the new car smell of the vinyl seats.
I can’t remember if the Comet had whitewall tires at the time. No wheel covers, just hubcaps. The little 170 cubic inch straight six was coupled to a 3-speed manual transmission. Dad paid for plastic seat covers, a driver’s side mirror mounted on the fender and a thick black undercoating which over time proved itself in preserving the underside of the little sedan through many Canadian winters. He did not order a radio, that would come later from the Simpson Sears automotive department where the mechanic would mount it under the instrument panel.
The little Comet was built in Ford’s Oakville, Ontario plant and offered our family the freedom to travel everywhere. My parents enjoyed travel by car whether to a rural area east of Edmonton where my grandparents and other relatives lived or to Calgary (only two lanes at that time) or to the mountains surrounding the resort town of Banff. Yes, it wheezed up some mountain passes particularly in British Columbia. The Comet let us down only once outside Medicine Hat blowing a water pump. Dad always carried a gallon of water in the trunk so once the radiator cooled, he poured in the gallon and we returned to the “Hat” and a gas station to have the water pump replaced the next day.
Two long highway trips were made to Ontario in the east to visit Dad’s old friends. Once in the summer of 1965 where we cut through Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario spending the night on the US side of the border. This was quite an eye opener for ten-year-old me. Free glasses and dishes at the gas pumps, pretty girls, cars that I had never seen back home (Wide-Track Pontiacs, strange looking Chrysler models, Opels). The same trip was duplicated in 1967 Canada’s Centennial year. But unfortunately, my father was not keen on driving to Montreal for Expo 67. Never during those trips did the little sedan let us down. I remember my father saying the car averaged around 27mpg on the highway. We stayed in motels, ate in a variety of cafes and restaurants and Dad would always chat it up with someone when filling up with gas. The only time I recall being bored was driving from Manitoba across Saskatchewan and back home to Edmonton. A lot of wheat fields and not much else.
When the Comet reached around 80,000 miles the head gasket blew one summer morning as we were heading out to visit Mom’s relatives. A family friend repaired it and my father came to realize that after eight years it might be time to buy another car. In 1970, he stepped up to a Cutlass Supreme four door hardtop.
The Comet became the “work’ car and once I obtained my license at age sixteen, occasional transportation. That came to a sudden end one winter Sunday afternoon in 1971 in a shopping centre parking lot. Back then stores were closed on Sunday and me, a friend and a couple of other pals thought it would be fun to do donuts and slide around on the icy parking lot. Then I came around the back of a Dominion grocery store and lost control slamming into a brick wall of the store at over 15 mph. Restyled the front end rupturing the radiator in the process. Dad was not impressed and although not badly damaged, he refused to repair the Comet. It was sold to the father of my friend who operated a small car lot in a rundown area of Edmonton.
Bugs me to this day I ruined a perfectly good car that might have been in the family even to this day. The Comet had been well cared for and always garaged until the Cutlass joined the family. Sorry Dad; Happy Fathers Day.
I watched a video recently on u tube where they ran 5 Comets basically non stop for 100,000 miles around a race track to prove they were durable V8 models though not sixes but the cars must have been fairly well built,
Living in Canada, being married, having a family, owning a home, and buying a new car must have been an amazing experience for your dad after all that he had been through during the war. What a change of circumstances.
There is something appealing about plain basic vehicles, especially if it is purchased new and you actually have a choice whereas buying used is more of a case of take-it-as-it-is or walk away.
I bought a used 1961 Comet in the mid 1960s and liked its simple three speed manual, small 6, 4 door configuration. It matched my own self image of a struggling young family man making a living, paying of a college loan, and saving to buy a home. You dad’s Comet was a more handsome car with tail lights like the big Mercurys, and being new, didn’t come on the scene with a bunch of “used-car” issues.
My wife at that time did not like the Comet mainly for the same reasons I did like it, so it was gone after a few years.
Speaking from experience, car crashes often set in motion quick growths in maturity (if one is lucky enough to survive). That goes for me, both of my sons, and more than a few other people. Talk about learning experiences.
And yes, happy father’s day. It’s a good day to look back and reflect on life.
Great story Garry, thank you. Canada has always welcomed newcomers, offering opportunity and acceptance to those that settle here. Glad your parents and family were able to do well, and took advantage of the vast country with road trips.
I think I’d forgive yourself over damaging the Comet. These were before my time, but I still remember seeing numerous early Comets (and Falcons) in daily use as a kid, into the early/mid 70s. In fact a close friend of my dad had a rust free early 60s Comet 2 door sedan on his farm as late as 1973-74. Though Southeastern Ontario is known for heavy road salt use, it was much less severe back then. And that Comet looked terrific, beyond faded medium blue paint. Though over a decade old, it aged well, and reminded me a lot of the most popular domestic cars for frugality at the time: The Valiant and Dart.
Daniel, back in the day at least growing up in Alberta, was that basic sedans whether mid-size or compact were the norm. Perhaps buying power, income, certainly fellow immigrants my parents knew didn’t buy well optioned cars until later in life when their income was higher or the house was paid off.
Anyone I knew in my neighbourhood who had a higher trim full-size model was in a higher income bracket. Comets, Falcons, Valiants, Chevy II’s were everywhere.
What a great story Garry. It sounds like the Comet was a special car, and it’s too bad that about its early demise. I know most of us that grew up in snow country had similar parking lot fun during the winter time.
There is definitely some similarities to my family’s story. My Grandparents, Dad and his siblings also came to Canada just after WWII to begin a new life. My Grandparents made the purchase of a new home a priority and were insistent on paying it off before a vehicle was considered. By the early 60’s the house was paid off, my dad was old enough to drive (my Grandparents never learned), so they helped him buy a car on the agreement he’d drive them around as need. They got a lightly used 1960 Dodge Dart Pioneer. My dad for years drove pretty plain low optioned cars for many years. It was only after he retired he started to treat himself to well loaded cars. Heck, he didn’t even own a car with air conditioning until he was in his 60s!
Great story about your dad surviving WW2 and eventually making it to Canada. My dad also survived the war and came to Canada in 1953, after being one of the last workers to be evacuated from a British-run oil refinery in Iran after the revolution. He settled in Windsor, Ontario and started with Ontario Hydro, where he would work until he retired 30 years later. Along the way he met and married my mom and had three kids – myself in the middle and an older and younger sister. He always told stories about the cars his friends owned in the ‘50’s – Packards, Fords, Studebaker Hawks, and the first VW Bugs in Canada. He eventually owned two, including the one in my earliest memories – a blue ‘61. We got a lot of use out of that Bug, and though it had rusted out by the time my dad sold it in 1970, it still ran well and the new owner used its engine to run a water pump on a golf course. He tended to see cars as appliances that you kept until they rusted out and then scrapped or sold off. Other than the Bugs, he usually owned GM products – they always ran but never seemed that well put together. Our summer vacations were always spent here in Ontario, though in 1975 we hooked a tent trailer to our ‘73 Impala and went to the Maritimes for 3 weeks, travelling through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI. A great time, though I still want to see the West. I’m a little jealous of those who have driven across Canada. My wife and I have lived here in Ontario all our lives and we need to see more of our country. Maybe we’ll rent a car, take a few weeks one summer and just go.
Garry:
Your father’s experiences sound similar to those of Guy Sajer who wrote the “Forgotten Soldier.” a very moving book and one of the few that I have read twice.
I have similar memories of crossing the border into the US as a kid (New Brunswick to Maine in my case). Although Calais, Maine was not that different from St Stephen, New Brunswick, once you made it to a major centre it was definitely a newer, shinier world. The surge of excitement pulling into a 1950’s Howard Johnson’s on the early interstates in Massachusetts & New York would be hard to replicate today.
Never mind the car, what a life Dad has had!
Great Father’s day post.
My Father’s story was similar to yours, except that he couldn’t bring himself to buy a new car, ever. He was a chemical engineer that immigrated to Quebec in 1954. Based on the terrible climate, most cars were done by 8-10 years old, so he would buy a two year old for around half price ($1800) was the price paid for the ’57 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe in the picture. This one lasted until 1971, which was his record for longevity for cars. He would keep the new car for my mother to drive, and take the old car in the plant for work. I think that the ’57 had less than 60k on the clock when it chugged off to the junk yard under its own power.
A great story, and a great example of how immigrants got it done in Canada after the war. Life wasn’t easy, but nobody was shooting at you and that was a definite improvement.
My own grandfather learned to drive at the age of 42, and was never a great driver.
My dad bought a ’62 Comet 2 door in 1967 to be our second car. My brother and mom would learn to drive the 3 on the tree manual shift!
It was the 144 CID engine, which could barely get out of it’s own way; and had the vacuum wipers that would almost ‘stall’ on acceleration or on a hill.
Ours looked a little more deluxe than most as it was two-tone, black with a white top and full wheel covers with whitewall tires.
A little more car than a Falcon…but just a little! The gas tank still served as the trunk floor (never understood that move by Ford), and the quarter panels had some ‘insulation’ pads stuffed in below where the roof joined the body…probably to keep those longer (2 door) quarters from droning/flexing.
I am late to this great tribute to your dad. I marvel at the thrift and self-discipline of that generation of Americans, let alone those who came from really challenging situations as your father did. No car until the house is paid for – nobody of my generation would say this with a straight face, but I find something to admire in that kind of lifestyle.
And moving from the Comet to a 70 Cutlass would have been a major milestone for him.
Great story about your Dad, GarryM. He definitely did the right thing by avoiding the tender mercies of the advancing Soviet Army! Is your Dad still with us?
As far as simple, Plain Jane cars go . . . I like them as well. Your Dad made a wise choice and saved some $dough$. As a current owner of a Plain Jane FORD with a ‘170’ engine I grew very fond of its primitive nature after owning it for a few years. Its low-tech charm endeared itself to me. It’s nearing its 55th birthday on August 3rd and it still wants to work hard and do stuff. → I’m sorry your ’62 Comet met its end in a parking lot in ’71. I made a mess of the front end of my Falcon on March 2, 1994 when I skidded on a wet road at 33 mph and hit the back of a taxi. I wasn’t speeding, but it didn’t make any difference. Wham! I was fortunate enough to have it fixed up otherwise it, too, would be long gone. $2300+ buckos later it was ready again to go go go . . . thanks to financial assistance from various family and friends and a trip to a 35-acre junkyard called Old Gold Cars & Parts.
Appreciate your comments Carter. My father passed away in 1986 and of course I had more questions about his wartime experiences that should have been asked before he left mortality.
He and my mother taught me a lot of taking care of those things you buy with money, many times hard earned money. That’s why I kept my 74 Vega GT well into the early nineties and except for a little rust down on the lower rear quarters it looked great even on the inside.
I have a spot for those early Comets and Falcons too. He did consider a Falcon sedan as I recall accompanying him and my mother’s younger brother to the Shirley Ford dealership in northeast Edmonton. But the Comet was a nicer car in my opinion and served our family well under Dad’s care.