Allen had two Grandma Grabers; one was nicknamed "Schlosser" (which means locksmith) and the other "Bretz" (bridle). No one seems to know why those nicknames were given.
Grandma Schlosser was widowed at the age of 64 (my age!) when Grandpa died, at age 66. My husband Allen was 1 month old at the time.
We don't know when Grandma acquired her 1954 Chevy, whether Grandpa had purchased it the year before brand new, or did the family purchase this fairly new car for her as a widow for the dependability it would offer her?
Al's Dad got the car, probably when Grandma went into the home, and then we purchased it from him in 2006. We drove it home and it has been in our garage since. Al knew he wanted to work on it one day. Maybe when he retires.
Then this past year, we agreed to be a home-stay for a Japanese college student so we needed to park the car elsewhere so she would have room in the garage.
Problem was, it had sat long enough that it wouldn't start! So we towed it to a guy that was going to work on it for us.
A Sonic run!
Mary Ann looked it up - Sonic began in 1953, one year before our car was built!
When we got back in the car, it wouldn't start! I told Al I thought maybe we were out of gas. The gage had shown it was low, and Al had planned to fill up on the way home.
He ran across the street to the gas station. Thank goodness it was so close! He had to purchase a gas can (even though we have a couple at home!).
Another day, we dropped by friends Dave and Marilyn's house and had Dave drive us all to Sonic!
When the grandkids came, we took them to Sonic also!
Then it was time to take the old flivver "home" for the year.
We look forward to having you back again, Flivver!
Have fun with it, Sid and Gayle!
