I did a quick search of the 'Star' name, and discovered that it was built by Durant from 1922 to 1928. It's hard to know much about this old car, except that I'm sure it was well loved. I have a sneaking suspicion that my uncle didn't always obey the posted speed limits, and there's a good chance that more than one attempt at pushing the 'old Star' to the limits was performed. I'd be curious to know what stabs at 'tuning' had occurred under the hood. Knowing my uncle, it's hard to believe that SOMETHING wasn't tinkered with. It wouldn't be David's car if there wasn't a choice piece of wood in there somewhere!
In this photo it would seem that everyone is dressed in their Sunday best. Debbie looks especially lovely in her blue dress, Joan and Judy are sporting pretty hairdos, and I doubt my father ever wore a suit jacket except on a Sunday. Maybe this was after church, and the five kids were off for a drive around the countryside. They could have packed a picnic lunch and headed out to 'Tiny Falls'. Or maybe David was heading to college, and everyone was seeing him off. Had he just purchased the car, or was it a last picture before he sold it? That's what's so wonderful about old photos: they tell a story, but you don't know which one. They really tell a lifetime of stories.
Did any of the people in the photo guess that they would one day have a total of 14 kids between them? Or 17 grandkids? That they would spend countless summers at the seaside together? Or inflict a whole generation of their children with an unnerving love of bad jokes and wordplay, the legendary 'Tom Swifties' that start innocently enough but build until everyone is doubled-over in laughter? I doubt it. It was probably a moment like any other, when the kids were told to stand still and smile for the camera, and in a flash the moment was gone.
I always knew that my uncle was a big car fan. He and my father would spend hours discussing all sorts of things, but the old cars they had owned and the trips they had taken were always common themes. As you can imagine, I was very happy to see this photo, and be reminded that this love of cars runs in my veins. It was also great to see my aunts, uncle, and father all together in this photo. In this day in age when we have countless photos of everyday events, a peek into the past like this is a real treasure. I can just imagine right after this photo was taken, hearing the clankety old 4-banger fire up and David's 'Old Star' putt-putting off down the street...