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Saturday, August 4, 2012

The "Life is all about the Ride: Part 4" Story

It was an ordinary day. My final story about the "Crusin' Cuisine" from Mount Joy, PA. Hey, if you just stick with me ....... I'll make a classic car lover out of you. These final three cars are all super cars and I would love to have any one of them. Only problem is that I know I never will, but I can still enjoy looking at them. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

My favorite of the entire show! A 1956 Ford Victoria that was partially customized. Owned by a couple from nearby East Petersburg, PA. It reminded me so much of my 1955 Ford Victoria that I also had replaced the grill in and had put spotlights on both sides. Wow, at first I thought if might be my old car until I saw the taillights, interior and the sign on the window. My car was originally pink and white and I had it painted black just like the one I was looking at. The one really different thing about the two cars was mine still had a pink and white interior, plus the taillights were different. A real classic!!




This is another local Mount Joy car. 1940 Ford Sedan with really neat lines and the color is a bright red.




This is a 1937 Ford Roadster owned by a guy from Denver, PA. The color was just beautiful with the sun drawing out the color. No bumpers on the front or rear and the taillights are cut right into the rear or the car.




Friday, August 3, 2012

The "Life is all about the Ride: Part 3" Story

It was an ordinary day. Going through my photo selection to pick out photos of three more cars to share with you from my recent trip to Mount Joy, PA for the "Crusin' Cusine" car show. By now you probably have figured out that classic cars are fourth behind traveling, baseball, and reading a good book on my list of things that I have a passion for. My wife shares the traveling passion with me, but when it comes to baseball and cars, she would rather read a good book or watch QVC or HSN on TV. Hey, that's OK, since I can go to the car show with one of my sons or friends and we can talk about cubic inches, paint color, or tire size and understand each other. Well, here are a few more cars to examine and admire. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Guy from York, PA owns this 1934 Plymouth Coupe. Car is in fantastic shape. Gotta have one just like it!




This is a 1940 Chevrolet Coupe Special Deluxe. Owned by a fellow from the neighboring town of Manheim, PA. When I first walked up to it I was surprised that it was a Chevy. The color isn't attractive, but the car is pretty neat.




This is a 1931 Ford "Vicky" that is owned by a husband and wife from the host town of Mount Joy. It has the rear mounted spare tire and the windshield can be opened for extra ventilation.




Thursday, August 2, 2012

The "Life is all about the Ride: Part 2" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finished with a story about a really neat DeSoto that I had the chance to see at the "Crusin' Cuisine" car show in Mount Joy, PA. Got to meet the owner and talk to him about the history of the car. Well, today and for a few days to come, I will feature photos of some of my favorite cars that were part of the show. If you are not a car aficionado such as I am, I hope you can at least appreciate what you will be looking at. The automobile throughout history has featured many changes, some that I loved and some not so. See where these cars fit into your liking. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

One of my favorites in the show. This 1950 Mercury was originally a California car, but now is owned by a collector from Mountville, PA.





The following is a 1949 bright red Dodge pick-up truck. This Dodge truck represents the early years of the brand.





The following car is a two-tone 1955 Oldsmobile Super 88 owned by a couple from York, PA.The 1955 models were heavily face-lifted with new grillework, taillights and body-side chrome. Horsepower for the 324-cubic-inch Rocket V8 increased to 202 for Super 88s.





Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The "Taking on a New Glow!" Story

It was an ordinary day. Checking out the postcard I got in the mail today from church. Church would be St. James Episcopal at the corner of Duke and Orange Streets in downtown Lancaster, PA. The postcard showed the Orange Street side of the church with the interior illuminated and a ramp for handicapped individuals leading into the church. The temporary ramp was added since the entrance on the Duke Street side is closed indefinitely for additions to the cloister. There was a story in the Lancaster papers about two months ago that talked about the lighting inside the church. On March 20th of this year, after darkness fell, a switch was flipped that brought a glow that showed through the beautiful stained glass windows of the historic church. The project cost $85,000 and was the start of a $2 million renovation, the remainder being spent on the cloister project. The new lights, which are LED lights of varying colors, are intended to highlight the colors of the stained glass windows along the Orange and Duke Street sides of the church. Windows overlooking the churchyard to the east and the cloister courtyard to the north also show the illumination. The current church building dates back to 1820 when the church was about attraction, not advertising. The new lights will help bring the attraction back to the church again. One of the walls bordering the cloister courtyard dates back to 1744 when the original church was constructed. This wall will receive reinforcement during the ongoing renovations. The extra lighting is to help illuminate the outside of the church and make it look as if there is something going on inside the church. But, just the opposite is true. The lighting makes the interior so bright that the lights have to be dimmed for services in the church. The renovations that are taking place coincide with the 50th anniversary of the addition of the chapel and cloister in 1962, which was the last major renovation to the church. I remember well the problems with that renovation. As they were digging for the chapel's foundation, they found skeletons from graves that no one knew were there. They had to be removed and placed in the rear graveyard at that time. In 1967 the windows by the west side of the chapel, facing the cloister were the subject of a few photographs. My wife, Carol, posed in front of them on June 17th in her wedding gown. Happened to be the date we were married at beautiful historic St. James Church. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Photos from the top are: Orange Street side of St. James, east side of the church showing the newly illuminated lights in the churchyard, and Carol in front of the stained glass windows on the west side of the chapel.