old cars – CRUMBLING MEMORIES

December 30, 2024

VAVAVOOM PART 3

I don’t recall how many photos I took, I should count.

Years ago I remember stopping at an old car lot in Saskatchewan along the number one highway. Not nearly as many cars and most were somewhat intact. And I do not recall seeing an area with parts like this lot.

I love this old car and what is was used for.

Imagine firefighters hauling ass down the highway in this?

This one reminds me of one of those old ice cream trucks. They would circle around the residential streets on the nice evenings in the summer.

December 29, 2024

VAVAVOOM PART 2

Well, today I finally finished up the car folder from the photos I took back in October, 2023.

I will certainly go back this Spring/Summer. I did not have enough time to walk the entire lot when I went the first time.

Like I said before, I have never seen anything like this. You see areas on properties littered with cars but this man has a system. Everything is marked and parts are organized.

If you are an old car enthusiast, he likely has what you need.

Loading these photos made me think of my neighbour. He has an old truck that he restored and if my memory serves me correctly, his dad had a truck just like it. I took his son’s grad photos with. I’m going to have to ask him if he knows about this place.

The next time I go, I’ll take Christian along. He isn’t as enthusiast about the old cars but I know he will take some amazing shots here.

I don’t recall if I mentioned the little dog that lives here. He did explore with me for a little bit.

You can see him in the photo above. He wasn’t interested in me for very long and if my memory serves me correctly, he was deaf.

These photos are all taken on the house section of the land. There are still two quarters to discover. I certainly did not give myself enough time when I planned this trip. I had no idea how many cars were really here.

I give the old car guys a lot of credit. To take an old car, restore it, hunt for parts. The time and dedication and money it would take to make it va-va-voom again!

October 25, 2024

CECIL’S PLACE

John, originally from England, came to Canada as a young boy. First settling in Cannington, Ontario and then moving west to Southwestern, Manitoba.

In 1882 John married Elizabeth and settled on another homestead. There they raised two boys, Sidney and William. As a young man Sidney purchased a 1/4 section of this same parcel of land and raised two sons of his own.

When Sidney’s son Cecil got married and needed a place of his own to farm and raise a family, he bought the southwest section of this land, close to his parents and started a family of his own.

Now this house has been in my to shoot binder for some time but Christian then discovered this old car behind the house and as much as I love old abandoned houses, when you add an old car to the mix, it makes it WAY better.

This was one of many locations we shot on this particular afternoon and thankfully since Christian had already been here, he was gracious enough to come back with me and take a few more shots of his own.

I did not post a photograph but this is another one of those old brick houses where the brick is now starting to fall off. I am going to assume that when the roof goes, the water leaks down between the wood structure and the brick which then causes the brick to fall off. There are a few of these red brick houses in the area and recall that there was a family that owned a company that made these bricks.

July 26, 2024

VAVAVOOM PART 1

Last Fall I attended at this old car lot that has been on my list to shoot for some time. I had no idea how many cars were there and didn’t give myself nearly as much time.

I called ahead to confirm with the landowner that it was okay for me to come. He charged me $20 to wander around his property and take whatever photos I wanted.

Given that I had another engagement to attend to, I did not get around the entire property but do plan on heading there again with Christian. The old cars don’t really interest him so I was happy when he asked if we could come along with me when I went back.

So in order to get all the photos I liked posted, I’ll do a handful every now and then and get them done, hopefully before we go again and I get to finish what I didn’t the first time.

I don’t know a whole lot about cars but there were some really interesting vehicles on this lot. And the organization. Wow.

While I wandered the first part of the yard, I had the property guard dog with me. He was a little hearing impaired Jack Russell named Ketch. He quickly got bored of me and my continous stopping so he ditched me.

The weather was just right the day I went. It was slightly overcast and cool. The leaves were turning but hadn’t completely fallen. Parts of the lot were wet but not enough to get your shoes dirty or make it unmanagable.

I’ll post more in the upcoming weeks.

September 19, 2020

FLYWHEEL CLUB

Our municipality has a local flywheel club that is run on a volunteer basis. Every year the members have a parade and a designated weekend where they can show off all the work they’ve put into the tractors over the year.

The clouds on this day were amazing and so Makenna and I checked out a couple locations that day to take advantage of it. We visited a yard full of old Fords, an old favorite of mine that I visit every year and this place.

This summer I discovered that I really do like shooting the old vehicles and equipment and wish that in previous years I had paid more attention to that old equipment in the yards we visited. Over the winter I may have to go through all my old photos and find the cars, trucks and other goodies that I ignored.

August 3, 2020August 3, 2020

THE HAPPY PLACE

This was one of those places where you think you’ve found a couple of really cool things to shoot and it turns out that its the honey hole of finds.

fire truck-2 for email

Another that has been on my to-do list for a long time. I honestly could have spent more time here and the owner was very kind.

the happy place 1 email

So this will be another one of those posts that is mostly photos and not a lot of info. I’ll try though so its not so boring.

blue car for email

At one time this yard had a huge stone barn that was the home to cattle. As the barn started to fall apart due to age, the cattle were moved out and the yard became more of a hang out.

car 2 for email

I was told a story about this place. The people that hang around here with the owners says its one of their favorite memories of all the time they’ve spent here.

car for email 2

The yard site looks like it could be a gas station. This is more so because of the collectibles there and the way the yard is set up. I don’t think that I would ever assume there was gas available here but….

car for email

So a family pulls into the lot, asks for a fill up. The wife asks to use the washroom. The owners and the guests advise the family that while it looks like a gas station, there is no gas but they can help with the rest room situation.

Happy Place 2 email

I’m told they still laugh and reminisce when they tell that story.

happy place email

I spent a lot of time out in this yard walking around. I thought I was coming to photograph this car and the firetruck, which were easily accessible so I wasn’t wearing very good shoes.

no front end car-2 email

While there, I took the time to start playing with the settings on my camera and changing the exposure, etc.

penner truck-2 email

It didn’t hurt that the clouds were perfect that day. When we moved away from the cars there was a shelter with some trucks behind it. The buildings blocked a lot of the sun which gave me a different effect and allowed me to play around with more settings. I’m not very confident with all the different settings I can use so this was perfect.

pink car email

I am no car expert but I’m going to say that a majority of these cars were Pontiacs. What’s left of the emblem on the back of this car also gives it away.

pink car-3 email

truck for email

I’m not sure if I had a favorite vehicle from this location. There were so many of them. Most of them were parked side by side and a lot of my shots had the front or back end of another vehicle in it. Or behind it.

green truck email

Over the last few months since I’ve taken these photos I have picked and played with my favorite shots.

truck with push bar-2 email

This was a great experience and I enjoyed the opportunity to photograph the treasures the land owners had at this place.

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020

THIS OLD CAR

I have driven down this road numerous times. I have never before seen this car. And its not like you can miss it.

car on hill email

This photo wasn’t a great angle but I had somewhere to be and didn’t want to turn around. Besides, its close to home and easy to get to.

car on hill 2 email

What a great place for this old car. And I’m just noticing this now but doesn’t it look like there is someone sitting in the driver’s seat?

car on hill 3 email

January 1, 2020January 1, 2020

HALLGRIM THE ONE-HANDED

The Great-Great Grandfather of this land owner was known as the “Hallgrim the one-handed” and was lost at sea in 1873.

Hallgrimson House email 1

My eagle-eyed husband spotted this house from the highway on our way to photograph another home in Cypress. Fortunately, I had my maps and was able to locate the landowner and was granted permission to have a look around and photograph.

Originating from Vik, Flateyardal in Northern Ireland, “one-handed”‘s son immigrated to Canada in 1873. Born in 1844 and passing on in 1936, he travelled to Halifax with his wife whom died giving birth to their first child. He remarried and lived in Ontario and North Dakota. He lost his second wife and when he re-married they settled in the RM of Argyle in 1919.

Hallgrimson House 1 email

His Grandson, AO was born in 1917 in Edmonton. AO with his parents, JA and GK, they settled in Winnipeg. JA, like his father, shared a love of music and while living in Winnipeg, played at the Rialto Theatre. The family then moved to Los Angeles, California for a short time where JA pursued his love of music. JA passed away in 1923 and shortly thereafter AO and his mother and sibling moved back to Manitoba.

Hallgrimson House 3 email.jpg

If you look off into the trees, you will see a small body of water. I imagine that in its prime, this was a beautiful piece of property and a glorious place to raise a family. Off in the fields and towards the water were a couple pieces of old farming equipment.

Hallgrimson House 2.JPG

During our visit to this property, we were in the prime of deer hunting season and the land owner warned us to please be careful as there were people that were given permission to hunt in and around the property. I had my bright pink winter coat on and Cade & Makenna both had orange vests along.

Hallgrimson Car email

The home still had curtains and personal effects inside. There was a large hole chewed in the basement door so I decided not to go inside to look around.

Hallgrimson Car 3 email.jpg

AO enlisted in WWII in Winnipeg and trained in Brandon. He served in Italy, England, France and Holland. After the war he came back to Manitoba and purchased this quarter section of land.

In 1955 he married. They resided on the property until 1978 with their 3 children.

I very much enjoyed this old car. I could not believe that most of the glass was still intact. While there was nothing left of the seats, I’m sure it kept many a mouse warm in the years that it has been parked by this tree.

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018

FORD GALAXIE

On an exploration trip we found this car. I was actually here to see the old barn but when I seen this I knew I had to get permission to photograph this.

After weeks of phone calls we were granted permission to take some photos.

This car was, one of those cars.

There were good shots of it from every angle.

I would have loved to light this car up at night.

October 6, 2018October 6, 2018

LITTLEST HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, SO FAR

This is by far the smallest house I have been in yet. In fact, it is so small that the dozen of times that I have driven by it I was sure it was just an old shed.

Tucked away in a pasture, you don’t really see much except a very small roof. The view once you get to the house is spectacular. My pictures don’t do it justice.

There wasn’t a whole lot to see here, the remnants of some old equipment and a gas tank. I was sure that the house was moved off its foundation and likely served as some sort of shelter. Regardless we were able to enter it, the roof was pretty much intact but there were no windows or doors.

It was very small and there was no floor, it was right on the bare ground. The tires on the frame of the care were still completely intact.

Heading off the property we came across this pile of wood, wires and scrap. I was then convinced that the house had in fact been moved.

August 10, 2018

COMING OR GOING?

So, like the old blue truck, on this particular day in a place Reg would call his picture Heaven, I found one car that I loved.

Maybe it was because until you go close, you couldn’t tell if it were coming or going.

This neat old car wasn’t rusted like many of the others we’ve seen. Just like the blue Chevy truck.

And the chrome!

What a beauty.