My View from 1958

The 1970’s was a golden era for car culture, especially in small towns like Shenandoah, Iowa. It was all about showing off your ride, blasting rock music and socializing on the strip. Friday and Saturday nights were prime time. Teenagers and young adults would drive their cars slowly up and down the main drag, looking to meet friends, impress onlookers, or maybe even start a race. The typical location for that was county road M16, which was a nice flat quarter mile stretch. Cruising was a huge part of dating culture as well, with couples taking drives, going to the drive-in theatre or meeting up with potential dates.

Drive-ins like A&W or Lil Duffer were packed with people grabbing burgers and soda while chatting with others. These spots were unofficial gathering places where we would pop hoods, talk about the latest gossip and maybe plan the next move. Do you remember the menu at the A&W?  Papa Burger, Mama Burger, huge crisp onion rings and of course root beer. These were the best root beer floats in the world!

Below is a picture of the Lil’ Duffer in Shenandoah. The burgers were small, but they hit the spot. Plenty of onions, ketchup and mustard. You could not have them your way, but you could have them quick and cheap. We typically drove right through the parking lot from the highway. Easy in, easy out. The owner used to stand in the parking lot trying to stop the cruisers from passing through and disrupting his customers, but I doubt that worked. Looking back, I could not imagine owning that business. What a pain with all the teenagers.

Shenandoah also had an A&W that we could cruise right through. Most times we stopped for a drink or burger. It was fun ordering from your car and talking into the speaker box. There were always other guys in the car making funny remarks during the ordering process.  Buddies would say things like “Mike loves you”, or “let’s go out tonight”.  Maybe a BWOP!  It had to be a blast taking the order just to hear all the silly things we said.

Muscle cars ruled the day. The early 70s were the last stand for raw V8 muscle with cars like the Chevy Malibu, Camaro, Nova, Pontiac GTO, Plymouth Road Runner, Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, Plymouth Cuda, Chevy Chevelle, Ford Ranchero, and Ford Mustang.  Who could forget the Rebel Mopar that Larry Edwards had! Many of us were lucky to have had such cool cars. Here is the best list I can remember.

Mike Cooper: Chevy Impala

Dennis Scharp: Buick Skylark

Scott Gingery: Triumph Spitfire (way cool). Two-seater and a 1500 cc engine.

Colby Rabel: Camero

Joe Weaver: Ford Pinto (maybe not muscle, but a nice little ride).

Rick Paulus: He had an old jalopy that was fixed up

Kenny Krull: Ford Ranchero

My brother Mark had a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner. He let me drive it to prom one year. It was orange and sounded like a John Deere two cylinder. Too cool.

And of course, many kids drove their parents’ cars, but to get noticed your car had to be loud with big tires and of course jacked up in the back. Your car had to be tough!

No matter what the car, we always had music blaring. Choices were limited: 8-Tracks & AM/FM Radio. 8-track tapes were king, very archaic by today’s standards, but high tech then. Other than the size of the tapes, the biggest drawback was the tape player eating your tapes up. I remember pulling yards of tape that got caught inside the tape deck.

Even worse, you would be in the middle of a song jamming and the music would stop. The tape had to switch tracks. That was annoying. Of course we had the best music: Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Rolling Stones, Elton, REO, Bad Company, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Queen, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC, Allman Brothers, Doobie Brothers, Tom Petty and on it went. There will never be an era again with such great music. Cut and Dry!

The cruise route. Let’s start at the Lil Duffer and after a roll through that parking lot, turn onto “4 Lanes” or highway 59 and head North maybe a half mile. Take a right and drive through the A&W. Take a right out of the A&W and head north again, past the Pizza Hut

and at the stop sign take another right, then cruise on down main street or Sheridan Avenue. You could circle back around near the Koral (Teen hangout) and head in the opposite direction you came, end up at the Duffer, drive through the parking lot and do it all over again.  That may seem a bit crazy by today’s standards, but back in the 70’s that was “how we rolled”. Who is out driving around? What chick is with what guy? Who wants to race?  Who thinks they are tough? This was the social network of the 70’s. No smartphones, no GPS—just you, your car, and a sense of adventure.

Those guys from Farragut, Sidney or the Fremont Mills were in our town, cruising our strip and yes the girls in our class were riding along with them! Easy choice on their part though: walk around the streets of Shenandoah looking for something to do with us, or cruise in some guy’s hot GTO who had money, a driver’s license, probably beer and able to stay out late at night.

I inherited my first car, a 1966 Mustang, from my brother. Red, black vinyl top, bucket seats, black interior, 4 speed and a powerful 289 HP engine. I believe the 4 speed was unusual for that year. Before I got my driver’s license, I used to drive around our circular driveway.

Sometimes my friends would sit with me as we drove in circles. Man, I couldn’t wait to get my license and get out there and cruise. Beautiful girls riding next to me in my car, 8 track blasting Bad Company.  It seemed like all the girls in our class had older boyfriends with a car and driver’s license. I had a car, now I just needed a license and find a girl who wanted to cruise with me.

Below is a picture of my friend Scott Ginger and I at the A&W, sitting in my Mustang, plotting the night’s adventure. I think Vicky Tyner took this picture. I really wish I had the wherewithal to take more photos of these classic times and classic cars.

I added “60 tires” on the back, put on air shocks to lift the rear end and installed a Holly 650 Double Pumper carburetor for more power. Shortly after the carburetor was added, my friend Randy and I walked out to my car which was in the high school parking lot. We were going to go to do some filming off campus for Mrs. Vaughn’s Media Class, so we got a pass to leave campus.  I tried to start my car, but the motor would not start. Finally, I pulled on the choke and the entire cable came out. I opened the car hood and discovered that my new carburetor was gone. Somebody had stolen my carburetor while my car was sitting in the parking lot during school hours!  I was mad and astonished. Whoever took it knew what they were looking for and how to quickly remove it.  

My first date after getting my license was with a girl named Kay. She was a year younger than me, cute and a cheerleader. She met all the qualifications. Like me, she was shy and squirrely.  That evening mom made hamburgers and beans for dinner. Of course, as a young teen I could stuff myself and be hungry an hour later. Not thinking, I had more than my share of beans.  Later I arrived at Kay’s house to pick her up. We were going cruising.  I remember walking in their house and her dad was in the easy chair watching TV. Since everyone knew everyone in Shenandoah, I had seen him around town. He managed the local Thermogas company. We didn’t have much to say other than maybe hi. I was glad he had the TV on! After a few uncomfortable minutes waiting for Kay, she came downstairs and was ready to go. First stop, cruise by the Koral (teenager handout) so everyone could see me in my car with a chick, cruising, 8 track blaring AC/DC (I think Kay was more of a Captain and Tennille or Barry Manilow fan).  I even had a few dollars in my pocket. I worked on Saturdays at the local Nursery (Earl May I think) with some of my buddies. We loaded plants or trees onto flatbed trailers and then unloaded them at another location.  We had a good time, and of course you didn’t have to think so it was the perfect job.

As time passed that night, it was apparent that Kay and I were not destined for marriage. The conversation was very difficult. She kept looking out the passenger window. This was going to be a long night….and then I started to get some terrible gas. I ate too much. I had to fart. I could not hold it. It was winter, I could not open the windows. Well out it had to come. It smelled like a colostomy bag.  I kept wondering if she smelled it?  Ha, what an idiot. The night was still young, and I needed a plan. So being a genius, I devised a solution. Every time I had to fart, I would say, “let me pull over, I need to get out and check the air intake, something is not right, there is something clogging up that intake and it does not smell right”. Yup. I did not make this up. So, I would pull over, pretend like I was checking the intake, let it rip and then climb back in. I must have done this 20 times. I could not wait for that date to end. I am very sure she felt the same way. I do not think we ever went out again.  I often wonder what Kay thought of that night. I wonder what she told her friends. Seems like it was a while before I could get another date with anyone.

My second high school car was a 1973 Plymouth Barracuda.  That car was in mint condition. It was beautiful, and I babied it so much that I never really understood how much power it had. After I sold it, it turned out to be one of the fastest cars in town. Whoever bought it, Kelly Whitehill (RIP) I think, turned it into a racing machine.

Today I love to go to car shows or watch Mecum Collector Car Auctions on TV. Of course, I envy those folks who were smart enough to hang on to their classic cars or have the talent to refurbish them. Our new hometown of Geneseo, Illinois has an event called “Shoot the Loop” every month in the summary. Car enthusiasts bring their classic cars to the city park for display. Two or three times during the evening they will all line up and cruise Mainstreet in a parade of the classics.  These cars had so much character. They were original in style, fun to drive and had enough room for your girl to sit right next to you while you cruise the strip!