Cars We Have Known and Loved

Steve Crowe’s Corvette

Bill and Sue Roussel do a great job of producing an email newsletter aimed at the Decade of the 50s. (Send an email to nunyab@sbcglobal.net to sign up for it.) Sue sent me a message that Bill’s brother, Jim Roussel, sent a bunch of pictures that were too big to go out in the newsletter and she asked if they would work for this site. I’m happy to have someone send me material, so I said I’d run them.

That reminded me that I had a picture of Steve Crowe ’65 and his new Stingray.

Gallery of Photos from Jim Roussel

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to step through the gallery.

Students from the 50s and their cars

Jim sent this list of students from the 50s and the cars they drove

BENNY HINTON: 50 DODGE, GREEN

BILL ROUSSEL: 50 OLDS, GREEN

TOMMY MEISNER: 56 DODGE D500, GRAY

KAREN WILSON: 56 DODGE

JIM PUTMAN: 56 PONTIAC, GREEN AND WHITE

SHIRLEY DAVIS: 55 PONTIAC CONV, RED AND WHITE

MIKE STEVENSON: 58 CHEVY CONV, BLACK AND WHITE

ROBBIE ROBISON: 59 RENAULT (SHARP CAR), BLACK

FRANCINE FORD: 55 CHEVY, PINK AND WHITE

CATFISH MOORE: 56 OLDS, RED AND WHITE

BILL CLARK: 56 OLDS, RED AND WHITE

SKEETER JONES: 56 DESOTA, BLACK AND WHITE

DICK NEEDLING: 50 BUICK (SIKESTON BOUND), GRAY AND BLACK

R. J. BOLLINGER: 50 MERCURY CONV, BLACK AND WHITE

NIP KELLEY: 57 BUICK CONV, RED AND WHITE

JOHNNY JONES: TWO 57 CHEVYS

TERRY HEUER: 57 PLYMOUTH FURY

BOB REDWINE: JAGUAR CONV (BOB WAS 14 OR 15 WHEN HE DROVE TO CENTRAL)

EDDIE CRITES: 1954 Mercury Green & White (Gas pedal would stick)

11 Replies to “Cars We Have Known and Loved”

  1. Could Pee Wee’s 32 Ford be our family’s Old Ugga….Model A Ford….don’t know what year she was but body style looks the same as the photo I posted on my fb page….wouldn’t that be something….dated my husband when he worked for Pee Wee at his shop just off Broadway….

  2. I remember the gasp I let out when Jim Reynolds drove his 63 or 64 Mustang to school. To me, that car was the Elvis cool of cars. About a year later attorney Rush Limbaugh II flipped me the keys to his Mustang so I could run an errand for the firm, and I remember bounding down the stairs only to hit a brick wall when I saw the car sitting in front of their office on Main Street…littered throughout with cigarette remains and reeking of smoke. I wanted to kill him…for desecrating a religious icon. Turns out he wasn’t done…he passed his course, irreverent sensibilities on to his son. Oh, the hummanity!

  3. Those car bring back some graet memories. I had a 1952 Studebaker commander Coupe with 272 cu. V/8 in ’55 & 56 and was the car I had on my first date with my wife Marylyn . I have been trying to find one to restore in my Golden Years with no success.. If anyone knows where I can find one let me know. I also remember PeeWee ‘s Kaiser Darin that I got to drive in a homecoming parade.

  4. Ken, I remember that Randolph Sykes had some of the greatest cars. On in particular that stands out was a 1953 Mercury. He also had a red convertible but I don’t recall the make

  5. Brune Time – Short Story:

    From 1965-67 the Brune’s owned a two-toned White-over-Orange 1957 Mercury 2DR with hound’s tooth plaid matching seats, rear mud flaps, and a Hollywood Knob. Maurice Dunklin (Dad’s business partner in W E Walker Insurance) won it in a card game. It wasn’t exactly a “chick magnet” for the boys, and Mom was embarrassed to drive it! But we did because we were, for the first time, a two car family.

    When the Orange Merc simultaneously ‘threw a Rod’ and dropped the transmission onto Independence St. – we traded it in for a 1962 royal blue Chevy II 4DR with a straight 6, that Mom loved… that is until the “Tick” and Greg Neihart “jacked up” the suspension with 8 inch spacers (Mom had to use a step stool to get in), plus they put a 6 inch wide ‘white racing stripe’ down the middle from the hood over the top and down the trunk. Mom, trooper that she was, held her nose and drove the ChevyII to the store, to Bridge Club and to Lady’s Round Robin at the golf course… until the boys went a “just a tad too far”.

    They disconnected the muffler to give it “bumper to bumper Thunder” they called it. We could hear poor Mom coming from two blocks away. She finally “blew a gasket” and got Fat Chuck (Dad) to intervene and rein in the ‘out of control twin Gregs – who begrudgingly restored the ChevyII to it’s ‘factory settings’ and appearance.

  6. continued:

    After a strained and strangely quiet dinner that evening Ni said good night and left, and Fat Chuck had a rare chat with the Tick. “We all like Neihart Greg, but you’ve been spending entirely too much time together this summer. You two are nothing but trouble when you’re together. And Hell, it seems like he’s over here eating all the time… I can’t afford to raise 5 of you “bottom less pits”! Football two-a-days start next week, so you had better get your head on straight!”

    Thank goodness, Mom and Dad didn’t find out the “Rest of the Story” until many years later. The truth was… when Ni said good night and went out the garage door of our house on Fairlane Drive next to Alma Shrader Grade School… he just walked around the house and came back in the basement door. Ni “Stinky” Neihart had lived in the ‘Dungeon’ for the entire summer.

  7. well I read with great sorrow Brad AKA Bunken Brunes short story today about myself and Greg”Tick” Brune. Long before Vegas came up with it everyone that stepped into the dungeon (Brune’s basement) took a solemn oath with their hand on a case of beer, that what happened at the Brune’s stayed at the Brunes. Bunken has elected to viloate that sacred oath and throw his big brother and myself under the bus for no apparent reason. I will guaranty that half the kids that went to school with Greg down thru Lance are now shaking in their boots and praying the statute of limitations has expired for any other alleged incidents that might be revealed by Bunken (Judas) Brune. I choose to take the high road and not rat Bunken, Scott, Lance and Greg out ,nor any of the hundreds of other revelers that passed thru the dungeon. I will end my response to Bunkens allegations (nothing proven yet) with a non incriminating statement-Granny Brune made the best egg sandwiches in the world for breakfast !!

  8. Well……. the mighty do fall hard… and apparently rather meekly. You lived in the Dungeon for two months and we never squealed on you. Mostly cause we liked you better than Tick. Plus, we kept your secret for about 30 years without telling Fat Chuck & Lou. So, I think you got pretty good mileage out of the “Vegas/Dungeon Rule”.

    But come on Ni, lets be fair. The rule is what happens in the Dungeon – stays in the Dungeon. Not that people can’t say…. “I saw Stinky Neihart going into the Brune’s Dungeon ….. 57 days in a row!”

  9. Other comments on the subject:

    Stephen Tharp, Bonnie White, Nancy Gerecke and 7 others like this.

    Jane McKeown Neumeyer William Bradley Brune Brad, I am thinking you should start a blog of your own. You have a terrific knack for storytelling.
    January 3 at 9:22am · Like

    Ken Steinhoff Jane McKeown Neumeyer, I’m beginning to feel the heat from William Bradley Brune and Jonathan Vogel.

    Maybe I should hire them to write for me for a percentage of the profits….See More
    January 3 at 9:26am · Like

    Jonathan Vogel Is that in Nigerian money? Cause I GOT that financial interaction covered.
    January 3 at 9:27am · Like

    Jane McKeown Neumeyer After the second paragraph, I was thinking–There are profits?–Then I read the next paragraph. LOL!
    January 3 at 9:28am · Like

    Jonathan Vogel These descriptions are killin’ me. “Bumper to Bumper Thunder” That’s a new one on me
    January 3 at 9:29am · Like

    William Bradley Brune Ha…. I’ve heard Ken S. moan and groan about how much producing his blog costs him in time and money… I’m just happy he allows me to participate occasionally.
    January 3 at 9:34am · Like

    Jonathan Vogel Somebody else’s dad talked to them that way? Who knew?
    January 3 at 9:35am · Like

    Jane McKeown Neumeyer Brad, you are the one person who is still on site in CG with housing!
    January 3 at 9:36am · Like

    Jonathan Vogel I missed out on all that fun. The closest I came was dropping the entire exhaust system off a ’60 vw bug and letting someone film the flames coming out from under the car down by the airport at midnite. We thought we were gonna achieve lift off but the only “off” that happened was the bumper fell off in the highway at 60 mph (and believe me, 60 was a struggle in a ’60 bug).
    January 3 at 10:02am · Edited · Like

    William Bradley Brune Thanks Jane… I’m having a good time sharing some of these Brune Stories that are burning to get out before ‘old timers’ disease steals them. I’ve been telling them to my kids and grand-kids for years but I have to moderate and censor them to protect …See More
    January 3 at 10:02am · Like · 1

    Jonathan Vogel I’ll agree with Jane, William, you got the knack. You make it look it easy.
    January 3 at 10:08am · Like

    Ken Steinhoff Now that I think of it, I’m going to have to charge Brune and Vogel more than $10K each because I’ll have to order extra electrons. Those guys write epic-length pieces.
    January 3 at 10:18am · Like

    Jonathan Vogel Ken On the advice of my doctor, I’ve been ordered to cut back. He’s restricting me to a low paragraph number of each “tome” for the year 2014
    January 3 at 10:21am · Edited · Like

    Jonathan Vogel Actually, you’re the one that said if I didn’t shorten the pieces, readers would start growing cobwebs between their eyes
    January 3 at 10:23am · Like · 1

    Jonathan Vogel or pass out from comprehension exhaustion
    January 3 at 10:23am · Like · 1

    Ken Steinhoff Jonathan Vogel, I didn’t tell you not to write long; I suggested that you break your stories up into smaller chunks.

    We’re getting to the age where we have to husband all the ergs of energy we have left….See More
    January 3 at 10:50am · Like

    Jonathan Vogel somehow I knew this story was gonna happen soon from you. And thanks, yep, I got the message. And I do appreciate it
    January 3 at 11:14am · Like

    Shannon Carter Nealy I think my Dad, Nick Carter, sold your folks that Blue Chevy.
    January 6 at 11:52pm · Like

    Sherry McBride Tick????? Hahahaaaaa
    January 7 at 4:48pm via mobile · Like

    William Bradley Brune Shannon carter Nealy, I don’t recall where we got it but I know it was used. what makes you think the little blue ChevyII was yours?
    Yesterday at 3:05am · Like

    Shannon Carter Nealy Didn’t own chevy, just know that my Dad and Mom were really good friends with your parents. Dad sold cars and they bought some from him. He sold new and used cars.
    14 hours ago · Like

    William Bradley Brune Was your dad’s car lot on Independence between West End Blvd and Pacific?
    13 hours ago · Like

    Shannon Carter Nealy My grandfather had a used car lot on Independence. Dad helped there, but he worked at Rueslers Chev and Harris Dodge for years.
    13 hours ago · Like

    William Bradley Brune BRUNE TIME FLASH BACK:
    A….h…….h….h…. Now it all comes back, Shannon.
    I don’t know about the blue ChevyII, but the Brune Boys DO have your grandpa to thank for Scruncher Sr….. who begot Scruncher Jr……See More
    8 hours ago · Like

    William Bradley Brune Dear Sweet Sentimental Charlotte Ellington,
    BRUNE TIME FLASH BACK:
    How nice of you to remember the 1968 ‘Canary Yellow’ Mercury Cougar 2dr with a small 8 cyl engine and a manual transmission – 3 speed stick on the floor. We put a “state of Art” RCA 4-Track Tape Player in it. I can still hear the melodic voice of Glenn Campbell’s “By the Time I get To Phoenix” wafting out our first ever ‘electric windows’.

    Dad bought it “gently used” in 1969 to replace the high mileage, oil leaking, cylinder pinging, money pit that the poor little Chevy2 had become. I was living in the Pike Fraternity House at SEMO STATE at that time, so the Cougar was mostly Mom’s transportation during the day, and Scott’s and Lance’s cool ride on weekends. I was occasionally allowed to reserve it for “Special Dates” – if it didn’t conflict with any ‘big times at Central High’.

    The reason you remember THAT “Brune Car”, Mrs. Ellington, is because I, and the Canary Yellow Cougar, had the privilege of escorting the hot and popular Charlotte “Chuck” Blattner to the 1970 Alpha Pi Omega formal dance. You were the most beautiful Bell at the Ball, and I really appreciated you ‘slumming’ with me for that special event.
    William Bradley Brune’s photo.
    17 minutes ago · Edited · Like
    William Bradley Brune

  10. William Bradley Brune BRUNE TIME FLASH BACK:
    A….h…….h….h…. Now it all comes back, Shannon.
    I don’t know about the blue ChevyII, but the Brune Boys DO have your grandpa to thank for Scruncher Sr….. who begot Scruncher Jr….. who befriended Ernest T Bass… and brought him home. Those were our three ‘Tom’ cats growing up on Luce Street.
    My Uncle Bill, dad’s brother, took me by the Carter family used car lot when I was about 5 years old to see the family of cats living under your grandpa’s trailer office. This one yellow kitten was apparently waiting on me, because he crawled up my pants leg and onto my shoulders and wouldn’t let go. So of course I took this as a “sign” and had to take him home with me.
    Mom was so.o.o.o.o pleased with the prospect of another male anything for her to pick-up after… that she said I could keep Scruncher (…… perhaps I did cry for about 45 minutes to state my case). “OK! she said, but…….. You have to feed him and clean up after him all by yourself!!…Do you promise?” ( “Yes, Mommy. I’ll love feeding and cleaning up after Scruncher…. I promise!) That solemn – double probation – promise… would be tested within the hour.
    I found lots and lots of Momma Brune’s left-overs in the fridge to feed the famished Schruncher… as of course we didn’t have cat food yet. It seems our Mom was proud to be the only college graduate in the whole Brune clan…. and she had majored in ‘Home Economics’ at the prestigious Cape State Teachers College. Apparently, the Cape State Home Eck. teachers believed in and taught the: “Never throw food away until it turns green or brown and stinks bad rule”, and Louise Brune was an A student.
    The Brune Boys knew the “fruits” of this rule well, because one of our favorite games to play during meals was: “guess which day she served us that crap?” ….. as we picked through our daily “mystery casserole.” or the dreaded “Saturday ‘Guess what’ Soup”…. to find last Tuesday’s asparagus…. or 7 day old hominy or black-eyed-peas. So it was not difficult, for this 5 year old new cat owner, to rifle through the ‘Ice Box” to find some ‘stuff’ that I didn’t want to meet again in next Saturday’s soup. Also apparently…. starving little kittens really like Mom’s College Graduate cookin, cause he ate everything I offered him.
    After Scruncher the new Brune yellow cat was as full as a tick…. we retired to the living room to play on our fancy ” new ” used couch. Mom was so proud of her newest acquisition, that she kept big pillows, throws and blankets over it for protection from….. well… from us. The throws and pillows made great ‘tent caves’ and ‘mountains’ for Brad and Scruncher to play in & on, and soon everything ended up on the floor…. except for Scruncher….. which was unfortunate….. because that’s when the freshly ‘stuffed’ little yellow kitten ‘threw up’ a pile of vomit that I can still visualize and smell to this day…. on Mom’s now unprotected fancy “new” used couch.
    Being your average obedient 5 year old, I immediately deducted that this might be a deal breaker, and I sure didn’t want to loose my new cat. I sneaked into the kitchen closet and returned with all sorts of cleaning supplies. After a long look at the task that lay ahead….. I decided there was no way I was actually going to “touch” that pile of steaming puke! So I started liberally pouring and spraying stuff that I just knew…. would magically dissolve the steamin pile of puke, and make the bad smell go away.
    Another Brune Time life lesson was then learned: ” if there is anything in the world that smells worse than ‘ steaming stuffed kitten puke’….. it’s’ Pine Sol on steaming stuffed kitten puke’.” I then proceeded to deposit my own pile of “mystery casserole” to Mom’s unprotected fancy “new” used couch.
    The “Rest of the Story?” Well, obviously I got to keep the cat, because remember I told you that “Scruncher begot Junior and Ernest T….. etc.” Plus, everything worked out great, because Mom was apparently so pleased with my efforts to be a good cat owner, that she said: “Bradley… I am so proud of your efforts that ….from now on… any time Scruncher has an accident… you come get me, and I’ll clean it up for you.”
    So…. I had that goin for me.
    Many thanks for the free cat, and the priceless memories, Shannon.

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