Saturday, March 23, 2013

I Rode an Eagle !

Grounded!

The year was actually 1959. Back in these days a roll of film might not be developed for months or even years later. Every frame was exposed before the film was sent to the developer. But anyway, getting back to the story, ' Riding an Eagle can be Tough Work!'

Levi Jacket and Levi Jeans!  Shades of  'Rebel Without a Cause' , my best James Dean Impression! Black horn-rimmed glasses? Buddy Holly was still belting out 'That'll Be The Day' on the radio! Riding Eagles was in Style! Some of us got thrown!

I will never forget the day! Two longs and a short rang on the telephone. That was our ring on the telephone line we shared with two other parties. Mom and Dad were out and I answered. It was a cousin who lived in Montana and needed to talk with her Mom or Dad who lived on the other side of town! It was dark and I had just got home from basketball practice. Jumped back on my Eagle and made a mad dash to my aunt and uncles house to relay the message. As strange as it seems? Everyone did not have phones back then!

Should have known that there was a reason that Eagles don't fly in the dark, but I was only fourteen! No excuse! Drove that Eagle straight into the back of a parked plumbing truck just a few doors down from my aunt and uncles! Cost me a couple of months of not being such a 'Cool Cat!'


1959 Cushman Eagle

Used to be that a kid could get a scooter license at fourteen if he could pass a written test. Nothing to it! Left arm straight out-Left turn. Left arm held at a forty five pointing up,Rt. Turn. Left arm down, slowing or stopping! I passed with ease!

I had been working and saving my money for over a year with the hopes of  getting a Cushman Eagle. While still living in El Reno at our home place there, Dad came in one day and told me to get my money because we were headed to Ed's Cushman Shop on Linwood in OKC! Money in hand I was the first one in the truck! The money was not near enough but Dad said he would make up the difference. $395.00 dollars later we had the most beautiful Trojan Red Eagle loaded in his 59 blue Apache Chevy  Pickup, and were headed for home!


Skinny Kid!

In late 1959 Dad choose to move us to Yukon where he built us another home. Nothing like an Eagle to break the  ice of being the new kid in Town!

7 comments:

  1. What a colorful past! Plus a colorful Eagle; it's gotta be red, right? How did the machine survive the crash? I have been given the privilege of seeing another side of you, Parker; you must have had lots of young women after you with that dashing cycle and devil-may-care look about you!

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  2. Eagles, bulls, you don't have very good luck with the animals! LOL

    1959 huh? I was 2! LOL

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  3. except for plowing into the parked truck, that looks like a very cool and very sweet ride for a 14 yr old! wow!

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  4. Hmm 1959... You're old!

    -John Defenbaker is Prime Minister of Canada
    -Dwight Eisenhower is President of United States
    -Fidel Castro is begining his Dictatorship in Cuba
    -And Nikita Khrushchev is leader of the Soviet Union
    -The average wage is $1.25 an hour
    -A new home is worth $30,000.00
    -Gasoline is $0.30 cents per gallon (that’s .08 cents per litre) (Talk about the good old days!)
    -A brand new car is around $2,000.00
    -And a postage stamp is .04 cents
    -Johny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans” reaches #1
    -Franky Avalon sings about “Venus” (not the planet)
    -And Paul Anka does well with his song “Put your head on my shoulder”
    -On TV you could watch programs like “Texas Rangers”, “Name that tune” or “The Danny Thomas show” and Huntley-Brinkley was NBCs nightly news anchor.

    I know all this because I gathered this information to incorporate into a tribute speech for my parents 50th wedding anniversary several years ago. They were married in "59", I didn't show up on the scene until the following year.

    Parker these pictures and recollections from your early years are rich and make for one of your finer posts! Thank you.

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    1. Thanks Paul. As I read down your list, couldn't help but notice that everything listed was familiar to me. I did get to see President Eisenhower in person when he visited OKC in 1958. Several 1958 Ford Edsels in his motorcade. First time I saw one of those in person also! haha

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  5. Theses are great shots. I love old photographs.

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  6. Great collections of your early years. Thanks for sharing.

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