Me and the Meadowbrook

[Ranger]

Really enjoy reading about your travels around Minnesota and Iowa in the Meadowbrook. I was raised in Iowa but moved away years ago. Your stories and pics bring back lots of memories of country roads, small towns, evening drives  and great people. 

[Worden18]

1 hour ago, Young Ed said:

Is that a firetruck?

Yes, that's my 68  D-700 Dodge, no rust 11k original miles 

[Young Ed]

5 minutes ago, Worden18 said:

Yes, that's my 68  D-700 Dodge, no rust 11k original miles 

I need a picture of that!

[Worden18]

15 hours ago, Young Ed said:

I need a picture of that!

Here's a few just for you Ed 

I bought it at a closed bid auction in 2014 out in South Dakota; I think I was the only one that bid on it 

Edited July 15, 2017 by Worden18

[Worden18]

13 hours ago, Young Ed said:

I need a picture of that!

Not a crack in the steering wheel or rip in the seat.  413 big block with a Spicer 5652 5 speed trans 2 speed rear.

[Worden18]

I basically have every nut and bolt loose on the fire body (I plan on removing it and installing a flatbed or dump bed), but recently I tried pulling it off with my loader it was stuck....I need to get back under there and see what I missed.

[Worden18]

Okay back to business with the Meadowbrook.  Wifey and I wanted to go out to eat so we headed over to Rushford to the Creamery.  Taco salad and ice cream for me.  Rushford was overflowing with cars and people because of Rushford Days 

Pic: right before we left home

[Worden18]

We ran into a friend of mine I graduated high school with, whom is the owner of Douglas Machining in Winona, MN.  I visit him a few times a year there to see how his business is doing and to catch up on things.  Well, he's doing just fine.  He parked his Charger Hellcat next to the Meadowbrook.  He promised me a ride next time I visit his shop. 

[Worden18]

Yes, its a true 700HP Hellcat.

[Worden18]

One more shot...

[Worden18]

There was a burnout contest in town.  I couldn't believe how much smoke there was!  One guy's tire blew and pieces of it flew up on top of the building! LOL

[Worden18]

The best part of the evening was when we stopped at Kwik Trip for a snack.  We decided to just sit there and kinda people watch while we ate in the car.  Sure enough, some woman next to us in her car (waiting on her husband inside) commented on the Meadowbrook, saying that she liked it a lot.  Then she got out of her car and started asking questions.  I showed her the keys and told her everything I know about it, and the original owner, etc.  I even showed her under the hood and she had her head deep in there and everything. She was so interested she asked if she could sit in it.  So she sat in the driver's seat and ended up talking to my wife.  Soon her husband came out of the store and I did the same thing with him (and their kids).  Well before I knew it I had 10 people looking at the car, 3 doors and the trunk and hood were open, and we're having a grand old time.  

Another guy was asking me about the car and I showed him the original keys with the original owner's name (Ray Sebo) on the back of the medallion.  He then tells me:

"I lived across the street from Ray Sebo years ago"  I said : "Yeah, his address was 1859..." and the guy cut me off and finished it "West 5th street!"  I was shocked that he knew the guy.  Of course it was long long after Ray had owned the Meadowbrook.  And Ray's kids are quite a bit older than this guy so he didn't know them.  I told him how I wanted to track down one of Ray's sons or daughters and see if they had any pictures of the car that they would let me scan.  He agreed it would be a good idea.  Hell, I have nothing to lose there.  I better do that soon.  

Anyway, the whole Kwik Trip gas station ordeal was a good half hour long.  I don't even need to go to the car show over there tomorrow, everyone who wanted to see my car did so tonight! 

Pic: us sitting in front of Kwik Trip

Edited July 15, 2017 by Worden18

[Worden18]

Drove over to Rushford for their car show today (Sat. July 15).  Not only were we the only Dodge there, but the only Mopar, no kidding.  I guess we're special 

My wife gave her best impression of late 40s/early 50s dress-up.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Worden18

[Worden18]

[Worden18]

My favorite car was this 1932 Packard.  It may have been repainted at one time in its life, but not recently.  The interior was all original for sure.  I didn't talk to the owner, but wishing I would've now.  He's from Rushford, so I will see this car again.  Its really an amazing piece of art.

[Worden18]

[Worden18]

Just a random shot through one of the rows...

[Worden18]

Later in the evening at the parade I snapped a single photo of Rushford's oldest fire engine.  Not even sure of the make or model, but I like it. 

The Meadowbrook ran superb, we whispered out of the parking lot after the car show as some onlookers gave us the thumbs up.  I only talked to a few people about the car because we spent most of our time away from the car show.  We visited the 1867 Rushford Depot which is the only 2 story original depot in MN still in its original location.  Lots of good things to see and read there.  We did check out all the other cars at the show beforehand.  It was nice to see the cars even if none of them were Mopars. 

[Worden18]

A tree fell down out of the woods and into our yard by the barn.  It had grown oddly on the hillside, and erosion finally got it.  Anyway, I cut up what was cluttering the lawn with my chainsaw and then hauled 4 loads away with my 1977 John Deere 444.  What does this have to do with the Meadowbrook?  Well, after working outside all day I couldn't wait to eat supper, clean up and then go for an evening cruise.   Plus I thought you guys might like to see a pic of my loader in action too.  Its a great piece of equipment.

[Worden18]

Wife and I have been taking a nice loop that's about 50 miles.  Nice scenery, light traffic, and good memories.  Car is running great.  About 3,400 miles on the rebuild now.

[Worden18]

Took the dogs with us.  Mostly they laid down in the seat, but on one turn we had to slow down for a 4-wheeler that had 6 or 8 sheep tied to the rear rack as they were leading them likely to some field to graze.  The dogs perked up and wanted to get a closer look!  

[Niel Hoback]

Love them dogs. 

[Worden18]

Okay fellas, I found out a little bit more about my car this evening.  I finally decided to get on the phone and start calling people.  As you can see in this pic, Ray Sebo's name is stamped on the back of the Dodge medallion.  So I got online and through the white pages looked up Harlan Sebo whom lives maybe 30 miles from me, hoping he would be Ray's son. Ray passed away in 1996 at age 81. Turns out Harlan's Dad and Ray's Dad were 1st cousins.  But Harlan remembered the car; he's 74 now and recalled one time when Ray's Mom and Dad borrowed the car to visit his parents (Harlan was a boy of about 10 at the time); without me saying he remembered the car being green and that the trunk had the "Siefert Baldwin" dealership tag mounted on it...which is still there.  Anyway, Harlan gave me the name of Ray's only surviving child, Sheryl.  Ray had an 11 year old son who was hit by a car on his way home from school in 1957, and sadly died.

So, I get on the white pages again to try and find Sheryl Sebo (Hennen) as Harlan didn't have her contact info.  I am thankful that Harlan had informed me of her married name.  So I find her phone number and leave her a message.  About 2 hours later she called me back!  She lives in New Prague, MN and she is 74 years old.  I told her I just wanted to find out more information about the car, and that she is my last link.  She understood and was happy to talk to me.  She was about 9 when her dad, Ray, purchased the car new.  She said he would've never "special ordered" the car, that just wasn't him.  He would've picked an economy (or cheap LOL) car off the lot.  So I suppose Ray saved a little money when the car he picked was "radio delete"!  LOL

Sheryl said in the late 50s she drove the car to high school each day!  Her dad (Ray) owned a Skelly gas station right behind where they lived at the time, so he didn't need the car to drive to work.  She said that Ray had 2 Fords for loaner cars at the station, and that once in a while she drove them as well.  

She also said that in the late 50s her mother decided she needed to move the car one day.  She was NOT a regular driver.  Well, she gave the car too much gas and got flustered and couldn't stop and hit a tree stump!  That's why the bumper is smashed up and driven into the passenger side fender!  Wow it was really cool to hear that story.  I wondered what in the hell happened to get that much damage.  I'll see if I can find a pic of that and post it.

Anyway, when Sheryl went to college at Winona State University in 1961, her dad Ray then worked there as a janitor (not a professor as I was told by the previous owner LOL).  She said that Ray knew as much as she did from her classes by just being on campus all day and talking to people!  Ha ha I thought that was a funny story, too.   Ray quit that job in 1965.

He did drive the car up until sometime in the 1970s, either 1973 or 1978 (can't quite make out the oil change tag in the door jamb) and then something went wrong with the car (I'm gonna guess it was the points, but who knows?).  Ray then parked the car in their barn where it sat until he passed away in 1996.  That's one of MANY stories I have heard about people back in those days just parking a car when something goes wrong, i.e. points go bad, brakes stop working, car won't start, etc.  Just park it and buy another car.  Sheryl doesn't remember what kind of car he bought when he decided to stuff the Meadowbrook in the barn.

When Ray passed away in 1996, (Ray's wife died in 1977), being the only surviving child Sheryl had an auction and sold everything; house, barn, car, etc.  She couldn't recall how much the car sold for (but it wasn't much she said), and she said the winning bidder had to drag the car out of the barn because the wheels were locked up.  And that was the last she heard of it until I called her.  Interesting, yes?

 

[Worden18]

Another shot of these awesome keys.  Can someone please tell me if keys like this were offered by the dealer when a person bought a new car?  From what I've heard from some of the old timers at car shows and gatherings I've been to, keys like this were not a standard thing.  Opinions?

[Worden18]

Here's the best shot I have of the bumper driven into the fender.  You can see the rust around where the bumper is resting against the fender.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Worden18