Wednesday, September 20, 2006 · Page 11 Auto-biography of a 1937 Packard Convertible Sedan By now, millions of movie-goers have seen "CARS", with legendary screen idol Paul Newman as the voice of Doc Hudson. Newman still remembers his first car: "It was a 1937 Packard...it got me from Wisconsin to New York without stopping, so that's pretty good." This is the story of another one. I first saw it in Windsor, Ont., in 1958: a very rare and gleaming black 1937 Packard convertible sedan, just like the ones I had seen in old movies. In l962, our family moved to Toronto and that Packard became just a distant memory. Until l999, when I attended a car show in Waterdown, Ont., and saw a l937 Packard convertible sedan. Could this be the same car I saw 41 years earlier? I couldn't locate the owner, so I visited Alex Horen, who had owned the Packard I saw in l958. He remembered it well: "I first saw the car around l939, when I was 14. My brother owned a gas station at Drouillard and Seminole in Windsor, and a fellow we called Mitch used to come in with this Packard, and he'd slam on the brakes so the car would bounce up and referred to a study discussed at a recent conference in Toledo, Ohio that indicated communities should consider sponsoring a three-year study before making a final decision. "If you divert the flight pattern you've just ruined the economic development base down." Horen bought the car 16 years later, but only after some very determined detective work: "It was stored for years in an old run-down garage behind a house. The people living in the house were getting six dollars rent a month from the owner of the car, and they didn't want someone buying it because back in 1955, six dollars a month was good money. They wouldn't tell me anything." The next-door neighbours gave Horen a name that led him to a woman near London, Ont., who owned the Packard. He bought it of Essex County," Stomp said about the flight pattern of Canada geese. "An environmental screening is different than an environmental assessment. An environmental screening is proponentdriven only and you only get information on things the proponent asks for." with a new $100 bill. "The Packard was a solid original low mileage car," recalls Horen, "with original black paint and red leather interior." Later restored, Horen drove the Packard on many antique car outings with his wife and three young daughters. He sold it to Cadman Implements in Tillsonburg, Ont., in l970. With some detective work of my own, I discovered that Len Mayeski of Burlington, Ont., owned the Packard I saw at Waterdown in l999. He bought the car from a man in Simcoe, Ont., who purchased it from Cadman Implements in Tillsonburg. Bingo! The 1937 Packard I saw at Waterdown is the same car bought by Alex Horen in Windsor in l955. And in the glove compartment is a bill for a water pump purchased in Windsor. The restoration performed in the l950s is holding up well. It's still a good running car with just over 74,000 miles (ll8,000 kilometres) on the odometer. The Packard Motor Car Company assembled cars in Windsor from 1931 to 1939. Because of its rarity, Mayeski's '37 Packard was probably imported from Detroit. The price when new (Toronto delivered) was $2135. Do you have any old car stories to share with our readers? Email: bill@carstory.com CARSTORY I S SPONSORED BY Your Security. Our Responsibility. Now owned by Len Mayeski of Burlington, Ont., this 1937 Packard four-door convertible is the same car purchased by Alex Horen in Windsor in 1955. Stomp made a motion to seek an environmental assessment and to investigate the adverse effects of wind turbines and their location. Lakeshore Councillor Len Janisse was leery of the cost of the report Stomp suggested. The motion was defeated. "When I read the report it seems clear to me that the board would take into consideration the proximity to wetlands and bird mortality and other conditions," Windsor Councillor David Brister said. The board passed a motion allowing the authority to enter into a discussion with the unnamed company. The motion also included a WIND TURBINE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 Stomp said that to allow turbines in the areas near the waterfront would mean the property in question would have to be zoned industrial, a move that would allow other businesses into the area. She 35 Victoria Avenue, Essex, ON. GET YOUR CLASSIC CAR LOOKED AT NOW Be Ready for Next Spring request for additional information on the effects of wind turbines on wildlife and natural areas. Money said the company didn't specify the number of turbines it would like to place, but said it would be limited by the "Ontario standard offer" of a maximum of 10 megawatts. Performance Machine Inc. 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