Spotting classic cars in the wild is one of the most delightful surprises that the world can send your way.
Yesterday found me at a function with some extended family I don’t often see. As we were leaving I was thrilled to spot this convertible in the parking lot and even more so to see my cousin Allen climbing in behind the wheel.
It’s a Mercury Comet and I think he said it’s a 1965. She’s the kind of car that songs are written about. This car purrs like a kitten and looks just as sweet.
My day was made.
Check out the stacked headlights and the grill. If you like midcentury design, please pause a moment to admire that script.
You have to understand that Allen is just a regular guy. A logger and a man who works with his hands, Allen has a great sense of humor and his stories are entertaining. Yet, he doesn’t strike you as a guy who would have the flashiest car in town. Guess I’m wrong about that!
Allen told us about some of his travels, his love of tunnels and his philosophies that sound really close to my own. “I’m just a few minutes from Arkansas, let’s go see what’s there” sounds like something I would say.
So it was great hearing some of his stories but it was even better to see how proud he is of his gorgeous car. He joked that he drives it when he doesn’t want people looking at him.
Imagine driving this down the Blue Ridge Parkway! Here’s one last look as he waved goodbye and headed home!
What interests you most when thinking about a screen legend? The person behind the legend or the legend itself? There are two museums in Fairmount, Indiana that are dedicated to James Dean. I liked them both for different reasons.
The first I visited was the James Dean Gallery. Located in a grand old home that was built on Main Street by the local doctor, this place has lots of stuff that celebrates the celebrity of James Dean and that memorializes the larger than life celebrity.
It’s a large private collection in a compact space. A few things caught my eye including the personal effects of California Highway Patrolman Ron Nelson who was first on scene of the crash that killed Jimmy. They have his hat, badge and other items.
There’s this record store display.
And here’s something different. It’s the concrete from the gas pump island at the Sherman Oaks gas station where he gassed up for the last time.
A small theater shows a looping collection of clips from film and commercials.
There’s also a nice vintage store in the back with lots of glass and ceramics, records, books and more. The prices are reasonable and the merchandise is good quality.
I imagine that when James Dean fans are coming to town, this is what they’re celebrating – the man, the myth, the legend!
However, just down the street you’ll find the James Dean Museum. It’s part of the local history museum, also in an old house and also an enormous collection.
This collection is different because it is focused more on Jimmy Dean the small town boy rather than James Dean the icon. Here you’ll find some surprising things like a sweater with a cowboy embroidered on it that he wore as a toddler.
There’s a childhood train set and his basketball uniform. He was quite the artist and they have drawings as well as a self portrait bust that he created. There’s even a photo of him working on that bust.
You’ll find a set of small busts he carried when he traveled. They are of classical musicians- turns out the Rebel Without A Cause was a classical music aficionado.
They also have a number of pictures I had never seen before including one with his father when he was a young boy. There was something sad about that image like he was clinging to his dad. He was kind of an emotional handful but was much more intellectual, more artistic and more sensitive than meets the eye. Movie items, racing awards and other items depict his public life.
Here’s his first motorcycle and his letterman sweater.
Notice the top picture? He was a cat person!
They have several clothing pieces along with pictures of him wearing the items either on set or in real life. He carried bongo drums when he traveled and enjoyed bull fighting. This is his favorite drum.
They say you shouldn’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. Check out these boots.
This museum has all these items thanks to the generosity of Marcus Winslow, Jimmy’s cousin who he thought of as a little brother.
I was quite taken with all those personal items that paint a picture of the boy and the man behind the legend. Maybe I’m wrong but I imagine that most people traveling to Indiana to celebrate James Dean aren’t all that interested in his baby clothes and childhood toys. They’re probably probably interested in the motorcycles, the movie memorabilia and the gas pump concrete. All the same, I like that you can get the full picture of his story. Of course, I am always curious about how people become who they are.
Incidentally, they also have this picture of Marcus and Ortense Winslow, the aunt and uncle who raised him. They were a vital part of his story and I found this picture charming.
Both museums are worth a visit. If you go, let me know what you think! Find the James Dean Gallery here and the James Dean Museum here.
Today it’s owned by the 9th Street Gang Car Club. Back in the day, it was Carter’s Motorcycle Shop. Located near the Winslow farm where James Dean spent his formative years, it was a favorite hangout of his.
The car club keeps it looking like it did in the fifties. Notice the Indian Motorcycle sign over the door.
Jimmy’s uncle Marcus Winslow gave him his first motorcycle which he purchased here. He was just fifteen at the time.
That bike can now be viewed at the James Dean Museum in Fairmount. It’s one of two on display.
If you go, you’re welcome to pull into the parking lot for pictures. You’re also very close to the Quaker Church he attended, the family farm he called home, and the cemetery where he is buried.
It’s May 4th and in America that means it’s Star Wars Day. Get it? May the fourth be with you!
To be clear, I am not a Star Wars fan. I have seen maybe two movies and enjoyed neither. However, I do enjoy pop culture and great art and this US mailbox is a work of art.
It is one of 400 dressed as R2 D2 as part of the 30th anniversary of the movie premiere in 2007. They appeared in all fifty states and Puerto Rico.
This one can be found at the Steven F. Udvar- Hazy Center in Washington DC. It was signed by Star Wars creator George Lucas and Postmaster General John E. Potter before it came here.
By the way, this place houses thousands of aviation and space artifacts including the Space Shuttle Discovery. Admission is free but there is a parking fee and it’s well worth a visit if you’re in the D.C. area.
The Quaker church that James Dean attended with his aunt and uncle sits just down the road from the Winslow farm Jimmy called home. The Back Creek Friends Church or Meetinghouse was built in 1899. It has been preserved but they have added onto the church. Their website says that addition houses a pastor’s study, classrooms, fellowship hall and restrooms. Their church history also says that the first meetings were held in the log cabin home of Joseph Winslow – I assume a relative of James Dean’s family.
Can we pause a moment to appreciate that James Dean was raised a Quaker?
I have long been interested in the Quaker faith and their beliefs that we all have a unique value and that there is something of God in us all. Quakers seek religious truth from within.
It makes me wonder how faith informed Jimmy’s development. Incidentally, he attended Fairmount High School where the mascot was a Quaker.
To this day, this church holds a memorial service for their most famous friend every September. Want to visit? I’m sure they welcome guests. Learn more about them here.
When you think about James Dean, you probably think about the troubled persona, the race car driving risk taker who still epitomizes cool.
You probably don’t think about him out in nature, working on a farm, playing with animals. In fact, you probably don’t think about him as a kid at all.
He arrived by train at the age of nine, sent by his dad to stay with relatives after his mom died of cancer. Those relatives were Ortense and Marcus Winslow, an aunt and uncle who are said to have sores on their nephew. They raised Jimmy alongside their young son Marcus in a Quaker household.
Here, he tried his hand at sports including baseball and basketball. If you go to the town museum, you’ll find his basketball uniform and team picture. He also became involved in the school’s drama program and studied public speaking. He had a stable family life that seemed reasonably happy.
This is the place he called home.
If he had lived, Jimmy would be 92 years old. That makes his little cousin Marcus an elderly man now. Marcus still lives on the family farm and the local museum says he has kept the farm looking as it did firing his own childhood.
He understands the legacy of his famous cousin and the importance Jimmy will always have to the town. In addition to maintaining the farm, he has donated many of Jimmy’s possessions to the local museum.
Marcus invites visitors to stop and take pictures and to look around a bit as long as they don’t approach the house.
