I was a child of the 1960s and 1970s… too young for the Woodstock generation, though I unfortunately got the full force of the disco years.
When I was a child, I collected and played with the Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys. At the time they were just toys and we played hard so many ended up in rough condition. I saved these toys in a case and they were stored away for many years and almost forgotten about.
In the 1990s I had several Studebaker autos and turned my attention to toy Studebakers. At this time I dug out the old case of forgotten die-cast cars and used them for trading stock for toys I wanted to find. Even though they were well worn, some of them were hard to find versions so I was able to trade for some nice Studebaker toys.
One of my deals was with a local man who had a large collection of unbuilt model kits and some dealer promotional models. When we were done dealing I had filled in many gaps in my new collection. One of the pieces I picked up in the deal seemed odd and not that special… until I found out more years later.
The toy of interest was a simple block of wood about five inches long. It had been carved and sanded to look like a 1947 Champion Starlite Coupe. It was well done but never finished. Some details were drawn on with a pencil. There were no wheel wells cut out and no tires. Still, it looks good sitting on a shelf with my other toys.
Flash forward abut five years, I had set up as a vendor at a local toy show selling some brand X (anything non Studebaker) toys. I did have a couple of duplicate Studebaker toys sitting on my table but nobody at the show seemed to have any interest in them.
Midway through the day an elderly gentleman was looking at my display. He seemed quite tired and asked if he could sit down and rest a while. I of course said yes and we struck up a conversation. He had seen my Studebaker toys and mentioned he used to own a Studebaker himself. He told me he liked the car so well he had gone as far as making a replica of it. It was a yellow 1947 Champion…
Lights flashed in my head, sirens went off… I had to ask… “Was this model made of wood, about 5 inches long?” “Yes,” he replied. “Was it pale yellow with details drawn on in pencil?” Again his reply was yes. I asked, “You never finished it did you?” “No,” he said, “There were no tires.” What were the odds that several years and quite a few miles away I would find the origin of this little wooden model I had sitting quietly on a shelf at home. I told him I now owned that model.
He went on to tell me about making the model and about the car itself. When a new bridge was finished over the Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York he was a part of the grand opening celebration and his little yellow Champion was the first car to cross the new structure.
We talked for about an hour before he was ready to go again. It was a good visit and great to learn the history behind this model. Knowing the history just made the model more special.
