Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Right at Home


Last night, as I passed through Ellicott City, I spotted this 1961 Ford pickup parked across from the Phoenix Emporium. Though unremarkable in terms of restoration, it caught my attention from a historic perspective.

In 1961 a pickup truck just like this would have been a familiar sight on Main Street. In that pre-Columbia period HoCo was largely an agrarian county and EC was the center of commerce. In those days E.T. Clarkes Hardware was next door to the Phoenix.

When I take a picture of an interesting auto for To2C, I always make some attempt to find the owner. Since it was parked directly across the street from the bar I thought this would be as good a place as any to make an inquiry. I enlisted the aid of Ashley, the bartender, who in turn asked the other patrons at the bar. She came up blank. I spoke with John the bouncer too. He hadn't seen the truck yet and went to the door to check it out.

“Not a very good paint job,” John observed. It turns out that John is a bit of a car guy himself and we talked cars while I finished my beer.
Considering that the truck is over fifty years old, I’d have to say that its paint job is more than serviceable. It doesn’t look like a showpiece. It just looks right at home.
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