The time had come. Thursday, February 23rd was the day I had dreaded for more than ten years. What I had hoped would take all day--signing over a title, exchanging money and antique keys, and loading my precious Edsel on a trailer--was over in twenty minutes, and then she was sailing again, down Hodges Avenue and to her new home. The two-tone pink beauty always reserved its own regal spot in my heart, as it belonged to my Daddy, Walter Beckham, for many years before he gave it to me on the day before my birthday in 1999, just hours before he passed away. Daddy was enchanted by the Edsel, and even owned two of the 1959 Ranger four-door hardtops in 1986, stylishly pulling up in one of them at our wedding that year. I can`t recall what happened to the other--which was still in its original peach paint color. Our Edsel he decked out in his favorite color--pink--the same color of the signature cap that he had so many of and wore every day on the island for years. For some reason, my totally color-blind father always gravitated to this shade of pink, even picking out a new dress in pink for my Mom once. Our whole family chuckled uncontrollably together when he gave it to Mom and laughingly described the look on the store clerk`s face when he said, "Isn`t that a pretty shade of blue!" That pretty shade of pink drew lots of attention over the years. Many times I have received links to websites with photos taken of the Edsel and posted online. One friend in Texas sent a link and said, "Vanessa, isn`t this YOUR Edsel?" I hit the link, and yet again, it was another site and another person that I didn`t know, who had taken and posted a photo of her on the web! I truly don`t believe that a day passed without at least one car stopping to gaze at that bright pink time capsule, and on busy weekends, sometimes the numbers were incredible. We were entertained over and over again, watching cars stop to take pictures of the car, and even posing for their photo to be snapped with it. After a while I began my collection of "Pictures of People Taking Pictures of My Edsel," and it was lots of fun to race for the camera before they were finished and loaded back into one of today`s boring modern vehicles and scooting up the street. 
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This was evident the first time that I considered listing her in the Official Edsel Online Directory at edsel.com, as I browsed around through the pages of the 1959 Model Gallery, and...aha! Under the heading of "Edsels are everywhere," there she was, with this identifier: "...found this pink Edsel on an island off the coast of Florida in February 2008!" She got there before I did. The webmaster was thrilled to finally have the manufacturer`s plate information to post with her picture, and the link to this information is listed below. Our Edsel, a four-door hardtop, was originally a two-tone, in Talisman Red (Ford`s fancy name for a pale pink) and Snow White. It was the 26,151st Edsel manufactured in Louisville, KY, was completed on February 13, 1959 and previously had silver vinyl and black cloth interior. It sports a 461 Super Express V8 with Dual-Power 3-speed transmission, the most powerful available for the 1959s. The 1959 Edsel can be identified easily by its side trim. The `59 Ranger trim begins in a spear shape, extending the bottom of the two trim lines down the front door with a down-dipping swoosh, and then slowly coming back up to join the top line of trim to a point at the end of the car. It came in both a 2- and 4-door hardtop, and a 2- and 4-door sedan. The one thing I had promised Daddy was that I would try to keep her in the shade. The car cover kept too much moisture on her surface, but I am forever grateful for our wonderful neighbor, Bill Bale, who allowed us to keep her under his oaks on our side of his property. This is where the anonymous poster to edsel.com found her in 2008. After several years there, Bill needed to clear the area, so we moved the car across the street. In a short while a resident complained that she was on public property across the street in the shade of the pines. At that point our only choice was to put her in the full southern exposure of sun in front of our house. When she made it to full sun, I knew that it was time to get serious about finding her a home. Several times I had posted a for sale sign in her and took it out just as many. An interested person would ring the doorbell and say, "How much for the Edsel?" I`d say, "It`s not for sale!" They`d follow that up with, "But there`s a for sale sign in it!" Then I`d answer with a sheepish grin and say, "I`m sorry. Not really for sale." I think that they could see I had a problem! However, just two weeks ago, a nice gentleman rang the doorbell and asked if we would consider selling our Edsel. Ken answered the door, and they went outside to talk. He knew that I couldn`t do it. A follow-up email confirmed the pending sale, and I had a week to say goodbye. I fought temptation as I walked around her the day before the trailer came, resisting the urge to pry off the chrome EDSEL and Ranger lettering to use in a piece of art with pictures of Daddy`s prized car. Her new owner is an older gentleman who has restored cars all of his life, and cleared a special spot for her in the four-car garage where he works his magic. He will be able to do for her what we had neither time nor money to do over the years. He assures me that she will eventually be amazing again, and that he will email me photos along the way. Maybe I`ll start tossing coins in a jar now for an Edsel bailout later. 
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Lots of information exists online about the Edsel. Walter`s Edsel is officially listed at http://www.edsel.com/registry/u9726151.htm
A few other links for general information about the line are:
www.edsel.com
www.edselmotors.com
www.edselclub.org
www.internationaledsel.com |
