Not far behind the Galaxies, I could see Rockland High School.
I was about five or six when it all began.
It all came to an end in 1974.
That is when they stopped assembling Ford Galaxie automobiles.
Growing up on Lawn Avenue in the late 1950s was a world of its own. It was a dead-end street. The last house on the street was on the left. It was the newest house on Lawn Avenue.
It was also the most modern.
The hip roof, even all around, made up of four triangles, made the house look like there was no distinct front, back or sides, save for the front door. Back then the houses took the name of the people who lived there.
It was the Conary House. Gene Conary was a long-haul truck driver. Gone for a week at a time, near as I could tell. He worked for a good outfit, with a good name. Looked to me like he got paid well.
He always drove a new Ford Galaxie. Mind you, not the base model. Always a two-door pillarless coupe. That means that when all the windows were down, there was no divider between the front “A” pillar and the rear “C” pillar. Gene always ordered the optional rear fender skirts that covered the tops of the rear wheel and tire.
Truck drivin’ Gene always drove a new Galaxie every two years. These early Galaxies looked like high-style rockets. Not until 1964 would anything rival the full-size automobile in America. Galaxies, along with the Chevrolet Impala and the Plymouth Fury, all began to offer sporty models.
The new offerings were:
-Bucket seats.
-Console mounted shifters.
-Upmarket wheels.
-And the discrete badging on the flanks and rear deck.
Gene Conary’s Galaxies were always the luxury editions. Although his Galaxies grew sportier over the years, he maintained decorum within the realm of FoMo Co.
Gene had a son, Gene Junior. He, too, preferred a full-size two-door Galaxie, with no pillar between the A front pillar and the rear C pillar. Gene Jr. did not hesitate to check off the sport offerings when he factory ordered his Galaxie brand new from the factory just like his dad.
Both of them drove up Lawn Avenue very slowly. It may have been because dogs roamed freely back then.
Their Galaxies were never chased by dogs.
There was only one person on Lawn Avenue who was consistently chased by dogs.
When this person got a new car, it only fooled the dogs for a couple of days. Then, back at it.
So the Conarys, Senior and Junior, would sometimes drive up the street together, Senior first. Young Gene never went first.
They both drove the length of Lawn Avenue in low gear, whether standard or automatic. If automatic, they dropped the lever to “L.” The engines whined softly, promenading up Lawn Avenue.
Eating meatloaf in the kitchen located at the backside of our house, I knew it was one of the Conary’s coming up the street.
Gene Jr. purchased his very last and most special Galaxie in 1969. He had the only one like it I ever saw in hundreds of auto-shows of all sorts from Medomak Valley to Manhattan.
It was a 1969 Ford Galaxie 500 Sportback.
The Sportback was a fastback body style that appeared only on the two-door coupe platform.
I had presence of mind a few years back when Gene Jr. made his annual trip to Owl’s Head Transportation’s “Ford vs. Chevy” weekend (to represent the Ford side of the rivalry) to get a couple of good pictures.
I have no idea what the original wheels look like that came with Gene’s Galaxie 500. He had selected Sears Roebuck mag wheels that were perfect for the one-of-a-kind Galaxie. Sears only made these wheels for a few years, and I have never seen them anywhere else before or since.
Gene Jr. passed away and his wife sold the batwing Galaxie 500 sport-roof to a collector.
Lord, may he drive it slowly, in low gear, for years to come.
The Ford Galaxie of Gene Junior. Photo by Glenn Billington
Photo by Glenn Billington
*****
Recently I was taking in amazing views of Rockland Harbor from the North Shore of Owl’s Head. Down the camp road rolled an ancient 1966 Galaxie. This one was a stately and upright four-door sedan, with full wheel covers and whitewall tires.
It was driven by the Ambassador of Dynamite Beach, Ervin Curtis. He was glad to tell the Old Groundkeeper the story of this survivor Galaxie, still sporting the original factory coat of Nightmist Blue with 50,000 original miles on the odometer.
An older lady had come to own the car, which was purchased new in Georgia with factory air conditioning. Somehow it made its way to Maine. The car was never driven in the snow and stored during winters. Ervin, as a friendly neighbor, made the arrangements every spring to get the car out of storage and back on the road.
Here is the good Rockland part:
The yearly maintenance involved bringing the Galaxie to Crockett’s Garage for top wrench Bob Talbot to give his annual inspection and get ready. A tire rotation and a special oil change with four-and-a-half quarts of oil and a pint of Marvel Mystery Oil.
It would be an annual ritual for Ervin and the Galaxie, until one spring, the old lady told Ervin to take the keys out of the bread box. “I want you to have the car from now on,” she had said.
Life for the Galaxie continues on without Crockett’s Garage and Bob Talbot’s gentle wrench. But his work lives on in the velvet smooth idle of that 390 V8.
I believe in Marvel Mystery Oil.
Glenn Billington is a lifelong resident of Rockland and has worked for The Courier-Gazette and The Free Press since 1989. Email Glenn at: grassranch29@gmail.com.
