It actually took
quite a while to get everything together to make this picture happen.
I found a picture of my grandmother and grandfather on their first
date in 1938. They were sitting on his 1929 Chevrolet in the yard of
the house where she grew up through the depression. The house is
still owned by one of my cousins so April (my fiance) and I decided to go to the house and
retake the picture with The '31 and ourselves.
She is still alive and I plan to print both picture out, frame them and give them to her.

My picture

Congratulations!
Fantastic idea...
It reminds me about a similar thing I did some years ago. A friend of mine from Eritrea/Africa sent me pics of his mom and his dad and said we dont have any pic of them together, and now my father died 15 years ago, I have only some pics of them when they were single, before marriage.
Would you help me with your computer? Was complicate, hard work but I got it and his mother now is very happy to have a picture together with her (now dead) husband which was never taken when he was alive...

And I was happy that I was able to help in this case...

Stefangermany

Great idea and well done.

Now that is really cool. If possible you should try and get your mom and dad to do the same thing. It would be a great conversation piece to have all 3 pics hanging on the wall together. I particularly liked the fact that you were able to go back to the same spot to have the picture taken.
I might try to do something similar when my car is on the road.
Well done,
Cliff

Man, that is one DYNAMITE photo!! That is great! I noticed also that the front license plate on both cars appears to have the same number. Is that correct? If so, what's the story on that?

Maybe Cut and Paste?

Hi Vetteman61,

Too bad you are not a member of the VCCA. That would be a great story and picture to share with all the members. Perhaps you should consider joining.

I love that picture.Please let us know your Grandmothers feelings when present her with them.I bet she'll be over joyed.
What a great thing to do for her.

Fantastic idea and gift for your Grandmother. Great job on your part!!!

Thanks for all the comments! The license plate was the one thing I had to cut out of the old picture. I was going to borrow an original from a friend/collector but because of our crazy schedule I didn't have time. All I had was MS Paint and Nero PhotoSnap, which are certainly not optimal. It actually took me several hours just to cut, resize and recolor the license plate and eventually get the color of the new photo to match (as close as I could anyway) the color of the old photo.
I've had this idea for almost a year. We had been trying to take the picture for 2 or 3 months but the car, weather, or something would always come up.
In fact on this day siding blew off the house and we had to fix it trying to rush to still have daylight. The water pump which I recently rebuilt had some bad parts and so on the way there (rushing at a blister 45 miles per hour, which for my poor old worn out engine is really cooking) there was grease and antifreeze spewing out of the pump.
It's hard to tell from the photo but those positions truly are the most uncomfortable way to sit that one could choose. April is much taller than my grandmother and I'm shorter than he was (he was about 6'3"), so we kind of wound up mismatched. hehe.
We took lots and lots and lots and lots of pictures hoping to get one where we were both in the same position. My leg got a horrible cramp from the awkward position and we would both have to take a rest for a couple seconds from the awkward position.
I get pretty compulsive about detail with stuff like this and it really bothered me that there were leaves on the ground, but the rest turned out well enough that now it doesn't really bother me anymore. The fading of the wood on the house gave that picture a darker overall color, so it was difficult to match because even when I finally got the colors matched it didn't "look," the same.
Sidenote: That house was built from lumber cut from the farm in the 20's. The logs had to be shipped out to the saw mill, cut, and returned. 3 family members have died in the house. The funerals were held there, and it was not uncommon (I've been told) for people to change engines in their cars from the great tree that was in the yard. The Charlie Daniel's band members rented the house (in the 70's or 80's, i can't remember) to practice in. They put carpet all over the walls (later removed when my cousin restored the house) and shot a hole in the bath tup with a shotgun trying to kill a mosue/rat.
I would love ...really love to join the group, but times are tight. I literally spent almost all of my money buying the '31. (it was a once in a lifetime deal i couldn't pass up). Right now, money is tight. That's why the '31 is tucked safely away in storage now until warm weather, when I can hopefully afford the remaining repairs. My daily driver is a '57 Chevrolet and I have some things I need to do to it as I drive it as well. I'm attempting to finally follow my passion of acting. April's very supportive, but as a result these are the tough times. I substitute teach in the meantime.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm in no way AT ALL asking for hand outs... I just mean that it's not that I don't feel the group is important. I hope within a year or two to have gotten on my feet a little better and then my cars can come out to play whenever they want again.

It happens to must of us and it is not the best of times right now.

Very cool! Thanks a bunch for sharing it with us.

All the Best, Chip

OUTSTANDING. I haven't awarded a "prize" on here for quite a while -- but I'm going to NOW. Vetteman61, please send me a PM with your address in it. You have just "won" a FREE year's membership to the VCCA.


Anyone that would go to that much trouble to get such a memorable photo (with such a great car) deserves to belong to "The World's Best Chevrolet Club".


No kidding, please send me your address and I'll sponsor your membership. It's not a handout -- but rather recognition for a great idea, and even better execution of it.


PS. If you don't marry that gal, then I'll revoke this offer.

Very well done Mr. Barker!

Now there is a real car buff and hopeless romantic, exactly what it takes to appreciate historic autos. If you do marry this gal, maybe your kids will take the same pic. of you some time down the road.

Excellent job! Thanx for sharing!

Vetteman61, Fantastic job on the photo. Glad you had the perserverance to finish it and then share it with us. I see BB continues to give more than 100%!! Great job all around. Beamer

Vetteman61!!! Very cool pictures indead.

hoppy

Wow, thanks everyone for the positive comments. I thought the group might want to see the pictures but I never imagined the response. Thanks everyone.

P.S. I'm definitely not going to let her get away. I waited a long time to find a woman like her. Not only is she a great woman, but loves old cars for the same reason I do, and somehow, doesn't mind putting up with me. 3 for 3!!!

Tremendous photo!!!! Absolutely beautiful story. Thank you for sharing.

Now that you can be a VCCA member, I sincerely hope you will submit this photo and story for publication in the G&D so ALL VCCA members can see it.

Again, thanks for sharing.

The VCCA has a committee that is established to help members with their story, shortcut, handy tip and other subjects.

If you would like, draft a story while it is still fresh in your mind. As soon as you receive your membership card and number, you can send your article to me and I will see that the committee sees your article and provides suggestions for you to consider.

Submission of an article to the committee is NOT mandatory. It is for your assistance if needed.

Just so you all know, Brandon (aka Vetteman61) has accepted my offer by PM and he will soon be an offical VCCA'er if my check doesn't bounce!!!

I would love to see the photo in an upcoming issue of the G&D. Fantastic. I'm so happy about this, that I thought about pardoning my turkey.... thought about it.. but then quickly dismissed it as silliness due to the gin and tonic clouding my thinking. ha!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone... except to Mr. Gobbler!! His future is to keep us well fed.

I would like to WELCOME VETTEMAN 61 to the VCCA as a member and to also thank Bill for the idea of membership. Both did a GREAT job.

Welcome vetteman to the greatest Chevy club ever. This is what the club needs, new young members. Hope that you enjoy your G&D and get the 31 going ASAP. Happy Thanksgiving to all. And thanks BB for all your work on the web site. Go ahead and have one more G&T before you dig into that bird.

Hello all,

The Thanksgiving weekend is over. I gave my grandmother the pictures in separate frames. She wasn't feeling very well at all, but April had gotten my family together and cooked a huge dinner for her because we believe this will most likely be her last thanksgiving. Although she wasn't well, she was very thankful for the pictures and liked them very much.
I found out a little more. That was my grandfather's first car. He traded a cow and another animal to get it.
They had just come back from a Church decoration (annual meeting and dinner held to honor the graves in the graveyard next to the church). He brought her back and it was their first date. Within a year they were married, at which time he had a 1937 Chevrolet 2 door business coupe. I have a picture of this car as well if anyone would like to see it. My grandfather ran a general store in the community and twice a week would make rounds with a peddling truck selling groceries out of it. I found a picture of this truck with my father in front of it as well, (circa 1949 or so?.
I'll definitely write the story up and send it in when the membership arrives. I'd like to thank Bill Barker again for the membership.
Just as an extra story: Before I had my '31 I bought a '57 chevrolet from an older lady. Her father had bought it for her brand new. She has refused to sell it to anyone, even family members, but in 2005 she sold it to me knowing I would fix it up. It's now "our," car. I told my grandmother when I got it running I wanted to take her and the car and have her show me where our ancestors were from. She is the only living member of the family to know of the where abouts of this place. It was called Brimstone. She looked forward to the trip for almost a year, and honestly in times of poor health I believe it's the only thing she had to look forward to after her brother passed away. Last year we finally made the trip. Brimstone turned out to be a very small community near Celina, TN. I say it's a "community," but it's actually a series of almost deserted, one lane dirt roads. When people asked us where we were going they always replied with the same response, "Brimstone!??? Why would you want to go there. You are taking that car there are you???" They all said the same thing.
The bottom land that once was home to my ancestors is nothing more than a very large open field far away from anything but hills and trees, but she remembered where it was and we found the graveyard where we believe some were buried. It was a great trip I'm glad I had the opportunity to make.
My mother and father kind of thought it was a crazy idea, but I told them to come along. After it was over they were glad it went.
Sadly, a month or so after this trip, my grandmother's car was hit in traffic and her health has since fallen dramatically. I know this portion doesn't really fit into the 29-32 forum, but I thought I'd just add it in case anyone might like the read.

Brandon

Hello Brandon,

Sad to hear your grandmother is not feeling well, but happy to hear she enjoyed the pictures. A wonderful gesture on your part. Sounds to me like old time family life is alive and well in Tennessee. The 57 looks great. I don't know about anyone else, but I sure would like to see a picture of the 37 coupe and of the truck you spoke of (maybe someone here could identify that truck). Post them here or email them to me. My email address is in my profile. Thanks for the story and I'll be watching for this in the G&D.