Wednesday, January 23, 2013

More Cars


Bill Bean took his youthful admiration of the automobile and turned it into a lifelong business proposition.

I still want to do more research on the Bean and Cavanaugh dealership in Alameda, California. That will all come in due time.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few photos of his business that he had saved over the years. These pictures are stored memories of a generation quickly fading off the scene. If anyone is going to remember these times now, it must be those to whom such pictures and stories have been passed.

While I’m familiar with the automaker Plymouth, the name DeSoto is just a blip on my memory’s radar. I couldn’t point one out to you if I saw one on the street—and that’s probably the key. If anyone saw one on the street nowadays, it would certainly be a collector’s item.

Can you imagine getting your hands on a model in the same pristine condition as some of these showroom specials from years ago?

Taking a look at the many photographs of this dealership and its cars stored in the "mystery photo box" from this family's heritage, there’s no doubt Bill Bean was as proud of his business as he was of his cars.

8 comments:

  1. The DeSoto had some grill work!

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  2. http://carolinafamilyroots.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-wonderful-team-member-readership.html

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    1. Charlie, thanks so much for thinking of me in your post today!

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  3. I could point one out right away..especially the station wagons. Ours had push button drive..very fancy... it was mint green. You have some great old photos there! :)

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    1. I thought these photos would be fun to share, Far Side. Memories for some, an eye opener to what was in style for others who never got the chance to know.

      Funny, while we never had a De Soto, the first family car I remember was mint green, too. Wonder if it was the "in" color for that time period...

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  4. Yes, I do remember the Plymouth DeSoto! I remember seeing cars like that around, and I also remember hearing the name a lot -- although I never connected the name and the actual car. (In my day, that sort of thing was for the boys.) There are people here in CT, maybe over the whole country, who re-make and cherish old cars in auto shows. It's great to see one all spruced up and traveling slowly down the main street of our town.

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    1. Those car shows are a popular draw out here, too, Mariann. I've known some people who have done that type of work on those old cars, and it is a lot of work!

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