Some time around 1950, the ’41 Pontiac suffered a cracked engine block forcing an upgrade to a 1947 Pontiac Silver Streak Eight that looked exactly like this one:
It was great to have a four-door car with a lot more room. While we lived in La Junta, both David and Richard had morning Rocky Mountain News routes. We perfected to technique of sitting in the back windows and throwing newspapers across the top of the car to make deliveries on cold winter mornings.
In 1950 the family made a trip to California including a visit with Aunt Marian and Uncle Irving Christensen. Irving was the proud owner of at 1949 Mercury convertible like the one shown here. The Barkey boys insisted that the top should come down while they drove around Los Angeles. To our great satisfaction Uncle Irving complied.
This car became a favorite for auto customizers of the 1950’s and ‘60’s.
In March 1952 the family moved from La Junta to Haxtun and then in September moved again to Englewood, Colorado.
When David became 16 he purchased a 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline four-door like the one pictured here. Dave’s car was originally two-tone grey but he had it panted a metallic green just like this one.
Dave had this car outfitted with dual exhausts and “Smitty” mufflers… loud and very popular in 1956. A few days after we moved to Fort Collins, Dave got a ticket when he mistakenly revved the Chevy engine about a block from Fort Collins High School… the mufflers had to be replaced. A new Baptist minister had moved to town and already his boys were in trouble with the law.
While we lived in Englewood, Cline traded up to a 1952 Pontiac. This was our first car that had an automatic transmission. Our Pontiac was just like this model except it was brown.
When we moved to Fort Collins, David was a junior in high school, Dick was a Freshman, Stan was in junior high school and Paul was in elementary school. In November 1956, when Dick turned 16 he purchased a 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air just like the one pictured below. The purchase price was $600. Today’s price for one that looks like this is around $25,000.
In 1956 a teenaged boy could not leave a car like this without being customized. Here’s what the ’50 Chevrolet Bel Air looked like after some modifications:
While the family lived in Fort Collins, Cline owned another interesting car, a 1952 Packard Patrician like this one. It was big, roomy, smooth riding and fun to drive.
Another interesting car Cline owned in Fort Collins was like this 1955 Studebaker Hawk. We loaded the whole family including Grandma Belle Barkey into this little car for a trip St. Paul Minnesota to attend Dave’s college graduation in 1961. Where was the big Packard when we need it?
When Stan turned 16 he originally had a 1946 Chevrolet sedan, but soon after became an owner of a 1936 Chevrolet pickup like this one:
When Paul reached the driving age of 16 he became the owner of a Model A Ford coupe similar to this one:
When we were in High School we often traveled to Haxtun to visit Belle and our uncles, aunts and cousins. Bell had traded her 1935 DeSoto for a 1936 Plymouth four-door just like this one. We piled all the cousins in “Grandma’s hoopoe” drove it all around Haxtun.
Dick and Margie were married in December, 1960. In the Summer of 1960, Dick purchased a 1953 Pontiac like this one for the sum of $198. He had to barrow $100 from Margie to pay for it.
The ’53 Pontiac gave out in the fall of 1962 as Dick and Margie were starting their senior year at Colorado State University. It was time for more reliable transportation so we purchased a 1956 Plymouth like this one (ours was brown):
This car had no gearshift. It had a push button panel left of the steering wheel that was used to change gears
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More about Barkey Family Cars:
Family Cars: Nebraska to Colorado
Family Cars in California, Indiana and Illinois
Family Cars in La Junta, Englewood and Fort Collins
Dick and Margie Barkey Family Cars