In early 1938 I bought my first car. My oldest brother was a salesman at Mills Motors in Seattle. They were the local Plymouth-De Soto dealers. I bought the car from him. He explained that the 1934 Airflow De Soto cost Chrysler motors $3600 apiece to build and they sold them for $1600. It was now four or five years old and I could have it for $480.

I don't know how many of you remember what an Airflow De Soto was. It was the very first attempt at an aerodynamic car. It was not only an aerodynamic body style, but it also had very wide seats that would allow seating for three people on each seat. It was also a great road car for its time.

The wide seats proved to be a trap for me. I became the patsy for some of my high school and work friends. It made an excellent ski vehicle. The fellows were all rounders who would go out and party Saturday nights. They would get home just early enough to change into ski clothes, lie down and get about an hour's sleep. I would then pick them up. They would crawl into the car and promptly go sound asleep.

At that time you could only drive as far as Narada Falls on Mount Rainier. The fellows would all pile out of the car and practically run up the mountain. I have no idea how far it was but it was a considerable climb.

I wouldn't see any of them all day as they were far better skiers than I was. Then as darkness was approaching I would ski down to Narada Falls. I would then drive down to Longmire Springs to where the guys had skied for a much longer run than Narada would provide.

They would pile into the car and promptly all go sound asleep. I did this probably about ten times that year. I would have liked a way to terminate the arrangement, but, being devoutly wishy-washy, I lacked the guts to tell them.

Before the next ski season I solved the problem in a simple, weak-kneed fashion. I traded my beloved Airflow for a little ‘38 Plymouth coupe.