When I was young my hometown had three small grocery stores. These stores were all good for immediate needs, sandwiches at lunch time, sodas and candy. They were not, however, even mid-sized chain stores like Kroger or Safeway. As a result, my family usually made a weekly trip to a larger city about twenty miles away to do most of our grocery shopping.

Even then, we did not always shop at the chain stores and instead shopped at a larger, independent grocery. This store, much like the chains, often had promotions. These were sometimes focused on things used in the kitchen or things associated with holidays. They might be discounts or even give aways for some items. But one special promotion holds a special place in my mind.

I cannot remember the exact year but I must have been around eight or nine years old. The store was giving away a large item, a miniature 1910 Model T car. It would hold two young passengers and was powered by a two-horsepower gas engine. Children visiting the store with their parents were allowed to submit one entry for each visit.

The promotion went on for several weeks and each trip to the store typically included groups of children standing by the display of the small car, staring at it in wonder and hoping that it might someday be theirs. I was one of those children and made sure I submitted my entry each time we were in the store to buy groceries.

Finally, the night arrived when the winner would be chosen. My uncle took my cousin and I to the drawing so that we could see who would win. When we arrived, a small group was gathered in front of the car awaiting the drawing. The store manager came out of his office with a large container holding all of the entries. After thanking all of the parents for shopping in his store, it was time to draw the winning ticket. He asked me if I would like to draw the ticket. I thanked him but declined telling him I was going to be the winner instead. Everyone had a good laugh about that.

He then asked my cousin if he would like to draw the winning ticket and my cousin agreed. My cousin then dipped his hand into the container, stirred the tickets once again, and made the draw. He handed the ticket to the store manager who, to my great amazement, announced my name as the winner. I couldn’t believe it. After having my picture taken with the car and probably doing a few other things, the question became, “How do I get it home?” While my father had a pickup, neither he nor my mother were in attendance. So my uncle took us back to my grandmother’s house where we told everyone of my good luck.

We then went back to the store to pick up my prize and take it home. At first, I was only allowed to drive the little car in our yard. As my skills improved, I was allowed to drive it on our block and later to other places in my hometown. I learned a lot with that little car like sharing and safety. But my biggest memory was learning not to touch the spark plug on a running engine – funny now but not so funny then.

The photo above shows me riding in the passenger seat while allowing the girl next door to drive the “little car.” I’m not sure how old we were but with both seemed to be enjoying the ride. Apologies for the blurriness but this is a scan of a photo that is probably somewhere between sixty and sixty-five years old and taken with an Instamatic or similar camera.

I kept the little car and used it until I was old enough to purchase a small motorcycle. Then I sold the car to another child who used it for many years afterwards. I’m not sure where the little car spent its final years, the red, wooden spoked wheels were not very strong and the fiberglass fenders already had cracks when I sold it but I hope it served many well.

I’ve seen photos of many similar little cars since that time but mine will always be special to me.