It Wasn't ALL My Fault

"You're the reason Mom sold Henry!" Rita angrily exclaimed.

"It wasn't ALL my fault!", I whined.

"If you hadn't taken Henry out and got lost and ended up in Baker,  Mom wouldn't have sold it."


Henry was a 1960 something Ford Falcon 4 Door Station Wagon.  I don't remember what year  exactly. I'm guessing it was between 1965-1968.  It was blue and white.  It was the car Mom drove.  It was the car Rita used when Mom taught her to drive, when she was twelve.

Mom was teaching in a one room school miles from town.  She decided that Rita should know how to drive.  So she made a track behind the school.  Taught Rita the basics and let her practice.  Rita loved that car!

The night in question, I had come home from work and was really upset.  Gene, my boyfriend came over.  He suggested we take a ride.  So I told Mom we would be back in a little while.  He drove and headed out of town.  We had been driving a long time when I said we had better get back.

He suggested taking a short cut and turned on an unmarked dirt road.  We drove for quite a distance when we thought we saw a fire burning up ahead.  You could see yellow and orange lighting up the sky.  Strangely there was no scent of smoke in the air.

I remember several Y's in the road. I kept hoping we would see lights or perhaps a sign.
We finally realized there was no fire out of control.  It was a huge harvest moon slowly rising in the night sky.  That was when Gene admitted he didn't know where we were, or which road led back to Miles City.  So he kept driving.

I had left the house without my purse, without my drivers license, without any cash.  When I asked him if he had any money he said no.  Nor did he have his driver's license.  I checked the ashtray for change.  There was a quarter and a nickel.

The gas gauge was plunging towards empty.  The thermostat was moving towards hot as we drove into Baker.  Later I was to learn we had traveled through part of the Custer Forest (few trees in that section).

We stopped at a motel to use the phone.  I called collect.  Mom answered the phone.  She sounded relieved to hear my voice even as I explained that we were in Baker, Henry was acting up, and we had no money but we were heading home.  Gene asked her to call his mother.

Gene popped the hood of the Falcon and tried to see what if anything he could do.  The motel owner took exception to us being in his parking lot.  A police cruiser swung by to see what the problem was.

I explained that we were having car trouble, needed water and were headed back to Miles City.  I was quick to tell the officer our plight.   I wanted to distract him from asking us for our licenses.  He told us to follow him and we could get some water at the Fair Grounds.  We did.

The water was in a trough for the horses.  There was a can nearby that we used to dip the water.  The police officer waited while we drew the water.  He followed us to the city limits as we drove away.

Gene pointed Henry home and I prayed that we would get there.  We had about 80 miles to go. We didn't quite make it.  Henry started making choking noises, he jerked and jagged almost convulsing as the needle dove below the E.  Gene pulled to the side of the road and we waited for morning.  We waited for help to arrive.

My Mother had contacted a friend for help.  Leon, and his wife, Sheila and my mother brought gas. Henry happily headed home.

Ted Dale was a master mechanic.  He kept Henry running.  Parts were not always easy to come by so he often manufactured the parts himself.  Almost always when Mom came to town, Ted's repair shop was one of her stops.  Ted died in November 1976.

Mom decided that she needed a more reliable form of transportation.  Someone sold her an olive green 1973 Galaxie 500.  A week later she found an olive green 1974 Ford LTD.  She helped me purchase the LTD.

Sadly, I don't remember who she sold Henry to.