History Rolls On… The Lambrecht Auction
Old Cars Weekly welcomes our newest blogger Yvette VanDerBrink, owner of VanDerBrink Auctions, LLC, and known in auction and salvage circles as Lil’ Nordstrom’s Gal. She will be blogging routinely…
Old Cars Weekly welcomes our newest blogger Yvette VanDerBrink, owner of VanDerBrink Auctions, LLC, and known in auction and salvage circles as Lil’ Nordstrom’s Gal. She will be blogging routinely on the world of buying, selling and nurturing collector cars.
I drove back down to Pierce, Neb., a few weeks ago and it was odd to see all the cars and trees gone, gone off to new homes. I remember when I first heard about this Urban Legend – a lost collection of new Chevrolets and hoard of trade-ins – I thought, that’s just too amazing. But then I saw it.
I remember walking through the trees and seeing new cars and used in various conditions taken over by Mother Nature. I was thinking, wow, and what is the story behind this scattered assortment?
I also remember going into the dealership and looking at all the cars buried under vinyl siding, anti-freeze containers, coolers and lots of tires. I snuck in between the cars and opened the 1964 Chevrolet Impala door and a gust of New Car Smell hit me and brought me back to a time when I was young. It also reminded me why I love the old cars and tractors.
Memories and History… All of us like to think back to slower and quieter times, and in the middle of those times are cars and tractors that have become part of us, part of our history / memories. That smell reminded me of when I was about 6 and we were coming home from Gramma Nordstrom’s Christmas and I was laying in the back window of Dad’s Chevrolet Impala looking at the stars and thinking about Christmas morning. It was the same smell.
All of the moments of my life had a car or tractor as part of my memories. Early F Series Fords were Dad’s favorite and we all would pack in the cab and pull the trailer with the Hotrod Tractor to the races. I would shift for Dad sometimes while sitting in the middle. Mom was always squished with a kid on her lap. Dad was big into tractor pulls and I watched a lot of black smoke going high in the South Dakota skies – loved that smell and still do.
I can tell you the vehicle I first went parking in and remember vividly the smell of beer, Dentyne gum, alfalfa and South Dakota Summer. I took a drive from Minnesota to San Diego, Calif., in a 1965 Chevelle SS, and own one today. I met my husband in his Chevy pickup, and back then you sat in the middle, and seat belts weren’t the first thing on your mind... But all of us have a car or tractor in the middle of our memories.
It’s these thoughts that bring us to auctions, read the For Sale on the Internet and papers looking for that car – that memory to drive us back in time, and take our minds off of everything going on around us.
It’s also up to us, to tell our children the stories and pass on the memories. To instill them, the love of history and cherish the stories and the time spent together telling them. I greatly instill this with my children. I can still remember Emily, saying while riding in our 1955 Chevrolet Pickup: “Dad, it’s hot. Turn on the air” and shocked to hear there isn’t any.
So, at the Lambrecht Auction and all auctions, we aren’t just selling cars, we are selling memories and helping people step back in time.
Till Next Time….
See you at the Auction!
Yvette VanDerBrink – The Lil’ Nordstrom’s Gal
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