Staying Cool In Wheels From The Past
Rev it up, baby. Make those whitewalls hum and the giant dice dance.
Dan Drapeau rolls his pack of Marlboros into his T-shirt sleeve, slides onto the Naugahyde upholstery and guns his 1956 Ford Crown Victoria. The rumbling crescendo drowns out the Beach Boys on the stereo.
“I’m so proud of the things I do on this car,” Dan says as he eases out of his gleaming peacock blue and eggshell white time machine. “Everybody needs a hobby.”
The Crown Vic, as he affectionately calls it, is more than Dan’s hobby. It’s his link to three generations of Drapeaus and the cement in his marriage.
Dan’s three brothers baptized him with Pennzoil long before he got his license at 14.
“They’d say, ‘Hand me that wrench,’ and I had to know which sizes,” he says. “Then I wanted to know what they were doing under there. That’s how I learned.”
The Drapeau boys didn’t have much money so they improvised, then paraded their artistry in their Nampa neighborhood. Their closeness so moved Dan that his soul stayed in the 1950s.
“It was a lot of fun back then,” he says. “Back then, they built cars with style.”
Dan, who’s 51, married, moved to Post Falls and finally could afford his cherished 1950s model car in 1979. He bought a 1956 Ford Customline four-door that his wife, Dorothy, wanted.
They found the Crown Vic a few years later in Canada. Dorothy restored the interior. Dan and his son lovingly massaged tarnish from the chrome and dirt from the engine. Dan hooked his son on cars.
“He was 8 when he changed his first camshaft,” Dan says proudly.
The Crown Vic was the Drapeau’s ticket to travel. They drove in parades and to exhibits all over the Northwest. They displayed it at the 1986 World’s Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dan parked next to a $1 million Packard and drove away with the silver plate.
His fleet has increased over the years and his son has moved to his own garage. But the oldies still boom from Dan’s stereo as he and his 6-year-old grandson scrub the Crown Vic’s whitewalls.
“It’s been a family thing. Parents need to do more with their kids, you know,” Dan says. “On my day off, we jump in the car, cruise down to have a hamburger. Puts me in a good mood.”
String man
Don’t envy your friends who are spending the summer touring the Scottish highlands. For a much lower price, you can hear a Celtic harp that will put you in Scotland without ever leaving North Idaho.
Critics say harpist William Jackson’s music will transport you to the battles of “Braveheart” or add you to Riverdance’s chorus line - at least in your imagination. No wonder he’s appreciated worldwide.
Sounds too good to miss. Jackson will perform in Libby, Mont., July 1, and at Sandpoint’s Panida Theater July 3. Call 263-9191 in Sandpoint for details.
Money bags
Apparently healthy kids rank high with people in Kootenai County. The Kootenai Alliance for Children and Families raked in nearly $9,000 including $125 from Gina Hyenga’s Consumer Science class at Lakeland Junior High in donations during its recent radiothon and now it wants to give it away to groups that try to prevent child abuse.
Call Dean Thie at 667-6400 for details.
Ultimate fun
Ultimate Frisbee is a cross between football and hockey, complete with running, tackling, slugging and falling. And, according to sources close to me, is best played in the mud. What’s the oddest sport you’ve played and where did you play it? Be a sport for Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; FAX to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo