December 2018
What is the difference between a “y” and an “ie”? Ask Betty Leupold. Seems her birth certificate has her as Bettie but for all her life she has been Betty. And, when you go to get a New Mexico “approved” ID they frown at changing your name -even simple spelling can foul you up. Regardless how one spells it, Betty Leupold is well known to our club and is our featured member of the month.
We all know Betty as part of the Betty and Art team. She says her best memories are of the time she and Art did things together. Goodness, when were they not together? At least over the last 50 years the answer is - not much. Betty started her life in Albuquerque ‘many years ago’. She spent a few years in California during the war then returned to New Mexico with only a brief stay in El Paso.
Betty wasn’t much into cars before she met Art –“A life changing experience” she says. “Art didn’t let me drive the old cars much. I’ve driven the 1932 and the 1939 on tours,” she says. She recalls taking some girl friends to Santa Fe in the 1939 and returning home later than planned. Fortunately, one of her friends remembered the headlights on switch was on the steering wheel, otherwise she says “it would have been a dark trip home”.
“Art was a good man,” she said, “but I didn’t get a lot of new things. Art preferred to fix things. That was fine, they worked after he fixed them. It did result in a bit of a crowded garage because after the repair he saved the old parts.” She said this with a smile.
Betty has three daughters now in Albuquerque, the oldest, Karla, lives with her and between Karla and Karlene she stays active. She doesn’t make a lot of meetings nowadays but will be at the Christmas lunch.
She recalls going with Art to Belen to pick up their Model A. “Why in the world anyone would rebuild a car that looked that bad I will never know. Needless to say, when I first saw it I was well, I was disappointed.” On the trip home Karlene rode in the model A and had to be very careful to keep from falling through the hole in the floor. Well, we know after the rebuild it was a fine car.
Betty and Art joined the Tumbleweed V8 club around 1960 - about the same time they bought the 1939 sedan. All of us know that car.
