October 2019
Tom Patterson was born in Detroit Michigan, a while back, he notes. Tom had an older brother who was a race car driver. Tom recalls his father as a calm man. But one day Tom and his brother installed a blower on a 1936 Ford 3 window club coupe. Tom said Dad walked by, saw the blower and said “You have 15 minutes to get that off the car.” Apparently, his calm father was also a serious man because Tom said “we had the blower off in15 minutes”.
Tom left high school after the tenth grade and went to trade school. Tom became a tool and die maker and worked for Ford Motor company at the Dearborn plant. He saw the 1953 Fords come down the assembly line. I suspect that has something to do with his affinity for the 1953 Ford. He was also drafted and was a helicopter mechanic and crew chief. He said, “I never got a license to fly the helicopter but the pilot let me take the controls sometimes.” It was a 21-passenger helicopter - so a big one.
Tom and Dee toured a lot in Michigan in a 1933 Buick Sport Touring. Dee said, “The car didn’t have a heater and Michigan can get cold.” She wrapped herself in a blanket on one outing and the battery and wiring under the seat caught fire. She said “I was wrapped in the blanket so tightly, Tom had to really work to get me out of that car”.
While talking to Tom, Dee came on the line. Together they kept their stories straight. Tom proudly noted that this past September 11 marked their 65th wedding anniversary. Tom and Dee remained in Michigan until 1984 when health reasons caused them to leave. I asked why he came to Albuquerque. He quickly noted he wasn’t in Albuquerque, but in the Rio Communities in a nice neighborhood with an acre of space in Belen. Their current home wasn’t the first they purchased. They saw their current home and really liked it so they waited until it went up for sale and bought it.
Tom and Dee had an auto parts store in Belen. It was Belen Auto Parts and became a Car Quest store. He said he sold it after running it for 13 years when it became obvious to him that ‘shade tree’ mechanics couldn’t work on the new cars with all the gizmos on them. He also said Dee was his secretary at one job, his partner in another but mostly his best sidekick. Tom and Dee also built some spec homes with their younger son. Their son is now doing historic restoration work all over the US.
We ended the call and Tom probably went back to work on his 1953 club coupe.
