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| Jesse Zuniga & 1935 Chevy Standard |
Hot rodders and vintage cars are celebrated in Longmont this weekend as part of ColoRODan Fest, which kicked off last night with a display of vintage cars, local breweries and "grooving" seventies live music.
Jesse found his first car, only his was blue instead of orange.
Jesse was a Depression child who scrounged for odd jobs and saved his nickels. He kept his money in a locked box under his bed, and when his older brothers shook it he told them the box was full of marbles. At age 15 his father mentioned at supper that a friend of his had a car for sale and that he wished he had the money to buy it. Jesse said, "I have the money. Would you buy it for me?" His astonished father signed the paperwork, and Jesse had his first car before he could get a driver's license. Of course, country kids started driving at age 10 or 11, so Jesse kept it on the back roads until he turned 16. Two years later Mr. Zuniga asked him to trade it in for a four-door so it would be easier for his mom to load the groceries. "You do things for your parents," Jesse said, "even if it doesn't make you happy." Undeterred, Young Jesse intensified his efforts to earn money, and when he was 20 he bought himself a brand new 1949 Mercury convertible. He loved driving it slowly through town, and releasing the latch for the convertible top, which caused the girls to point and scream. Since it had a V-8 engine, he also cowed his fellow hot-rodders, letting out the throttle to race down Main Street. "It was legal then," Jesse says.
At the down-town event we also found younger brother Louis Zuniga's first car. Notice the tiny side mirror high up on the left.
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| 1937 Chevrolet |
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| Cadililac |
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| 1957 Chevrolet |
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| 1955 Chevrolet |
Myself, I love the details, specifically the grilles, the hood ornaments and the hub caps.
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| Roadster |
Jesse was a Depression child who scrounged for odd jobs and saved his nickels. He kept his money in a locked box under his bed, and when his older brothers shook it he told them the box was full of marbles. At age 15 his father mentioned at supper that a friend of his had a car for sale and that he wished he had the money to buy it. Jesse said, "I have the money. Would you buy it for me?" His astonished father signed the paperwork, and Jesse had his first car before he could get a driver's license. Of course, country kids started driving at age 10 or 11, so Jesse kept it on the back roads until he turned 16. Two years later Mr. Zuniga asked him to trade it in for a four-door so it would be easier for his mom to load the groceries. "You do things for your parents," Jesse said, "even if it doesn't make you happy." Undeterred, Young Jesse intensified his efforts to earn money, and when he was 20 he bought himself a brand new 1949 Mercury convertible. He loved driving it slowly through town, and releasing the latch for the convertible top, which caused the girls to point and scream. Since it had a V-8 engine, he also cowed his fellow hot-rodders, letting out the throttle to race down Main Street. "It was legal then," Jesse says.
Myself, I love the details, specifically the grilles, the hood ornaments and the hub caps.
