Chapter 191: 1940 Ford Standard

I remember that car so well. He was so proud of it. I felt like a queen when he would drive me around in it. I loved all my husbands, but only that one car. – Momma Dee

Camille had asked about Momma Dee’s three husbands and the love stories did not disappoint. She had married Amos Williams in 1939, and they had their son seven months later. He was offered a job as a welder working on naval ships. It paid better than what he was earning in New Orleans and would offer better opportunities for his young family.

Her first husband died in Mobile, Alabama, following the ADDSCO riot in May of 1943. With a young son, Marshall, to raise on her own, she had gone back home and returned to her job at the Higgins Industries factory. She never finished her teaching degree, but worked as a substitute teacher in the 60’s and 70’s.

Momma Dee had told Camille about how when her second husband came home from the Pacific, Henry bought a used 1940 Ford Standard. There were three on the lot to choose from. The brand new 1946 model was black, the 1943 model was black and the one that he bought was black, until he washed it. Then it was shiny black.

As he drove off the used car lot, he passed a woman with her son. He stopped and offered them a ride home and they were married just a few months later. He planned to adopt Marshall and give him the Morgan name.

A few weeks after their courthouse wedding, a black police officer knocked on her door. She knew as soon as she saw him the reason her husband was late was that he would never come home again. Even in southern Louisiana, where the population was roughly one-third black, Jim Crow still ruled in 1946. Tensions were still high after the Moore’s Ford Lynching in Georgia, and Henry was a black man in a nice car.

She sold the car, fearing more problems. But she always loved that car. When Marshall was eight, Momma Dee married a widower, Ardis Johnson, who had a little girl, Minnie. Ardis adopted Marshall the same week that they were married. They had two more sons, Mitchell and Marvin.

Ardis had been a sharecropper all of his life and wanted better for his kids. He worked a second job in addition to the farm to pay for Marvin to attend Tulane. He later went to Arkansas for medical school and stayed there until his death from a new disease in 1982.

With sadness in her voice, she told Camille that they had driven up for his funeral. “I sat there, at the kitchen table, holding the hand of the man that my Marshall always called his roommate. Timothy was crying about losing his friend. I wanted to tell him that I knew. I was scared. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret telling him.”

Minnie took her vows as a nun in the mid 60’s. She didn’t remember the exact year, but she was pretty sure that it was 64 or 65. Minnie left the church after she was in Ireland at a Magdeline laundry. When she raised concerns about how they were being run, she was told that it was none of her concern. She remained in Ireland until her death in 1995. The year after she died, the last laundry was closed.

Mitchell worked as a freedom rider and marched with Martin Luther King Junior and John Lewis. One of Momma Dee’s favorite pictures was of her son crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. He later worked in Washinton DC for a local congressman. His only son, Stephen, served in the Virginia General Assembly and described the people of Virginia as his wife. Father and son died within weeks of each other, leaving a huge hole in the state that would never be filled the same way again.

Her youngest served in the Marines, volunteering for service and to go to Viet Nam on multiple tours. He married his high school sweetheart before his first tour, his one and only child was born during this deployment. Marvin was one of the casualties of the Tet Offensive. His name was now carved in black granite, and she had only been to see it once. Her vision was already fading, but she traced the letters of his name as tears streamed down her dark cheeks.

Together, they had endured the loss of all three sons, two grandchildren and a daughter moving overseas and taking up a cause that would haunt the world. Ardis stood by her as she lost her vision and took over most of the housework, something that was very uncommon for their generation.

For her seventieth birthday, he borrowed a recently restored black 1940 Ford Standard from a neighbor down the road. She could not see the car and took his word on it being black. Darkness found the picture of his great grandparents standing in front of the car. Grinning, Camille assured the older woman that the bright blue car was indeed black just like she remembered.

Momma Dee was married to Ardis until his sudden death in 1993. Not knowing why the car was so special to her, Shadow borrowed the car again for Ardis’ funeral. The instant that she sat in the car, she knew what car it was. A few years later, the neighbor offered it up for Shadow’s funeral.

Camille knew that there was only one car that should be used to pick Momma Dee and Rosie up from the airport. When she went to Mia to see if they had a 1940 Ford Standard, she admitted that it was one of the few cars not in the collection. After a quick call to the president of the local classic car club that she was a member of, he located one for sale that was about three hours away. Her brothers and cousins agreed to the purchase and Ryder made the arrangements.

The car was delivered by Riff a few hours before they had to leave. The guys at Wilson’s gave it a once over and ensured that everything was running well. It was not black, but instead it was drab olive green with the tan star on the side. Darkness and Camille agreed that since Momma Dee could not see it, they would simply tell her that it was black.

At the airport, Rosie helped the older woman into the front seat as Darkness loaded their luggage in the trunk. Momma Dee ran her hands across the restored dash in front of her. Her fingers brushed the knobs in the center for the radio and other controls. A smile graced her face as understanding dawned on her.

“This is my car?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rosie told her as she fastened the seatbelt.

“What color is it?”

“I looked it up, in 1940 the Ford Standard came in eighteen colors,” Camille told her. “Black was the most popular.”

“Don’t remember there being that many options,” Momma Dee admitted. “Just black or black.”