This month, we're celebrating Scorch's birthday. Scorch, a 1942 Chevy firetruck, is one of our most interesting outdoor props.He rolled off Chevy's Seagrave assembly line in Columbus, Ohio on April 13, 1942!In Scorch's "previous" life, he served the Cistern and Wimberly volunteer fire departments in central Texas. While only having app. 22,000 miles on him, he served those communities well.
In 1995, I found him sitting outside an antique vehicle restoration business in Plum, Texas. I instantly wanted him, and tried to find someone to talk to. Unfortunately, no one was there, but I was persistent and came back the following week.
This time, the owner was at the shop and I asked if Scorch was for sale. He told me no at the time since he was using Scorch for spare parts on the restoration of a 1942 Chevy pickup. Being optimistic, I gave him my card and told him to call me if he changed his mind.Six months later, I got the call that Scorch was now for sale. I asked him how much he wanted for it and he replied, "How much do you want to pay?" Not wanting to get into a heavy duty "used car" negotiation, I told him to give me a price and if I could afford it, I would buy it. The fact be known is that I would have paid $2500-$3000. He hemmed and hawed a bit and said "How about $1000?" I really had to hold my excitement back for a little while, but then told him that I thought I could work with that.
But that's not the end of the story. He agreed to let me pay $100 every other month and keep it down in Plum (since I didn't have anywhere to put it). After a year had passed, he called me up and told me he was moving his business to Alaska - a goldmine for his type of business.
I asked him where to send the remaining $400, and he told me never mind, that the title to the firetruck was already in the mail to me. Wow! I purchased Scorch for only $600!!! What a deal.
But wait, Scorch needed a lot of work, so it cost me $600 to have a flatbed wrecker haul it up here. I was planning on restoring Scorch, but when the price tag to do so hit $30,000, I balked.
I wanted to move Scorch to another area of the outdoor portrait garden and build an antique firehouse around him, but that was low on the list of things I needed to do, so Scorch sat where I originally placed him for 5-6 years.
When I finally got around to moving him, I discovered a tree was growing up thru the middle of him. So I decided to leave him there and let the tree grow. Today, he has three trees growing up in him, including one coming out of the left rear wheel well!
Scorch has been a fun prop to work with. Kids (of all ages), engaged couples, and high school seniors love to be photographed on Scorch. We've even had a couple of real, live Fire Fighters have their portrait taken with Scorch.
So, the month of April is "Happy Birthday, Scorch!" month. Come by the studio and celebrate with us. Have your portrait taken with Scorch! Come wish him a Happy Birthday!
Dwayne Lee, M.Photog., Cr.-API
