When my sister, Sharron, and I were very young, Mom often took us to Detroit on the train for a Friday fish fry dinner. We boarded the train in Royal Oak and got off at the Michigan Central Station in Detroit. It was a short ride and we made it about once a month. Grandma Barner would drive to the station to pick us up and Dad would meet us for dinner at Grandma and Grandpa (AKA Poppy) Barner’s house. Grandma would fry fish and corn bread. It’s the only fried corn bread that I recall eating. I loved it.
My youngest sister, Jackie, was born in 1954 so I don’t believe that she made the train trips with us. Mom learned to drive around 1953 shortly after my dad purchased a new “53” Ford. If Mom wanted to have the car for the day she drove my dad to work or Dad got a ride with someone else. Mom, Sharron and I picked him up. Mom surprised Dad one day by having a radio installed in the car. She had it playing when he got in. He didn’t notice it right away and we all got a big laugh out of that. Most of these “take the car for the day” trips occurred on Fridays as well. We either ended up at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for dinner or mom packed a picnic and we went to Belle Isle.
Poppy owned a heating and plumbing business. He had a truck for his business and a car for pleasure. During the mid fifties Poppy decided that he was going to get a new car. He made the announcement at a family gathering. My Uncle Don, Uncle Harry Mac, and Dad were all interested in the old, about to be sold, car. (I think that the three sisters, Jean, Ruth and Kay had the real interest.) Poppy decided that the only fair way to complete such a sale was through sealed bids.
Back in the fifties most people ordered their new cars with customized options: color, automatic or stick shift, white walls, two or four doors, radios, engine options, etc. This provided some time before the new car arrived and gave the three brothers-in-law time to do some research before they were required to determine their bids. The bids were submitted at the following family gathering.
By the time the gathering rolled around, Uncle Don decided that he would pass on the bidding war. Uncle Harry Mac and Dad were the only competitors. The event was very suspenseful. Both men handed Poppy their bid and he carefully opened each. The slip in the first opened envelope had the name, “Harry”, and the number “$200”. The second envelope had a slip of paper with the name, “Tony”, and the number “$201”. The bidding war was over and Dad won.
It was speculated by some that Harry and Tony had conspired to set up the bidding in such a fashion. Some believe that Harry didn’t really want a second car but he was directed to bid by Aunt Ruth because she wanted the car. Others believed that Harry shared his number with Tony, and Tony took advantage of the information. All interpretations of the event could be accurate.
In any case, Mom had a car, and we never took the train to Detroit again.