ARLINGTON — Sarah Newberg never thought she’d fall in love with an old car.
Cars were her dad’s thing. He took rusty pieces and turned them into showroom-new Model Ts, driving them to exhibits and on tours around the county. She used to ride with him, ducking quickly if he hit the horn — which could sound like a wolf whistle — as they passed people. He loved to show off his collection, especially his carefully restored, teal-green 1927 Model T Touring.
Heading into surgery after a heart attack on Aug. 25, 2013, Lawrence “Larry” Garner was chatting about his Model Ts. He promised to take the hospital chaplain on a ride once he’d recovered.
Garner died in surgery. Doctors said his heart wasn’t strong enough. He was 77.
To family and friends, Garner’s heart seemed unfailingly strong. He was full of life, Newberg, 39, recalled. He went all-out for car shows, fundraisers and holidays. He loved Christmas and Father’s Day and drove one of his cars in just about every local parade or car show.
“It was so sudden,” Newberg said. “I don’t think people realize how suddenly a heart attack can happen.”
Several days later, his Model T Touring was parked in Newberg’s garage. Her dad wanted his favorite car to one day go to her son, Tyler, then 15.
“I couldn’t just let it sit there and do nothing,” Newberg said. “So I joined the Model T Club and learned to drive it.”
She’s been honing her driving skills for two years, learning the basics of Model T maintenance and showing her dad’s cars in the local car shows he frequented. She hopes to drive in next year’s Lake Stevens Aquafest parade once she masters stop-and-go braking. Her dad was in the parade every year from 1988 to 2012.
Garner also was a member of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Model T Club of America. They call themselves the T’Oilers. Newberg joined the group a month after his death, turning to fellow T’Oiler Jerry Wrolstad for driving lessons.
“Dad loved Model Ts so much and I think I always took for granted that he’d be here to teach me,” Newberg said. “Then after he died I got behind the wheel and just fell in love with it.”
Some lessons were harder than others. Like the time Newberg tried to reverse out of Wrolstad’s driveway in the Model T Touring. Wrolstad sat in the passenger seat and a friend rode in the back seat. Instead of easing backward, she shot forward, plowing into her instructor’s garage door.
After that, she started driving a different Model T. Her dad had three. His older brother now has his 1912 Model T Pickup. The 1927 Touring shares Newberg’s garage with a 1923 Roadster. Newberg affectionately calls the roadster Molly, and that’s the one she drives.
Driving a Model T helps her feel close to her dad. He taught her to ride a bicycle and drive a car. He was her mechanic whenever something went wrong. When she was 21 and ran over a median in Snohomish, flattening three of four tires, her dad showed up to rescue her in the middle of the night, wearing jeans, a pajama top and a black cap to ward off the chill.
Larry Garner’s wife, Roni, didn’t expect Newberg to become a Model T fan. Their daughter wasn’t interested in cars as she was growing up. And driving was always a bit of a hurdle.
One of the first things Newberg learned to steer was a little red riding lawnmower. She was 12 or 13 and her dad wanted her to learn to mow their large back yard.
Roni Garner laughs as she remembers the day.
“Sarah closed her eyes and yelled, ‘Help! Help! Help!’” she said.
She crashed into a tree. Her dad never asked her to mow the lawn again.
Newberg was a girly-girl and didn’t like getting dirty. Roni Garner was surprised when her daughter helped push Molly out of storage.
“You just never thought she’d do it,” she said.
She’s been surprised before, though. When her husband bought his first Model T, she thought he was getting a car, not a trailer full of pieces. She didn’t think he’d ever finish putting them together.
Roni Garner hasn’t taken a ride in a Model T since her husband died. She doesn’t want to go without him.
Newberg hopes to change her mom’s mind.
She wrote a book about her experiences and her bond with her dad. Self-published in June, it’s called “The Model T in Me” and she sells it for $27 in paperback or $10 for electronic readers on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
“Dad would have been thrilled,” Newberg said. “I believe he can see me.”
Molly, the 1923 Roadster, won her first trophy at a local car show on June 15, 2014. That was Newberg’s first Father’s Day without her dad.
On Aug. 25, 2014, friends at Sunrise View Retirement Center where her dad worked put together the Larry Garner Memorial Car Show. They raised $300 for the American Heart Association. Another show is planned for Aug. 22.
A lot of people remember her dad and his Model T’s, Newberg said.
“He loved life. He loved talking to people. He loved parades. He was just so happy,” she said. “When I was writing the book, I never knew why I called it ‘The Model T in Me.’”
Now, nearly two years after losing her dad and learning to love his favorite hobby, she understands.
“It’s the happy in me,” she said.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Into Model Ts?
To learn more about Model T’s or to join the Puget Sound Model T Club, visit www.pugetsoundmodeltclub.org.
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