By Dan Hammock / The Daily World
When the Aberdeen Museum of History was destroyed in the June 9 Armory fire, the loss to the community was incalculable.
Some suffered deep personal losses as well: A number of items on display at the museum were on loan from local individuals and families.
One of those items was “Queenie,” a 1929 Chevrolet coach that had been lovingly pieced together over a period of decades by Aberdeen native Ed Lind, a 1958 Weatherwax graduate. Every element was original “correct” equipment for that particular model, he said, right down to the fan belt.
The Chevy’s wire-spoke wheels were an option in 1929 — “an expensive option,” Lind said. “They were $7.50 apiece!”
The restoration
Queenie was an amalgamation of two complete 1929 Chevys, three partial vehicles and numerous original parts Lind acquired over time.
He bought the first car for $300 in 1979 from Mabel Annen of Marysville. She told him she and her husband had originally paid $730 for it — including several options, the delivery charge and various other fees. She drove it until 1947, and then it sat for decades before Lind bought it from her.
“The car was in bad shape. The body was severely rotted,” he said. But he trailered it home and started working on it.
About a year later, a man knocked on his door. He said he’d heard Lind had an old Chevrolet, and he asked to see it. Lind obliged him.
Upon seeing the car, the man told him he owned the exact same vehicle, right down to the color. (“Crimson Maroon,” it was called — also an option, adding $12 or so to the sticker price in 1929.) The man said he was getting a divorce and was losing his storage space, so he had to sell it.
Lind asked if he could see the car, and the guy said sure — it was just three doors down, where it had been garaged for years. Lind walked over to take a look, and it was in good shape, so he bought it on the spot.
“I gave him his $600, and he helped me push it down the alley and into my shop,” he said.
Lind continued working on his restoration project for many years, but took a break during his divorce.
“Then I came along and said: Get to it!” laughed Linda, a fellow AHS alum, who became his second wife.
“Finally, when I retired in 2006, I was able to finish the car,” said Lind.
He recalls the source and specs of every part — the instrumentation, the fenders, the headlamps, even the horn button. It was truly a labor of love.
Strutting her stuff
Once the restoration was complete, Lind began displaying Queenie at car shows in the area.
“It was a great runner,” he said, smiling. “We never hauled it anywhere on a trailer; we always drove it under its own power to every show we ever went to. And everybody knew the car when they saw it.”
He has a thick photo album stuffed with memories of those years. He said the car won more than 50 awards.
During that time frame, he also began restoration work on a 1930 Model A Ford pickup. So, to make room in the shop, he approached the Aberdeen museum about putting Queenie on display there for a year or two.
“I’ve had various people tell me the car was absolutely museum quality — and of course I have to agree,” Lind said, laughing.
He reached an agreement with museum director Dave Morris and moved her in — right next to the old fire truck that later was driven, charred but mostly intact, in Aberdeen’s Founders Day parade.
“The car was in the museum six months to the day when the fire broke out,” said Lind.
The reunion
No one was allowed to enter the Armory building for months after the fire because of concerns over structural stability. Recovery efforts didn’t begin in earnest until early October.
Last Friday, the Linds waited anxiously as Queenie was finally pulled out of the building. Ed was wearing a hard hat, face mask and coveralls.
“I haven’t seen it yet. Is it still red and black?” Linda asked of a bystander. “Mostly black,” he answered.
When the car emerged from the building, Ed stared blankly at his pride and joy. The once brilliant paint job had been charred black, the interior burnt and layered with ash.
The car was insured through a private insurance policy for $20,000, “which doesn’t come close to touching it,” said Linda. She was clutching a letter from the city of Aberdeen stating that the city was not liable for the damage.
Structurally, Queenie was in surprisingly decent shape, considering the intensity of the fire. It had just one flat tire, and the gas tank was three-quarters full — it had not combusted.
A tow truck pulled the car down a ramp and onto a flatbed trailer. Linda said friends will store the car on their property for the time being.
They weren’t sure if the car could be salvaged. “When the metal gets burned like that, it’s hard to get paint to stick to it,” Linda said.
No matter what comes next, they’re relieved to finally be able to move forward.
“We have memories, which is good. And trophies,” said Linda. “Thank goodness we have that, and thank God no one was hurt. That’s the biggest thing.”
This story originally appeared in The Daily World, a sibling paper of The Daily Herald.
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