Fairfield -- 200 years: 50s nostalgia -- Part 2

A '57 BelAir, not an Impala

The late 50s was a somewhat sleepy time for folks in the valley of the East Fork.

Not much changed except the cars, which was a pretty big deal. In those days, those who could, did. About every three years, somebody in Fairfield would get a new ride.

And we all went around to see it, ask about it, how much it cost, and did the guy "gip" the dealer down any. Whitewalls came with it, huh? AND a radio! Power steering.

"Our car doesn't have that."

"It's still junk. It's a Chevy."

"Fords are junk."

"My dad says Plymouths are the best cars."

"We had one of those. Dad called it a lemon."

'59 Rambler American ... lovely color

Detroit made all the rules in those days, and the foreign car was seldom seen in Fairfield, the Volkswagen Beetle being a rare exception.

With several models operating under one umbrella, it was fairly easy to have a number of choices when purchasing a car. General Motors produced the Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Chevrolet. Inside those brackets were several styles.

Ford had Thunderbird, Mercury, Lincoln and Continental divisions, and there were several models of each.

Chrysler-Plymouth was similar. You could also buy a Nash Rambler, but why?

Despite all that, it wasn't rare to see cars from the 40s still puttering about, namely road loads like the Henry J or the Willys or a Hudson here and there.

A few cars you were likely to see in Fairfield from about 1955 through 1960: