What got you interested in Professional Cars, and how did you learn about the PCS?

One place I 'm an anomaly in this crowd is that I grew up in the suburban village of Scarsdale, New York with no connections whatsoever to the funeral or EMS professions (my dad was a broker on the New York Stock Exchange). As soon as I became old enough to ride my bicycle a few blocks, I nonetheless recall being facinated by this ancient Cadillac ambulance with a bright blue metallic body and white roof (looking back now, a '56 Superior as some body panels were evidently fiberglass) that the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps had just retired and parked in the Heathcote shopping center parking lot across the street from their tile-roof, Spanish style HQ (originally built in the 20s as a commuter rail station) when they put a dark green 1969 Miller-Meteor into service. When the squad bought its first Ford van around 1975, I also recall them enlarging the center garage door.

By the time I reached high school during the era of diminished expectations in the late 1970s, I was quite the artistically-inclined “algebra notebook” auto designer. Though I'm not sure when I bought myself a copy of Tom McPherson's "Bible," I did have most of the other Crestline titles in my library (in fact, I still refer to these more frequently than any other auto history books). Whether it was in Tom's book or the other Crestline titles I first saw them, the thing that fascinated me the most about pro-cars was that the coachbuilders constructing them seemed completely dedicated to satisfying individual customer tastes and requirements regardless of cost, time or difficulty, proudly maintaining carriage trade traditions of craftsmanship that most auto enthusiasts assume were lost forever when the “Golden Era” of custom-bodied passenger cars from firms like Willoughby, Judkins, Murphy, Brunn and LeBaron came to an end in the 1930s. In spite of this, I didn't actually join the PCS until 1992 or thereabouts, shortly after tracking down Walt McCall for historical perspectives to give direction to my Pratt Institute Masters of Industrial Design Thesis project, which ultimately saw me come up with 21st century takes on Henney-bodied Packard hearses.
 
My initial exposure was similar to that described by Gregg above. In the early 60's I would ride my bike down to Starrs Ambulance, the long term provider in Calgary, fascinated by their vehicles. During medical school in the mid 70's I spent two summers working with the City of Calgary Ambulance Service, the first paramedic service developed in Canada.

Fast forward to @ 2007 where I fell upon the PCS website totally by accident. I was amazed there were actually others out there who shared my love for these old cars. I nicer, more helpful group you could not find.

:thumbsup:
 
Some of you may have heard my story before, but for those who haven't, here it is. I was a certified car nut from as far back as I can remember. I loved cars, period. As a young boy, I was frightened by sirens, they scared the hell out of me. But, I would always look at those ambulances of the fifties and sixties with fascination. I was not intrigued by blood and guts, just the cars themselves. In 1966, I got injured at a local carnival and they told my father and me that I would be riding in an ambulance. There I was, scared to death and I began to cry. My father asked me if it hurt real bad. I told him no, I was afraid to ride in an ambulance. I had all kinds of negative images of what it would be like in there. Needless to say, my fears were unfounded. The people were kind and caring and I fell in love with that ambulance.There was something cool about the wail of the siren and the flashing lights reflecting off of the trees and houses, as we raced to the hospital that captured my attention. It was a blue&white 1966 Superior Cadillac. Ever since that day, I was fascinated and wanted to own an ambulance. In 1973, I bought The Book that really started the PCS. In 1993, I joined the PCS and the rest is history. It has been great!
 
I have always been interested in pro cars since I was a kid. Loved watching the coach ambulance's roll by the house and I tried to follow them. I got into EMS in 1973 and most of all my work was done in Cadillac's (S&S, Superior, and MM), and Oldmobile Cotner Bevington's. About 1984 my supervisor gave me an article about the Professional Car Society and right away I became a member. My supervisor also had a love for coaches but he loved funeral coaches. I still hope to someday own a coach ambulance. I have my eyes on one that Steve Loftin knows about. They still have it in the store room Steve.
 
I noticed a few folks mentioning the television show “Emergency” and playing with Matchbox cars as a kid that got them into this hobby. I was first influenced by the television show from the black and white era called “Rescue 8” and playing with Tonka fire trucks. Later on, “Emergency” set the hook. There were Matchbox toys somewhere along the way also.

The interest in pro cars didn't happen until I worked in them early in my career. Working in the Type I, II and III ambulances was never quite the same.
 
I've loved pro-cars ever since I got started in the business in 1963 at the tender age of 17. We first had 1963 Pontiac Cosorts, then we moved in to Cadillacs. Later I had the opportunity ot have my own ambulance/livery service. The rest, as they say, is history.

I found the PCS in a very roundabout way. Was on a "fire truck type" web-site, and it linked to the Chicagoland Emergency Vehicle Show. While looking at that site, there was a link to the Northland Chapter of the PCS. Went to that site and spent a lot of time looking through the photo archives (AWESOME!!!). Found a link to these forums, and here we are.

After the Ohio Chapter spring thingy at Dwaynes, Barb (senior management in our house) thought we should join the PCS, "and so it goes" as Walter Cronkite used to say.
 
First Exposure

My first exposure to a pro-car.... was a 7 years old when our local volunteer fire department in Fallbrook, CA received their first all red (BRAND NEW) 1954 Henney-Packard Ambulance (coincidently the one I have now). They had other ambulances over the years including three other Henney-Packards, but they were all "hand me downs" from the nearby Camp Pendleton MCP, Naval Weapons Base and other larger cities in the area. Anyway.... the VFD invitred all the "towns folk" down to the station for a viewing of the New Packard. Being 7 years old other than the siren with a "BIG F" on it (Federal Q) and red lights, I was most impressed with the hot and cold running water with a sink in the patient compartment..... keep in mind this was well before motor homes and travel trailers were a common-place. Our local one-only mortuary (Berry-Bell) also had all Henney-Packard's except for a 1953 Superior-Pontiac Service Car. After that day it kind of stuck on me to start paying attention to all ambulances, hearses and limousines I saw and ID their coachwork. I joined the National PCS in the early 90's after seeing a free ad in Hemmings for car clubs. Mt first National PCS Meet was in Minneapolis when the Lange Brothers delivered the X-Fort Wright (KY) 1973 S&S Medic Mark-I Cadillac to me from Canada. MM
 
Since the time I was two or three I always loved cars. Back then there was big changes every model year. I knew the years of every family members -cars-my grandparents always had nice cars-Cadillacs as did their friends they had Thunderbirds, Buicks and Cadillacs. When I was 14 a new ambulance service opened up near my house I was on my bike and started talking to the guy he could not believe that I know the years of the two Cadillacs they had. (66 combo and 68 M+M high boy). I soon was answering the phones-worked in the business for 21 years from 1973-94. At age 16 I drove mid sixty cadillacs in and out of wash bay for a bath. I drove many Cadillacs for Memorial Ambulance Service. Delivered babies in the back too and braced my back on the roof while doing CPR---I will bring some pictures to Hudson. In fact a friend of mine will be with me-we worked together 36 years ago and my former employer and dear friend Ray Nowak, Jr. Memorial Ambulance's owner will also be in our party. We all have had a wonderful life. The secret of not burning out was having a cause bigger than one's self-caring for others in the manner we wished our loved ones to be cared for and treating the company and cars as if they were your own. It's a win win when you approach life like that. Seeing so much hardship and pain kept one close to reality and gratitude. The great football star Gayle Sayers of the 1960s had these simple words in his locker: Me third. When asked what it meant he said " God first, others second and me third --basically if a person lives there life that way they will be fulfilled and happy.
 
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