On the island, this sort of vehicle is not thought of as an antique. It is a functional means of transportation and well suited to service on the island roads. Driving conditions on the island are described by Charles Pratt as follows:

"...ten feet from the front of the car-- a distance which on the Island's roads can include two ditches, a bog, the edge of a cliff and a ten-point buck."

While I can't speak for the motivations of the owners of this particular car, a fundamental principle of island life is illustrated here. The machine is simple, durable and serves the purpose it is intended to serve, that being the conveyance of persons from point A to point B. Nothing more is required of it.

It is entirely possible that the owner of this car can easily afford a new one, even an expensive smooth-riding luxury car. Such a car would be a poor choice for a number of reasons, first and foremost being that a new luxury car would be too low-slung to navigate what passes for roads on the island and would likely lead to the owner being stranded somewhere. Secondly, and probably as important, a new car does not lend itself to the sort of duct-tape-and-bailing-wire repair and maintenance that is a necessity on the island. When the new car's electronically regulated fuel injection system dies a premature death from use on roads it is not suited for in the first place, it isn't likely that the owner will be able to salvage a computer chip from somewhere among the moldering hulks scattered about so-and-so's dooryard. Another excerpt from Here on the Island:

"About twelve years ago, Gene Skolnikoff acquired a '37 Pontiac which developed the need for a new condenser. He and Harold went to the car dump, which flowed gently into the sea at Head Harbor, and, at low water, got one out of a car engine which was covered and uncovered by the tide. This same intertidal condenser is successfully condensing away in Gene's car to this day."

When I was on the island in the 1960's and 1970's, one of the cars my family had use of was this selfsame 1937 Pontiac. I was too young to drive, but I remember that the car's transmission was a rather mysterious hodgepodge of gears and cogs and finding the gear one needed was somewhat of a hit-or-miss proposition involving a good deal of searching and usually settling on anything that wasn't reverse. My brothers and I rode in the rumble seat of that car and felt privileged to do so, although we were not generally allowed to ride on the running boards.

The car in this photo and the Skolnikoff's '37 Pontiac may not be representative of a "typical" island car nowadays; most are probably considerably newer. Still, it's a fair bet that they are, for the most part, well-broken-in utilitarian vehicles and a look at the inner workings of many will reveal at least one critical part that is held fast (or replaced entirely) by a wrap or two of duct tape and a stout length of bailing wire.

This photo was taken at about 8:00 am July, 1997 by Jennifer Hughes

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