The brothers Floyd and Glen Lodge owned and operated The Lodge Funeral Home in the big house on Montreal Street and had a Furniture store downtown. Floyd looked after the Funeral Home.
As you readers mostly know, McGee Motors was a Chrysler dealer originally, from 1929 and that ended early with the 1962 models. We had sold a new 1962 Chrysler Newport 4 door Hardtop Station wagon to the Funeral Home which was going to be converted into a Hearse. The 62 Chryslers were actually beautiful refined looking cars as they were a carryover from the 1961 models but with the tailfins shaved off.
Chrysler cancelled our order as we had changed to a General Motors franchise.
We contacted Wendell Motors Chrysler dealership in Kitchener that we had a good relationship with and asked if they would reorder the car on our behalf, which they did.
Finally in the spring of 1962 we were able to deliver Lodges their new Chrysler Station wagon and we took in trade a 1950 Cadillac Hearse.
Now for the true stories:
Our oldest brother Len, was a very likeable party type guy. One evening drinking with his buddies, one of them passed out. Len went to the garage and got out the trade in Cadillac Hearse and the group loaded up the one unconscious guy in the back and drove out to the Maitland Cemetery around midnight. A couple of them pretended to be digging a hole while another shook the guy awake. You can imagine what went through his head when he realized where he was and what was happening.
Lou Fulford was a fine gentleman who sailed. He and his wife Theresa lived on the corner of Victoria and Anglesea Street. Lou purchased the 50 Caddy Hearse as a daily driver for his wife. Now remember, back in those years cars did not have power steering and Mrs. Fulford was not a very big lady. I can remember seeing her backing this monstrosity of a car out from Max Cutts Grocery store on Victoria Street (where Pita Pit is now) out onto that heavy traffic road and of course the car took up both lanes. What a sight!
Eventually the old Hearse was donated to the Huron County Museum where it was displayed for several years but is now sitting in the Museum storage building out by the Airport awaiting its fate. As you can see in the picture, time has not been kind to it.
Story #3
Glen Lodge ran the Furniture store and purchased a new Dodge Panel truck from us in the late 50,s for use mostly as a delivery vehicle of sold furniture. The Panel style truck was actually a very nice looking vehicle and we came up with what I thought was a very ingenious idea. We ran it past Glen and he said- go for it.
What we did was take the chrome DODGE name plate which in those days were a drilled on chrome accessory piece, not two face tape like everything today. Now picture this. If you look at the name DODGE we simply cut off the back loop of the D and made it an L so that it now spelled LODGE and installed them on the panel sides of the vehicle. Pretty clever EH?
p.s
Glen Lodge was my Scoutmaster and I vividly remember he and 5 Scouts going up to Algonquin Park for a Camp out in Glens new light blue Studebaker.