The Aficionado

Gerald Franklin Scott (1927-2011)

maternal uncle

 

 

I have fond memories of my Uncle Jerry, my mother's younger brother and only sibling. He always seemed to have a smile on his face, especially when he was telling one of his many stories. But most of all, I remember his love of cars and motorcycles. 

 

My earliest memory of my uncle is during the time my parents, sister, and I were living in my grandparents' upstairs apartment in Celoron, a small village outside of Jamestown, New York. One day when I was about four years old, Uncle Jerry took me for a ride on his motorcycle, with my mother's consent, I'm sure. She was probably watching from the front porch. He picked me up, put me in front of him, and away we went up Livingston Avenue.

 

I remember how loud it was, which didn't scare me. In fact, I liked it. To this day, I sometimes watch the opening of the Indy 500. When the drivers are told, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” the roar of all those engines never fails to give me goosebumps ("goose flesh" as my grandmother used to say). My son, Michael, had a Trans Am that had the same effect. I loved hearing the sound of the engine when he started it, and the deep growl when it was idling.

 

Uncle Jerry on his 1947 Harley-Davidson, probably summer 1953. Taken on Livingston Avenue in Celoron, New York, across the street from my grandparents' house. (Scott Family Collection held by Tina Scott)

 

In spite of all my memories of my uncle, I have very few about his cars and motorcycles. So, I turned to my cousins, Michael and Tina. Michael, in particular, has detailed memories of most of his dad's collection. He also followed in his father's footsteps, building his own collection in the same manner.

– THE MOTORCYCLES –

Uncle Jerry owned a number of motorcycles over the years. There are, of course, stories that go along with most of these. A couple include "learning experiences" for Michael.

 

Another photo of Uncle Jerry on his 1947 Harley. This was taken at the Allen & Elaine (Bradish) Wood farm on the corner of Stedman and Morris Roads, Sherman, NY. Elaine was my father's sister. (Scott Family Collection)

 

My mother wrote this note on the back of the picture.

 

Transcription: 

   Jerry Scott and one of his many 

   motorcycles. Never without one 

   for long most of his adult life.

 

   One of the things I remember 

   about him at age 4 - pretending

   he was riding one with the 

   appropiate [sic] sound effects. 

   SSB. [Shirley Scott Bradish]

 

Michael told me that after his dad bought his "brand new 1947 Harley-Davidson, he took his buddy for a ride around the lake. A woman pulled out of Summit Avenue by Midway right in front of them. He had to lay the bike on its side on the new crash bars. They hit the the rear bumper of the car with the bottom of the bike. No injuries except for scrapes on the new bike." 

Map of the Maple Springs area in Chautauqua County, New York.

Uncle Jerry "laid it down another time in Celoron by the fire hall and the hot exhaust burnt a hole through the suit pants he was wearing."

 

At some point, my uncle had a blue 1965 (or 1966) BSA Lightning 650, which was a British motorcycle, and a 1966 305 Honda Dream. Michael recalls an experience when he and his dad took a ride together. "We rode the two down the Bay Road once, and he was kind of teaching me what not to do on a motorcycle. He spun the tire in the stones but when it hit that black top, down he went. Needless to say I didn't need the visual example but it worked. I never did that.” 

 

The bikes: Michael's "chopper," the BSA Lightening, and the 305 Honda Dream.

Ashville Bay Road on the southern end of Chautauqua Lake, New York.

 

The first bike Michael drove on the road, and the bike he drove for his road test, was his dad's 1966 (or 1967) Honda 160. He was so nervous he used the electric signals instead of hand signals. In spite of that, he passed.

Photos: 1966 Honda 160 (National Motorcycle Museum)

[Scroll down the museum’s page to see other views and more close-ups of the bike.]

 

 

 

My uncle didn't have any qualms about purchasing wrecked motorcycles or cars. At some point, Uncle Jerry restored a wrecked Harley Softail Deuce 1450 he had acquired. Michael doesn't recall what year it was.

 

 

This 2004 Harley-Davidson Softail Deuce is an example of what the bike looked like. (bringatrailer.com)

Eventually, my uncle sold the Harley and purchased a 1983 Honda 1100 like the one in the photo below. His bike was the same color.

(Photo provided by Michael Scott)

Uncle Jerry's last bike was a Kawasaki Nomad 1500. Michael said it was "his baby—he loved this one." 

 

The Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad 1500 (Scott Family Collection)

 

 

– THE CARS –

My uncle was also an avid car enthusiast who, over the years, accumulated an impressive collection. He bought cars in almost any condition, ranging from almost hopeless to pretty good. Michael told me his dad restored them all. It was always interesting to hear Uncle Jerry's stories about the obstacles he encountered during his restorations, and how he overcame them. He was a true problem solver who thought "outside the box."

The best opportunity to hear those stories was usually on a Sunday afternoon. This was when, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, my dad would sometimes pile us into the car for an afternoon drive. It wasn't unusual for us to stop at Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ginny's on the way home from one of those excursions. Usually, Mom and Aunt Ginny visited while my cousins and siblings played. I usually tagged along with my dad for a little while so I could see Uncle Jerry's current car project and admire the cars that were finished. Stories inevitably followed. While I don't recall the stories themselves, I do remember how animated Uncle Jerry was when he recounted them to my dad, and how they both laughed. Fortunately, Michael knows the stories.

– THE CADILLAC –

 

One of my uncle's first cars was a 1941 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible he found in Buffalo right after the war. It was in the dark at the back of a basement garage. The car was painted in one of the deeper colors offered by Cadillac that year. The 1941 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible was only available in the Deluxe model, so this car had all the bells and whistles, including leather upholstery. It also had a wood grain dashboard with a clock, heater, and push button radio.

Uncle Jerry in his 1941 Cadillac. This was taken on Livingston Avenue, Celoron, New York. (Scott Family Collection)

 

In addition to its elegant lines, the exterior featured fog lights, lots of chrome, and skirts over the rear wheels with Cadillac emblems at their centers. At the front of the hood was the iconic "Flying Goddess" hood ornament for that year. I have a small bit of history with that.

 

The first time I saw a Flying Goddess hood ornament was in the 2021 Allstate commercial, "Duet in a Desert." I enjoyed watching the ad for two reasons. I liked the 1986 song, “Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)” by Pet Shop Boys, and I was mesmerized by the fluid lines of the hood ornament. I didn't realize what I was looking at, though.

 

At the time, I did a search to find out which auto maker designed what I was sure was a vintage hood ornament and what car it was on originally. After finding a photo of a 1941 Cadillac with the Flying Goddess on its hood, I was smitten. Think Jerry Maguire and the classic line, "You had me at hello." Cadillac had made the perfect pairing.

A 1941 Cadillac Series 62 convertible in Italian Cream (a 1938 color option). (Images: conceptcarz.com)

In her August 26, 2024, Forbes Newsletter article, "10 Of The Coolest Historical Hood Ornaments," Trinity Francis said the design portrays "the very spirit of unsurpassed swiftness and power, coupled with grace and perfect balance." Indeed it does.

 

I couldn't help but smile when I discovered that Uncle Jerry's Cadillac was a 1941 with that hood ornament. 

 

My uncle in his restored 1941 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. (Scott Family Collection)

Our grandfather, whose hobby was photography, likely took this photo in black and white, since color photography was quite expensive at that time. At some point, the photo was colorized, probably to highlight the car's unusual color. Even though it looks yellow, Tina told me her dad painted the car chartreuse, which was one of Cadillac's 1949 color options. Michael said the upholstery in this car was actually red, not blue. Red was one of the 1949 upholstery color options.

 

Michael recalls that the car had cutouts and an open exhaust. Our grandmother told him she could "hear him [Uncle Jerry] coming home from skating at Midway on the other side of the lake." Uncle Jerry told Michael that one time he got the car going so fast the top ripped off. And, evidently, all the girls liked to ride with him because his car had heat in the back seat and other cars didn't. The deluxe model definitely had its advantages.

– THE CORVETTES –

 

Uncle Jerry had five Corvettes through the years. His first was a Pennant Blue 1954 convertible with a tan interior and tan canvas soft top. Chevrolet produced 3,640 Corvettes in 1954. The color choices were Polo White (3,230), Pennant Blue (300), Sportsman Red (100) and Black. (corvsport.com)  

 

1954 Chevrolet Corvette convertible in Pennant Blue (corvsport.com)

 

Left: The 1954 Corvette in the driveway at the at the Tower house in Ashville. 

Tina told me this Corvette was originally blue and her dad painted it pink. She also said that she was almost born in that car in late February 1958. When she got older, Tina learned the story.

   "My mom was ready to go to the 

    hospital and, for some reason,

    that Corvette was the only car

    they had on the road at the time. 

    My dad put chains on the tires for 

    traction. There was a bad snow-

    storm and, of course, one of the 

    chains broke on the way to the

    hospital. I don’t remember the

    ending but my mom was able

    to have me in WCA [Hospital]."

Left: Michael in the Corvette, at about 13 months old. Taken around late September 1957. (Photos: Scott Family Collection)

Left: Michael, Tina, and Aunt Ginny with the now pink 1954 Corvette. Uncle Jerry took this from the top of the "Tower house." Right: Michael and Tina playing in front of the Tower house with the Corvette in the background. (Scott Family Collection)

A few days before I posted this story Tina made an interesting discovery in a diary written by her maternal grandmother, Mary Jeanette (Hanson) Anderson. The July 25, 1959 entry said, "Jerry sold his pink Corvette."

This 1967 Goodwood Green Corvette convertible was one of the cars my uncle purchased despite its rough condition. All the gauge faces and lights were broken, and the needles were bent. The fenders had chunks broken out where the car had been jacked up so the wheels could be removed. Given the damage, Uncle Jerry and Michael thought the wheels were probably stolen. Michael told me, "He repaired everything. It was a beautiful car."

(1967 Corvette - Scott Family Collection) 

Left: Interior of the 1967 Corvette.

 

Michael recalls the time his father took the '67 Corvette for a ride around the block on a fairly nice winter day. When he couldn't get the car back up his sloped driveway, Uncle Jerry got out his four-wheel drive Chevy truck and tried to pull the Corvette up. That didn't work, and now he had two vehicles at the bottom of the driveway. 

 

So, "he got the 'dozer out to go down and pull them both up. No problem, until he got those steel tracks on the icy driveway. Well, he bounced from tree to tree down the drive, gaining momentum as he approached the truck which was chained to the Corvette at the bottom. He got lucky. The Lord answered his prayers, or more likely heard him screaming. He stopped six inches from the back of that truck."

 

 

(Photos: Scott Family Collection)

 

Uncle Jerry bought his blue 1975 Corvette hardtop from a friend. Aunt Ginny had this after their divorce. (Photo taken in Warren, PA in 1989)

 

 

 

 

 

Uncle Jerry's white 1971 Corvette convertible with red interior and 454 engine. This photo was taken in the driveway at the A-frame house he built in Ashville.

 

 

 

 

Michael has the '71 Corvette now. He took this photo by Chautauqua Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

My uncle's last Corvette was a red 1981 T-top. (Verillo Motor Cars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 – MORE CHEVYS & A PONTIAC –

 

Over the years, Uncle Jerry had three other Chevys: a 1931 Chevy coupe, a 1969 Chevelle, and two 1969 Camaro Pace Cars.

 

Michael and Tina both remember their dad's 1931 Chevy coupe very well. It was a green parade car he purchased in Randolph, a small town about 25 miles from Ashville. Michael said his dad took the car apart and rebuilt it as a "hot rod with a Heidts* independent front end, and a Corvette rear end. It had a 350 Chevy engine." [*Heidts Hot Rod and Muscle Car Parts]

 

When Uncle Jerry was done with the car, it was a different color and had raspberry velvet seats. He called it the "Razzberry."

 

 

Left: Front view of the converted 1931 Chevrolet Coupe.

 

 

(Photos: Scott Family Collection)

 

 

Uncle Jerry and Marsha, his second wife, in the Razzberry after the 2006 Bergman Park Car Show in Jamestown, New York.

Michael and Uncle Jerry each had a 1969 Chevelle SS396 four-speed. Uncle Jerry's was Frost Green with a black or dark green top and black racing stripe on the hood. This was one that had been wrecked, and the hood was bent upward. They both stood on the hood to get it straightened out.

 

1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 (Adventure Classic Cars)

Tina recalls that one day after she got her permit, her dad let her drive him "all over" in this car. Tina talked nonstop because she was so nervous and excited. She's quite sure she took her driver's test in this 1969 Chevelle.

 

Uncle Jerry had two 1969 Chevy Camaro Pace Cars. Chevrolet produced a limited number of these—3,675 in 1969. (camaros.org) This was "kind of a drag car," according to Michael. As it happened, when his dad arrived at the appointed place to look at the car, he was informed that about thirty minutes prior the owner's mother-in-law "plowed into the back end with her car." In spite of that, my uncle bought the car and repaired it.

The second car was rusty, so Michael drove it in the winter. When the car was on its last legs, they stripped it for parts. Then Uncle Jerry drove it to the junkyard. Michael said, “it didn’t have an interior, hood, trunk lid, or top,” and he’s quite sure all the glass was missing, too.

The two Camaros in 1989. Uncle Jerry's is on the left. (Scott Family Collection)

The 1969 Pace Cars, and most of the support vehicle fleet, at Indy (camaros.org)

 

Uncle Jerry's 1973 Pontiac was a Slate Green Catalina. This was another wreck he repaired. (GatewayClassicCars)

 

 

 

When Michael drove it to the DMV to register his first car, someone smashed the quarter-panel and took off in the parking lot. He said, "They really crunched the back fender. Not fun explaining that!"

 

 – AN AMERICAN CLASSIC: THE PACKARD –

The beautiful lines of the Packards produced in the 1930s are captivating—the cars are a work of art. Who wouldn't want to have one of their own? But during the Depression, in particular, few people could afford a car like that.

 

Several decades later, two nice Packards somehow fell into my uncle's hands. One was a 1940 maroon convertible, the other a 1937 in black. I'm not sure I ever saw them. I could have been too young to appreciate what I was looking at, or I might have been older and living elsewhere. In any case, I'm sorry I missed them.  

Right: Uncle Jerry's maroon 1940 Packard at home. 

 

My uncle was asked to be part of a wedding because the couple wanted to use the Packard in their photos. Uncle Jerry drove them to a spot in front of the historic Athenaeum Hotel on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution.

 

(Photos: Scott Family Collection)

 

When Tina and Marsha went for a hot air balloon ride, Uncle Jerry "chased" them in the black Packard. Tina said the ride was "the coolest thing because we could hear people talking below us."

 

Right: A black 1937 Packard convertible. (Laferriere Classic Cars)

– THE BRITISH CARS –

There's something about British sports cars, especially the older ones. The shapes, the details, the styles. The first British car I fell for was the Primrose Yellow 1965 Jaguar XKE convertible in the 1966 movie, "How to Steal a Million," starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. The car was sleek, sporty, and luxurious. I was not quite seventeen years old and I wanted one. It's still my favorite car.

A 1965 Jaguar XKE. (beverlyhillscarclub.org)   

A poster from "How to Steal a Million."

Decades later I owned an MGB convertible in bright yellow. I don't recall what year it was, but I had a great time driving it around. Unlike Uncle Jerry, maintenance was an issue for me. I didn't have the skills to make my own repairs, and those costs became more than I wanted to spend. I sold it reluctantly.

 

The MG at my house on Baugo Creek in Osceola, Indiana (June 2009).

Uncle Jerry evidently liked British cars, too. A plus for him was that he had the ability to repair anything that might go awry. Overall, he had four British cars: two MG Midgets, a Triumph TR3, and an Aston Martin.

 

 

 

Michael recalls that one of the MGs was yellow and the other black. He doesn't know what years they were.

 

 

Right: Uncle Jerry's yellow MG Midget.

         (Scott Family Collection)

 

 

Left: A 1979 MG Midget. (Bonham's)

Right: Uncle Jerry's 1969 Chevelle, the yellow MG Midget, and his 1971 Corvette at the A-frame house.

 

(Photos: Scott Family Collection)

 

 

 

This photo of the TR3 was taken in front of the A-frame. Uncle Jerry is on the left; Michael is leaning against his bike.

 

 

 

 

Uncle Jerry and a friend, Bruce Walters, sometimes drove my uncle’s TR3 to the racetrack where Bruce raced his own TR4.

 

Right: Nancy Walters, Uncle Jerry (by the tire), Bruce, and an unknown person at the track.

 

 

 

 

The fourth British car my uncle owned was an Aston Martin, a classic, sporty, luxury car "designed for high speed and long-distance driving...." The company is over 110 years old. The only pause in production was from 1940-1947 when Aston Martin made aircraft components during World War II. 

 

Aston Martin is a name that is recognizable to most people, particularly James Bond fans. These cars are Bond's vehicle of choice. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels and himself an automobile aficionado, provided detailed descriptions of the Bond cars in his books. Eight different Aston Martin models have been used in seventeen of the twenty-six Bond films.

 

James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (Business Insider, Oct 9, 2019)

The pictures below were taken outside Michael's school in Ashville, New York after his 1962 kindergarten graduation. The Aston Martin is barely visible. Based on body style, it appears Uncle Jerry's Aston Martin was probably a 1951 DB2 Vantage. (SuperCars.net)

 

 

 

 

Front: Michael, age 6 

 

Back L-R: Aunt Ginny [Virginia (Anderson) Scott], her mother, Mary (Hanson) Anderson, and our grandmother, Gertrude (Sealy) Scott.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front L-R: Tina, Michael, my brother, Scott, and Steve, a boy Aunt Ginny babysat

Back L-R: me, Aunt Ginny, my mother [Shirley (Scott) Bradish], and our grandmother, Gertrude (Sealy) Scott

– MEMORIES AGAIN –

 

My Uncle Jerry had many talents. Not only was he was a creative problem solver, mechanic, and auto restoration expert, he was a great storyteller. When I think of him, I see him smiling and laughing while he told his stories, or lifting me up in front of him as we set out on my first motorcycle ride. Most of all, I remember his love of cars and motorcycles. 

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– FURTHER READING –

• INTERESTING FACT: Packard engines were so powerful the cars could reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

• GO ALONG FOR THE RIDE: Join writer, Mike Floyd, of MotorTrend magazine, as he takes a beautiful 1941 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible for a spin along the Monterrey Peninsula coast in the this September 2022 article.
  

• Martin Buckley's article, "The greatest '50s sports cars: XK120 vs MGA, AC Ace, Healey 100 & TR3A," in the July 1, 2019 issue of Classic & Sports Cars has details about the history and features of these cars. The photos are impressive. In fact, I almost want to enlarge the first one and hang it on a wall.   
  

• The history of Britain's finest partnership: James Bond and Aston Martin is an interesting read for those of us that are James Bond fans and/or Aston Martin buffs.

• Curious about which Aston Martins were in which Bond movies? This Aston Martin dealership made a convenient list of Every Aston Martin James Bond Car on Film.
  

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Bradish-Scott Family History – January 2025