The Lark & the Cycle of Life
Parents will know the Cycle of Life moments, when an instant in time with your child parallels a moment in one’s own childhood. I had such a moment on Monday. Each day when Sebastian goes to school, we drive his friend Adam, too. Sometimes Tess comes along because she needs to be dropped off in Central, or is reading for Sebastian’s class, or going to the triplets’ school. If I am in Hong Kong (as opposed to traveling) this means the car is FULL. We had such an occasion this past Monday. Our eight seat Renault Espace was full. The easiest thing to do was have Seb sit in Tess’ lap in the front seat for the five minute ride to Kennedy School. You are welcome to condemn us for this action and I know that it is illegal in Canada, but sometimes things are done a little differently here in Hong Kong. Everyone buckled in and we drove off. Thirty seconds into the trip Sebastian reached down to touch the automatic gear shift. I politely but firmly said, “Please don’t touch that, Sebastian.” He promptly recoiled, knowing that sitting in the front was a privilege and duffing it up would result in no future invitations next time the car swelled at the seams.
Right at that moment, the Cycle of Life happened. I remember sitting in the back seat of our family’s car, the same age as Sebastian, and marveling at the instrumentation of the car. I knew that the power – as in supremacy not physical power – lay in the steering wheel, brakes, accelerator and gear shift. This moment on Monday really affected me and I thought long and hard about those childhood times in that car. We had a late 50s/early 60s Studebaker Lark Wagon similar to the one pictured above, except I seem to remember ours was brown. Via e-mail I queried my dad about the Lark who reported back to me that unfortunately we didn’t have any pictures of the Lark. He added, “In the summer of ’62, when you were born, we camped in the Hi-Lite at Lake Simcoe at the end of June or the beginning of July. Mommy used the Hi-Lite (ed: expandable camping trailer) and I slept in the wagon. We had a full Home Delivery Kit with us just in case.” Don’t be alarmed, as a doctor my dad would have known exactly what to do with that kit. "Ah yes," I thought, "the period year for the movie American Graffiti… with the slogan where were you in ’62?" This brings us to the second picture: the Studebaker Wagonaire. The next wagon model after the Lark was a car with a roof that opened. I thought the picture apropos. While we only ever had the fixed-roof Lark, the forest scene pictured here might have been similar to that June/July, with my sisters about 6/7 years old, mother and father nearby.
Studebaker cars were a Canadian success story. After World War II ended, there was great need for automobiles in the country. Studebaker Canada required larger and more modern facilities. An old anti-aircraft gun plant on the property of Otis-Fensom Elevator was acquired from the government in 1946, and on August 18, 1948, the first Studebaker built in Hamilton, Ontario rolled off the line. The plant had 320,000 square feet of space. By 1949 the plant produced about 70 cars per day, five days a week. In 1954, the parent company, Studebaker of USA merged with the Packard Motor Car Company. The amalgamation included Studebaker Canada (now Studebaker-Packard of Canada Limited). Hamilton was again selected as the headquarters of the new Canadian organization. This plant was a great success and produced many models including the Scotsman and Lark.
Unfortunately, Studebaker USA did not share the Canadian company’s profitability. Studebaker of USA ceased car production in December of 1963. In March 4, 1966 it was announced that the Hamilton plant was closing, having produced 179,325 cars and trucks in its 18 year history. The final Studebaker car, a V8-powered Cruiser four-door sedan, rolled off the Hamilton assembly line on March 16, 1966. Now fully restored, it is on display at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana. Internet sites suggest that Studebaker-Packard of Canada Limited still makes trucks for the Canadian military but I’ve been unable to verify this factoid. As I surfed various sites, including the one where I found the above information, I encountered similar Cycle of Life stories. Certainly makes one stop to think. Do you have any Cycle of Life memories to share?
