Death of Our Cars

Marina, California, 1978:

I was expecting Sarah when both of our cars died. Neither was worth repairing, the cost too great. We were also facing big medical bills for Sarah's delivery. The fire department where Tom worked only had maternity coverage for "complications" of pregnancy, so we needed to pay both the doctor and hospital bills (about $1000 in total).

We scrapped both cars and paid the bills, but then we had to search for other ways to get places. We lived about eight miles from our ward building, and the city buses did not run on Sundays, so we found a family near our home that had room in their car, and they picked us up each Sunday for church.

For doctor appointments ten miles away, three year old Billy and I took the city bus.

To purchase groceries, I'd walk with the children (about a 3/4 of a mile) pulling our little red wagon with some riding in it on the way to the store. We'd place our purchases in the wagon and the children and I all walked home. (Once Sarah was born, she rode in a backpack on my back).

The Christmas season was a little challenging. I ordered all our gifts from the JC Penny Catalog and had them delivered to our home for a small charge. When we wanted to put up a Christmas tree, we walked a mile and a half to a Christmas tree lot, picked out a tree, and paid for it. Then to get it home we just turned it sideways and carried it on our shoulders!

It was a sacrifice to give up our cars, but in the end we were blessed with healthier bodies from all the walking, appreciation for a car, and after six months, had saved enough money to purchase a Volkswagen van (about $1800).