September 11, 2020 – Jackson, WI – It was a memorable day for Ellen Hembel as a friend from Just Like Home in Jackson brought his 1957 Chevy Bel Air to take her for a spin.
Ellen is 93-and-a-half years old. She’s more than familiar with the Chevy Bel Air having been an auto mechanic most of her life.
“My dad worked on cars,” said Ellen.
She said she got her start when “his hands didn’t work so well.”
Ellen was part of the family business, when Hembel’s had an auto shop off Highway 41.
“The first car I worked on was an Essex,” she said. “I got all the cars running.”
With family gathered on a rainy Thursday morning, Ellen took a look under the hood before she climbed in the passenger seat.
“This is the battery and the engine and the radiator and the horn,” she said.
Jim Bird has owned car for 44 years. “It has been a pleasure to meet a lot of people,” he said.
Bird bought the car in Iowa; paid $1,200. “I drove it back to Fond du Lac. We had no muffler or lights.”
As the engine roared to life, Ellen smiled. “Nice and tuned up,” she said.
Ellen’s chauffeur slowly put the pedal to the metal and at 5 miles per hour they left the carport and made one slow lap around the driveway and back home.
“Wonderful,” said Ellen hugging her great grandchildren. “Simply wonderful.”
