By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Life is a journey for Gary Matthews, and his latest trip was another in a long line of adventures.
He and his wife, Trudy, caught the traveling bug decades ago. Now in their 80s, they are not slowing down.
They are the Mahomet couple who traveled – by car – to South America.
It’s a trip that covered parts of two years, Trudy Matthews remembers well.
“It was 22,000 miles, 12 countries and 11 flat tires,” she said.
That venture took place in the mid-1990s.
In late April and early May of this year, the Matthews’ odyssey was much shorter.
They drove to Minnesota.
The odometer showed the journey to be a little less than 1,500 miles, round trip.
They traveled in a 1931 Ford Model A. Not only did the couple avoid interstate travel, they also spent very little time on traditional two-lane roads.
“The idea was borne from nostalgia,” Gary Matthews said. “We wanted to recreate the feelings of the 1950s, when we were growing up.
“No highways. No toll roads. Just backroads, tooling along at 45 or 50 mph.”
The trip was not as much about the end destination as it was the travels.
They were able to see a part of America that is not generally visible from the interstate.
“The neatest part was talking to people from the Heartland,” Gary Matthews said. “We liked the family-type cafes, where people gathered.”
He not only liked what he heard, but also what he learned.
“There is so much ‘we’ and ‘they,’ acrimony and confrontation, that we’ve forgotten we’re Americans first,” Gary Matthews said. “This satisfied my desire to find the American character again.”
People who didn’t know them would strike up conversations.
“We’d stop for coffee, and everyone would say, ‘Who’s car is that out there,’” Trudy Matthews said.
“That was the conversation-starter,” Gary Matthews said. “I enjoyed meeting people from the small, rural towns.”
It took them back to their childhoods, when they were raised in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
A neighbor from their hometown, east of Cleveland, eventually became famous.
“Tim Conway (who died last month) lived across the street,” Gary Matthews said. “Back then, we called him ‘Tom.’ We played football together.”
The Matthews’ weren’t on a time schedule for their sojourn. When they ran into unexpected complications, they took them in stride.
En route to Minnesota, they encountered snow near Froelich, Iowa.
“We stopped at the first motel we saw,” Trudy Matthews said.
“It turned out to keep in the theme of the ‘50s,” Gary Matthews said. “It was a ‘50s vintage motel.”
They were the only guests and asked for the “suite.”
“It was two identical adjoining rooms,” Gary Matthews said. “We hibernated. We had enough food, we didn’t have to go out to eat.”
The weather cleared after a one-day layover, and they were back on the road.
“We didn’t have to be anywhere, so it didn’t make any difference,” Trudy Matthews said. “It was very quiet.”
Trudy Matthews was impressed with the rural area of Minnesota that they saw.
“It was fields, fields, fields as far as you can see,” she said. “No houses. No trees.”
The couple were accompanied by some amenities.
“We took a GPS with us, in case we got lost, but we had it programmed for no highways,” Gary Matthews said. “It was a neat trip. We were enjoying the moment.”
Their time away from home was about two weeks.
“It was what I was looking for,” Gary Matthews said. “It was gratifying to find that small-town people were still small-town people.
“Everyone was friendly, down to earth.”
With a 10-gallon gas tank in the Model A, and the ability to get about 18 miles per gallon, stops were necessary every four hours or so.
“In the past, stops were controlled by my bladder capacity,” Gary Matthews said. “This time, it was by the gas tank capacity.”
He didn’t mind the frequent breaks.
“Each town has its own character,” he said. “And we like to browse the antique shops and see things that used to be everyday items.”
He was confident that the vehicle would hold up.
“Over the winter, I spent time rebuilding the front end, the steering and adjusting the brakes,” Gary Matthews said. “I made sure it had good brakes.”
The car had been purchased with a specific purpose in mind.
“We bought it with the idea of touring,” Gary Matthews said.
They packed more than their suitcases.
“I carried tools and spare parts under the seat,” he said, “but didn’t need them.”
Matthews has had a passion for old cars and was familiar with the Model A.
“The last ’31 Model A I had was a pickup truck,” he said. “They are so simple and easy to work on, if something goes wrong. It doesn’t take much to fix it.
“It’s what we drove as kids in high school, when you could buy them for $50 or $100.”
Officially, the recent trip was from Illinois to Iowa and then to Minnesota.
In reality, it was a trip down Memory Lane.
“When you get to be about 85, you’re nostalgic about the old days,” Gary Matthews said. “It was a great way to bring back memories from when we were growing up.
“It renewed my faith in the American character. We haven’t changed as much as you might think we have.”
Beyond the sites, which included a stop at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum, he liked much of what he saw from the folks with whom they came in contact.
“People were more relaxed,” Gary Matthews said. “Not everyone was on their smartphones. They were interested in talking.
“It was a slower pace of life when you get away. We enjoyed the openness and friendliness.”
The museum, located in Minnesota, was also a highlight.
“I was fascinated with how they were able to preserve their culture and way of life, and acclimate to modern-day life,” Gary Matthews said.
The couple’s next destination is not one they will get to by car. In late summer, the Matthews’ will head to the Czech Republic.
They may again plan another road trip.
“We want to do the Route 66 thing,” Gary Matthews said.
