The Diving Car
Many of us had our favorite swimming hole and usually there was a diving rock or
a rock to dive from. We swam in a pond which had a diving rock but it was out too far for us younger boys to reach. We
decided to get our own diving rock but we wanted it to be different.
The father, of one of the boys had scrapped an
old Hillman car and the frame was on the side of a road about 2 miles from the pond. As seven and eight year olds, we used
to play in the car and crawl throgh the windows and drive the car to our hearts content. We decided that this would be our
diving rock. But how would we get it to the pond? Well, we decided that we would roll it...when I think back..
I don't
recall when we started to roll the car but we would meet at the site, after school, and roll the car a few times. This was
not easy as we were young and the frame was very heavy but we were ingenious and used every thing we could find to help us
roll the car.
We had to go up a slide path (path used for hauling wood in the winter times) which was about a half mile long
and on an incline. There were trees to cut down and levers to make and ramps to build and rocks to move out of the way but
we were determined. There were many near misses, when the car would tumble back toward us. We were fleet of of foot and laughed
it of. We couldn't get hurt and all we saw was a car for a diving rock and windows and doors to swim through.
I guess
it took us two months to get the car to the main road which was about a mile from the pond. Thankfully, someone tied the car
to an old truck and towed it up the road for us. We were almost there. It was all down hill, to the pond, but we had to cut
trees before we could begin the roll. Excitement was mounting. It was now late June and we would soon be swimming through
the windows and diving from the roof.
Finally, the car was at pond side and we began to roll it out. Some bigger boys
came to help. We were so excited...jumping up and down in the water. Finally the roof was just above the water.."that's
far enough" we shouted. But the older boys had other plans and they took our diving car and rolled it out so we
couldn't reach it..we were mad..we were angry..they stole our diving car.
Steve Wiscombe