My First Car: '50 Studebaker two-door Skylark, Charlotte Goldberg, 79, Gulfport

'50 Studebaker two-door Skylark

My husband, Harold, and I became engaged on March 5, 1949, and the following Dec. 18 we were married. I had always thought to have a large wedding, but my parents gave us a choice. They said, "Would you like a large wedding or would you rather have a smaller one with family and close friends?" They added that if we chose the smaller wedding, they would order a brand new car for us as their wedding gift. We didn't hesitate and chose the smaller wedding. This is the cute little 1950 Studebaker we received. It was a dark green color and fresh from the factory. We were so excited with it! Both of us were students at the University of Florida when we became engaged and neither of us owned a car, so this Studebaker was a fantastic gift for us. After Harold's graduation from the university, he went into the Air Force and we moved around a bit to a few other assignments before he was sent to Iwakuni, Japan. Six months later, I was able to join him with our son, Larry, who by then was 17 months old. Our car had to be sent by boat and my brother offered to drive it from Tampa to the New York Port of Embarkment. The boat trip took six weeks and went through the Panama Canal before arriving safely in Japan. We had a second child, Susan, who was born in Iwakuni 11 months later. It was a wonderful experience living in Japan for two years. When it was time to go back to the States, we decided that it would be best to leave our Studebaker. It was sold to a sergeant on the base. Harold and I will be married 60 years the end of this year and we still fondly remember that very first car.