Everyone has a story about their first car, and some of the employees of Maine Military Authority in Limestone took a few moments to share with the Aroostook Republican brief stories about their first set of wheels.
Bob Jandreau is operations manager at MMA. His first can was a brown 1974 Dodge Power Wagon 4×4 truck. The vehicle had belonged to his father; Bob fixed it up and built a wooden flat bed body on the back because the bed was rusted through. The truck was nicknamed Little Skidder because his father had used it as a skidder during hunting season; it was driven through the woods and had sticks sticking through the radiator. The vehicle had some interesting quarks, mainly in that it would dog leg, meaning that while driving down the road, Little Skidder would go side ways. Bob said that he could look over his left should and see the traffic behind him. The farthest bob drove the truck was a maximum 50 miles from his house, and it lasted him two years.
Cheri Ouellette works in administrative services at MMA working the front desk. Her first car was a 1976 Subaru and she purchased it for $590 three months before she went to get her license so that she could practice with it. The car would have cost $600 but a family friend donated $10 toward the purchase. The car was royal blue and her friends named it Scooby Doo because it stuttered before taking off from stop signs like Scooby Doo trying to get traction before running away from a villain. The front floor board on the passenger side didn’t exist; every time Cheri had to drive through a mud puddle, the water came through the floor on that side like a geyser, so her passengers were always warned in advance. The car lasted Cheri eight months; the farthest the Subaru went was a round trip from Presque Isle to Fort Kent and back.
Steven Smith is an inspector at MMA. His first car was a ’65 Malibu, and he had to pick rocks to earn the $500 needed to purchase the vehicle. The Malibu was black, blue, green, and a couple of other colors; it earned a new name every time it didn’t start. It wouldn’t start when it was hot or cold and, in fact, it only started when someone pushed it. Driving the vehicle must have taken some careful planning, because the Malibu couldn’t drive in reverse. The farthest he drove it was to Bangor for a basketball game and it lasted him one year.
Richard Emerson is an Auto II Inspector at MMA. His first car was a 1974 Ford Maverick with a standard shift three speed on the floor. His father helped him buy it from a family friend when he was 15 and he had to work the ‘loan’ off in the garage. The Maverick was powder blue and was aptly named Old Blue Bomb. The vehicle had some interesting quarks, mainly being that it burned more oil than it did gas and it had four snow grip tires, the front two were 14 inches and the back two tires were 15 inches. The farthest he drove the vehicle was to South Portland and back; it lasted him three years.
Not everyone’s first car was held together by duct tape; Kevin Saggere is an Auto Mechanic Tech I at MMA. His first set of wheels was a ’76 Ford Pickup Supercab two-wheel drive. He received the vehicle with some assistance form his father; at the time, the two-tone brown and tan pickup was the fastest truck in the area. Kevin drove the truck as far as Bangor, but his father drive it all the way from Las Vegas. It lasted Kevin 5 years.
Bob Jandreau is operations manager at MMA. His first can was a brown 1974 Dodge Power Wagon 4×4 truck. The vehicle had belonged to his father; Bob fixed it up and built a wooden flat bed body on the back because the bed was rusted through. The truck was nicknamed Little Skidder because his father had used it as a skidder during hunting season; it was driven through the woods and had sticks sticking through the radiator. The vehicle had some interesting quarks, mainly in that it would dog leg, meaning that while driving down the road, Little Skidder would go side ways. Bob said that he could look over his left should and see the traffic behind him. The farthest bob drove the truck was a maximum 50 miles from his house, and it lasted him two years.
Cheri Ouellette works in administrative services at MMA working the front desk. Her first car was a 1976 Subaru and she purchased it for $590 three months before she went to get her license so that she could practice with it. The car would have cost $600 but a family friend donated $10 toward the purchase. The car was royal blue and her friends named it Scooby Doo because it stuttered before taking off from stop signs like Scooby Doo trying to get traction before running away from a villain. The front floor board on the passenger side didn’t exist; every time Cheri had to drive through a mud puddle, the water came through the floor on that side like a geyser, so her passengers were always warned in advance. The car lasted Cheri eight months; the farthest the Subaru went was a round trip from Presque Isle to Fort Kent and back.
Steven Smith is an inspector at MMA. His first car was a ’65 Malibu, and he had to pick rocks to earn the $500 needed to purchase the vehicle. The Malibu was black, blue, green, and a couple of other colors; it earned a new name every time it didn’t start. It wouldn’t start when it was hot or cold and, in fact, it only started when someone pushed it. Driving the vehicle must have taken some careful planning, because the Malibu couldn’t drive in reverse. The farthest he drove it was to Bangor for a basketball game and it lasted him one year.
Richard Emerson is an Auto II Inspector at MMA. His first car was a 1974 Ford Maverick with a standard shift three speed on the floor. His father helped him buy it from a family friend when he was 15 and he had to work the ‘loan’ off in the garage. The Maverick was powder blue and was aptly named Old Blue Bomb. The vehicle had some interesting quarks, mainly being that it burned more oil than it did gas and it had four snow grip tires, the front two were 14 inches and the back two tires were 15 inches. The farthest he drove the vehicle was to South Portland and back; it lasted him three years.
Not everyone’s first car was held together by duct tape; Kevin Saggere is an Auto Mechanic Tech I at MMA. His first set of wheels was a ’76 Ford Pickup Supercab two-wheel drive. He received the vehicle with some assistance form his father; at the time, the two-tone brown and tan pickup was the fastest truck in the area. Kevin drove the truck as far as Bangor, but his father drive it all the way from Las Vegas. It lasted Kevin 5 years.
