Dan and Cheryl Reese, of Ada, came across this 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air on their way to treat their granddaughters to ice cream. It is the same year of the Bel Air that Dan owned when they were married 57 years ago.
Jim Krumel | For The Lima News
ADA – Dan and Cheryl Reese remember that Saturday well.
They left their home in Ada to buy an ice cream cone and came back that afternoon with plans to purchase a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air.
It happened three years ago.
The Reeses were on their way to Mount Vernon, Ohio, to visit their granddaughters, Rebecca and Sarah Bash, who attend Mount Vernon Nazarene College. The plan was to treat the girls to lunch and a stop at Ye Olde Mill in Utica, Ohio, originally built in 1817 and now the headquarters for the Velvet Ice Cream company.
However, Dan had more than chocolate ice cream on his mind that day.
“I also wanted to check out the lot of Phil Stalling’s Classic Cars in Utica,” he said.
That’s when he saw it: a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air with a special green and white trim.
Since it was a Saturday afternoon, the dealership was closed. When Monday arrived, Dan was making the two-hour trip back to Licking County in central Ohio.
“I always wanted another ‘54 Chevy. It was the first car I owned,” he said.
The Bel Air had been modified to his liking. It included a 350 Chevrolet Crate engine, a rack and pinion steering system with power steering, a 650 Edelbrock carburetor and a four barrel, 400 turbo transmission – all in the price range in which he was looking.
And there was one other thing.
Not only was a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air the first car Dan owned, it also was the car he drove when he began dating Cheryl.
They have been married for 57 years.
“I guess you could say there’s some nostalgia there with the car,” the 76 year-old Dan said.
Cheryl nodded her head in agreement.
“We enjoy taking it out for a ride,” she said with a smile.
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