#13 - Yes, Martha, she is a movie star.

I think we’ll take a ‘detour’ this week and let you know more about my other passion - aside from the care and feeding of woodworking machines and Taylor-Tot strollers. I love Hot Rods - Ol’ Skool, fire-breathing Hot Rods.

I have a 1934 Ford 5-window coupe that my dad bought in MS in 1958. You might have seen us driving it around the area. It’s yellow and black with whitewall tires and a 1936 flathead motor. We’re members of the Stones River Region of The Antique Automobile Club of America and our clubhouse is the old car garage at Cannonsburgh. Come see us sometime when there is an event at Cannonsburgh. We’re usually there.

What brings this up is that we finally got to see the movie about Billy Graham’s early years and my little Hot Rod is in it. Back in the spring of 2008, I got a call from a fellow who supplies cars for movies in this area and he said they needed some early 30’s era cars for a tent revival scene that was being shot on the back acreage of the Wilson County Fairgrounds. So, I put the full hood on the car and drove up there. Back in the day, they used to line the cars up around those tents and use their headlights to light up the inside. So, the first thing we did was set up for the scene where everyone is headed into the tent. The camera was on a real high boom and looking down on the area. In the movie, you can see my Hot Rod on the right side of the tent, all the way back at the end, but she IS there.

The next scene we did involved a lot of shooting inside the tent, so they moved me to the back side of the tent. I think it was because I have changed my car over to 12volt and my headlights were brighter than the other cars. Anyway, we sat on the back side thru all of the ‘under the tent’ dialogue and if you look closely when they show those scenes, you can see the front end of our car over the actor’s shoulders. We’re the one with those incredibly bright lights.

It was a really interesting night, and yes, I do mean night because it took ALL night to get the shots they wanted. Let me tell you, I was one tired motor-scooter that next day. Sleeping in a small 1934 Ford with no heat will do that for ya.

Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
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Writer's NOTE: there is a related blog post on April 21, 2008.