Part Of The Family

[Editor’s Note: This is the second part of this column. Part 1 was published last week.] After college my wife and I both were drawn to the Cambridge/Boston bar and nightclub scene. It is a great time of life. We were working and had a few dollars to spend, but had few re­sponsibilities. We were introduced by college friends at a bar in Boston called The Rat, and even though we had grown up about 5 miles from one another, had never met before.

My friends, Jim and Betty Lehan, have a similar story. After graduating from college in 1967, Jim was working hard and playing hard. He had even found a girlfriend, a grade-school classmate from the Dedham Country Day School whom he rediscovered in Cambridge. Things were good, but about to get great.

After a few dates Jim picked up his girlfriend one night at her apartment. His girlfriend’s roommate, a young lady named Betty Stone, answered the door. As Jim describes it, the light­ning bolt struck and he knew at that moment who he wanted to spend his life with. It took him a month to make his move, but in January 1969 Jim and Betty started dating. By April they were engaged. Betty was a teacher in Millis and Jim had entered the world of finance and insurance. Despite their accomplishments they had an event ahead of them no­body is really ever fully prepared for: the first time their parents would meet!

I remember how frazzled my wife and I were when we planned that first introduction of the families. Your mind goes to all kinds of crazy places. You wonder if the parents will like one another. All the third rail topics are just hanging out there to be discussed. Religion, politics, Red Sox. Nervous does not begin to describe the feeling.

Making things a little more stress­ful was the fact that Betty’s family was in the resort business. Her family ran a place in Dennis, and spring is a busy time. There are new employees to hire and get established, and an endless list of last minute repairs to be com­pleted before the first customers start to arrive. To make things a bit easier on the Stone family, the Lehan clan travelled to a restaurant near the Stones’ home on the Cape. They found a place that could take a reservation in Sandwich called the Quonameset Inn. After the shaking of hands, the half-hugs and the polite hellos, the tricky business of where to seat ev­eryone got underway. The dads, Bob Stone, and Ralph Lehan, sat next to one another. Jim was seated nearby and he tells me he remembers being nervous. You only get one chance to make a first impression.

As Jim tells it, he remembers lis­tening to his dad and Bob Stone talk. The conversation had progressed from “So tell me what you do…” to more re­laxed topics. Maybe it was the cock­tails taking effect?

Jim does not remember the exact lead-up, but at one point he remem­bers the conversation getting around to hobbies.

And what hobby do all real men share? A love of cars. Ralph told Bob about his dad, James Lehan, having met Henry Ford and how the family had a car dealership for many years. Lehan’s Garage had been sold in 1962 and at that time became Dentch Ford (and later, Victory Ford). Ralph also made mention that he had a love of old antique cars. Bob’s reply was something like, “I love old cars too. In fact, I have a real gem. It is a 1908 Buick Roadster. I bought it about ten years ago from a woman who had lost her husband.” It is at this point in the recounting of the story that Jim’s recollection be­comes pretty sharp. He tells me that most of the Lehans who could hear what Bob was saying all stopped and looked at him. Ralph and Jim were completely stunned and were sitting wide-eyed, mouths agape. Ralph started to describe the car one detail at a time to Bob. Now Bob became the one who was surprised.

Finally, Ralph asked if the woman was Mrs. Crowell. Bob Stone replied “How do you know all this? Did Betty tell you the story?!” But she hadn’t told the story. She didn’t really even know the whole story. After more than a de­cade, Ralph and Jim Lehan had found James’ car. They now knew to whom it had been sold accidentally. Jim and his father-in-law got along very well and the relationship became very close. Close enough that over the years Jim would often joke about stealing the car back from Bob some­day. Jim’s father, Ralph, was glad the car had found a good home. In 1986 Ralph Lehan passed away. Bob Stone too was feeling the effects of time. He’d had a stroke and a heart attack by that time. In the summer of 1986 Jim was visiting with the Stone’s on Cape Cod and Bob asked Jim to walk with him. His speech had been affected by his illness, as had his stride. Jim walked with Bob knowing something was up when they headed into the garage where the Buick was kept. When they got inside Bob said to Jim “Give me a dollar.” Jim did as asked. Bob then handed Jim a pack­age with the title, and all of the car’s documents and history, and said “This belongs to you.” Jim and his family like to say “The car was never out of the family. We just didn’t know it.”

If you have a story about a car half as good as this one I will buy you lunch at Bourque’s to hear it. Contact me at john@columnshift.com.