As to dusters.........

[Bob Wright]

My parents moved to Memphis from Nashville in 1925. There were few
paved roads or highways. At that time, my Dad drove a Willys Whippet. And in the summer time, roads were very dusty, and both men and women wore dusters, and some type of cap, hat, or bonnet, to keep the dust out of their hair.

Mom and Dad both bragged they drove from Nashville to Memphis in only two days. And they often drove in shallow creeks as the creek bed was gravel and generated no dust as they drove. And a favorite story Mom told was stopping near Jackson, Tennessee to ask to spend the night with farm folks, there being no motels in those days. Dad passed up one apparently good home, and Mom asked why when they were far enough away. Dad explained they were bootleggers and did not want to get caught in their home should a raid happen.

The first time I remember visiting my uncle in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee, we drove up the creek from town to my uncle's house in the creek that flowed in front of his house. This in a 1937 model LaFayette. Dad always bragged that the LaFayette had a Buick motor, as recall it was 112 HP.

Bob Wright

 

[contender]

Interesting how times have changed.

 

[Kevin]

My dad was born in 1932. He's still kicking it. But anyway, he's told stories about traveling by car out west back in the day. They would just stop and sleep in the car right there on the highway. I don't know what kind of car they drove, but apparently they had lots of flat tires. I got two small Navajo Indian rugs framed that he bought on one of those trips when he was 9 or 10 years old.

Nowdays, when I drive down to the beach, i-45 here in Texas, the speed limit is 75, and most cars drive 85.

 

[jimbo1096]

Used to have a Duster, that was a 1970 Plymouth / 340. Very nice car.

 

[Jon406]

Yep, I used to have a duster.... it got away from me along with a good saddle and horse.

 

[wolfsong]

Original dusters preceded the automobile by about 50 years. The 20's saw the auto gain widespread popularity; however cowboys wore linen or canvas dusters beginning in the 1870's...

 

[6GUNSONLY]

We lived in a remote area of SW New Mexico for about 10 years in the 80s. Folks there told about a trip to town (town being Silver City, a 100 mile one-way trip) being a three-day event. Took a day to drive that far, spent the night along the road somewhere, did your shopping or business the next day, spent the night again, then drove home the third day. Stop and cook or make coffee along the road as needed. Take several spare tires or means to repair them and a hand pump to air them back up. The road was initially just a dust trail, in later years they laid tar and gravel in two strips, and if you met some one, some one or both had to pull off and give way to pass the other vehicle. When we lived there there were places where you could still see the old "two-track" near the new highway.

 

[kentucky yeti]

My duster today. Lime spreading around the house we are building.

Untitled by kentuckyyeti, on Flickr

In action

Untitled by kentuckyyeti, on Flickr

 

[john guedry]

My Dad (1902-1977) told me the reason for all the spare tires and flat fixing equipment was for, "not if you had a flat, but how many flats".

 

[KIR]

I remember a water bag hanging from our car when we took a trip from L.A. to AZ when I was a kid in the late 40's.

 

[graygun]

If we actually had dirt in this locale,it would be pretty dusty. It's just hard junk,good for cactus and a few other hearty types.