"Happy Thanksgiving" From The Heartland, AKA Mason's Hot Rods

(originally published here on 11/26/08)

As I mentioned in the comments to a TA post several months ago, my husband is now the proud owner of a restored 1940 Ford pick up truck. The Mason family, specifically dad Jerry, son Allen, and assorted relatives & friends, have been working quite a while now to transform the rusty wreckage of a Georgia farm truck into the sleek black & chrome splendor in the accompanying photo.

It’s the other photos down there at the bottom I want to write about on this Thanksgiving holiday, though. The folks who own Mason’s Hot Rods (Rods, Parts, & Restoration) are South Carolinians from the Spartanburg (pop. 39,407) area. All bets out on the table right now might be for the Mason family/friends’ profile to somehow fit one of Hollywood’s favorite stock characters, the clichéd small town Southerner: narrow-minded (& of course rednecked) men who value their trucks & hunting rifles over their wives & sweethearts, those long-suffering ladies always silent in the kitchen, emerging only to hand their hubbies another cold one. In other words, “some” might think these Southern folks a compendium of the tattered images the U.S. has been fed over time about the inhabitants of the rural South via television, movies, & mainstream media.

“Some” would be every kind of wrong.

Southern Clichés, meet The Masons. “I didn’t vote for no Bush!!” paterfamilias Jerry bellowed across a production trailer to my husband once (we met the Mason clan & friends due to their remarkable expertise as mechanics- they’re much in demand working on car-oriented movies such as the “Fast & Furious” series). Right after the election of Barack Obama another local who is a close friend of the Mason family emailed me to say, “Just think, Maureen, if we lived a little further up the road we could have been part of that landslide!” Spartanburg is about a half hour’s drive south of the North Carolina border. And say, did you know Junior Johnson publicly endorsed Obama for President?

Which brings us to more background info- Jerry Mason is a friend of Junior Johnson. Any NASCAR fans reading this may have already pricked up their ears. You might call Johnson the original “Duke of Hazzard,” that is, before he started on the racing circuit. Two painted portrayals of him engaged in his family’s former trade hang in the parts store/office of Mason’s Hot Rods, located on the periphery of the city of Spartanburg. I’ve stared at those paintings quite a bit- a youthful Junior behind the wheel of his moonshine-running car on a backwoods road, plumes of dust obscuring his wake, Junior & friends loading cases of white lightning into the trunk of another souped-up vehicle. Why was I in Mason’s Hot Rods at all?

We had traveled there for an annual charity car show financed completely by the Mason family, all proceeds of which go directly to aid the local poor & needy families of Spartanburg. A car (last time it was a 60s Mustang) fully restored by the Masons is auctioned off for charity during the show. Several hundred car enthusiasts brought their antique trucks & cars, hot rods, & trailers this year on November 8th for display, as well as to engage in swapping info, visiting, telling stories. The entire Mason family along with their friends worked the show as usual without pay, save for the free annual group dinner at a local Cracker Barrel that evening. Allen Mason’s wife Gina does her human dynamo act during the day of the show- simultaneously selling t-shirts for charity, collecting toys, directing the flow of work & the cooking, riding herd over it all with a wide smile, while Allen, Jerry, & the crew chat up the crowd, park cars, greet friends old & new. The price of admission? An unwrapped new toy for the local Toys for Tots program, cash donations for local charity organizations also accepted. A bountiful home cooked lunch is provided, all coming out of the Mason family & friends’ largesse toward their needy Spartanburg neighbors. Right now there are plenty of those.

The last time I was in Spartanburg I rode with my husband to a local BBQ place for supper. Allen Mason, the owner of Mason’s Hot Rods, was at the wheel. We listened as Allen described in detail the “family histories” of several cars he had bought to restore & sell. He wove the stories he’d teased out from each owner into the fabric of the South Carolina countryside rolling by us- it was each vehicle’s history, the tales of the various people who had owned it that really made for his fascination with these old cars. Allen Mason, native of the rural South- a business owner, a mechanic, a craftsman like his father & friends who are also deeply imbued with a love of oral history via their chosen profession. It seems to go hand in glove with the love of making an old vehicle purr under the hood again, shine, run like new, even race like new. They’d all throw back their heads laughing to hear themselves described this way, I’m pretty sure. After all, they’re just folks.

Folks who make up the warp & woof of our nation.

I couldn’t attend the Mason’s annual charity car show this year due to health issues, but my husband did. From sunup to sundown the Mason family and their friends (including my husband & his good friend from Phoenix AZ) toiled as usual without pay to hold their biggest car rally yet (see photo of Allen Mason & our friend Mike Price grinning in front of two station wagons that are filling up with donated toys).

In these difficult financial times, rural areas & small businesses are being hit hard. I hope Mason’s Hot Rods weathers the economic storm. Allen Mason confided to my husband that he's not sure he can continue having the November charity car show & auction in 2009, as the cost is starting to be too much in this tough economy.

It wouldn’t be fair to end this post without some links to car music, the kind always playing over the loudspeakers at Mason’s Annual Cruise In. Plus, it’s great toe-tapping music. Happy Thanksgiving to all:

Charlie Ryan & The Timberline Riders-Hot Rod Lincoln

Robert Mitchum (yes, that one)- Ballad of Thunder Road

Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble- Tightrope (not a car song, but somehow appropriate)

Willie Nelson- On The Road Again

And of course...

Waylon Jennings- Dukes of Hazzard Theme

-Maureen Lang

Comments

[Maureen Lang]

For anyone interested, there are many, many more photos of the wonderful vehicles (& folks) at this year's Mason's Cruise In available for viewing through this link:

Mason's Hot Rods Gallery
http://www.masonshotrods.com/Gallery/tabid/54/Default.aspx

[Fred]

Nice profile! Autos are a long way from where I started - nuclear engineering - but I hope Allen Mason and the family survive this downturn also. You might have him check out some historical auto facts on this blog run by a friend:
http://bagleystreet.blogspot.com/

[LeaNder]

1940 Ford pick up truck congratulations to you husband, looks gorgeous.

[DT]

I'm a lefty northeast liberal reluctant vietnam vet(never was in a situation where I had to discharge my weapon in combat, though) who reads sic semper tyrannis regularly. I haven't been able to think of anything clever enough to post there, but I just checked out the Athenaeum and your car music playlist totally did me in from my populist right flank. I wanted to compliment you on your good work. Happy Thanksgiving.

[taters]

Hi Maureen,
A very (belated)Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours. And thank you very much for a great read about some great folks, a wonderful cause, cool songs and some sweet rides. Missed you!
Best,
Bobby

[JFF]

Mike & I thank you for the posting on Mason's. You linked one of my favorite car songs "Hot Rod Lincoln" and here are the lyrics. Thanks again for writing this.

Hot Rod Lincoln by Charlie Ryan

Well you've heard the story of the hot-rod race that fatal day,
when the Ford and the Mercury went out to play.
This is the inside story I'm here to say,
I was the kid that was a-drivin' that Model-A.

It's got a Lincoln motor and it's really souped up,
and that Model-A body makes it look like a pup.
It's got twelve cylinders, and uses them all,
with an overdrive that just won't stall.

It's got a four-barrel carb and dual exhaust,
4-11 gears, she can really get lost.
Got safety tubes and I'm not scared,
the brakes are good and the tires are fair.

We left San Pedro late one night,
the moon and the stars were shining bright,
everything went fine up the Grapevine hill,
we was passin' cars like they was standin' still.

Then all of a sudden, like a flick of an eye,
a Cadillac sedan had passed us by.
The remark was made "there's the car for me,"
but by then the taillights were all you could see.

Well the fellers ribbed me for bein' behind,
so I started to make that Lincoln unwind.
I took my foot off the gas and man alive,
I shoved it down into overdrive.

Well I wound it up to a hundred and ten,
twisted the speedometer cable off the end.
I had my foot keyed clear to the floor,
said "that's all there is, there ain't no more."

I went around a corner and I passed a truck,
I whispered a prayer, just for luck.
The fenders was clickin' a guardrail post
the guys beside me were white as a ghost.

I guess they'd thought I'd lost my sense,
the telephone poles looked like a picket fence.
They said "slow down, I see spots,"
the lines on the road just looked like dots.

Smoke was rollin' outta the back,
when I started to gain on that Cadillac.
I knew I could catch him, and hoped I could pass,
But when I did, I'd be short on gas.

We went around a corner with the tires on the side,
you could feel the tension, man what a ride!
I said "hold on, I got a license to fly,"
and the Cadillac pulled over and let me go by.

Then all of a-sudden, the rods started knockin',
when down in the dip, she started a-rockin'.
I looked in my mirror 'n' red lights was blinkin'.
The cops was after my hot rod Lincoln.

Well, they arrested me, and put me in jail.
I called my pop to go my bail.
He said "son, you're gonna drive me to drinkin'
if you don't stop drivin' that hot rod Lincoln."

[taters]

Hi Maureen,
One of my favorite car songs is "Motor Head Baby" by multi instrumentalist, singer, songwriter Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. I couldn't find his version but I found the Chuck Higgins' band take (ca 1952) - which features Johnny Watson, then known as Young John Watson on piano and vocals, who would have been 16 or 17 at the time. Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie's older brother would also later cover the tune. John was a dear friend and I had the privilege of recording with him. He was a profound influence on many artists such as Etta James, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller, Sly Stone, Stevie & Jimmie Vaughan and numerous others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEV6vE8vWLk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_%22Guitar%22_Watson

Bluegrass giant and Virginian Ralph Stanley did a radio spot for Barack which ran in the state. (Some of my fellow liberals seem to have been shocked.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUOfaIyv4Bs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Stanley

[Maureen Lang]

Hi taters,

Motor Head Baby's great! Thanks for your post.

Also, I'm a fan of the Stanley Bros. from way back- saw Ralph over at Royce Hall the last time he was in L.A. His voice is still exquisite. When it came out I emailed that radio spot he did for Obama to just about everybody I know. Ralph's one of the coolest guys around.

To all who have posted comments- thanks for all your responses, links, etc. If you have any more links that are vehicle or music related, please keep 'em coming. Lyrics to favorite songs are good, too. The ones I've looked at so far are superb.

[JFF]

I'll just take you up on that, Maureen. Some video links to favorite car songs and road music follow.

Rocket 88 by Bill Haley and the Saddlemen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A7oQm-nOjM

Chevrolet by ZZ Top
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_L6x-UmoD8

White Line Fever by Merle Haggard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zXrp-pghio

Six Days on the Road by Taj Mahal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78EOSVqpt10

[taters]

All cool links JFF! Ah, Rocket 88, the Ike Turner/Jackie Brenston classic. Bill Haley does a wonderful job.
Man, I love me some Merle. "White Line Fever" is sheer poetry.

Here is the inimitable 'Wicked Pickett' - Mr. Wilson Pickett, singing 'Mustang Sally' live in '66. The tune was penned by Detroit's own Sir Mack Rice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bfrO5o0HQA&feature=related

And Albert King doing "Cadillac Assembly Line"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26V2X0e0Uvs

[Charles I]

Thanks for the cool car stuff and links. I happened to come across Ron Mann's film 'Tales of the Rat Fink', the story of funny car designer Ed "Big Daddy Roth" Not really a car nut, but it reminded me of all those models we used to so excitedly make and decorate, the chrome, the little decals your little fingers had to get on just right. . . then we'd blow 'em all up in Fire Cracker Day.

[Joe Chaisson]

Nice to see from their website that Mason's Hot Rods weathered the economy storm. Thanks for posting this on SST!

How has the restored pickup workd out?

[Maureen Lang]

Joe Chaisson,

The '40 Ford pickup purrs like a kitten & runs like a dream. Thanks for asking- it's a wonderful ride & great fun to drive.

11:06 p.m....dishes are done, company has hit the hay...time to wish one more very Happy Thanksgiving to all.