History

Al Kessler and I first became friends at Purdue in the early 60s. Both of us were in engineering (Al was ChemE and I was ME). So it seemed logical that we should share a room at our fraternity house (TKE). What I didn't know going into the arrangement, was that Al had a new idea about every 2 minutes. And he would interrupt my studies to tell me about it.

The thing was, these were really interesting ideas. It would be easy to go off on a tangent for the next 15 minutes and not get any work done. Finally I understood the impact on my grades and spent more time at the library. But it was clear that Al could keep the conversation going forever... if you let him. What fun. But my grades dropped fast.

Al and I built things. We did construction work around the house (and, boy, did it need the work). Al was good with the tools (and still is).

Al brought his old Ford (model A?) to campus one football weekend and I hopped a ride on the passenger-side running board. Just as we were crossing in front of the Fieldhouse and going towards Cary Hall, the campus cops saw me on the passenger-side running board and took off after us (this tells you how orderly Purdue was in the early 60's - the cops had nothing else to do but chase guys riding Model A's). Being the coward that I was, I jumped off and ran through the mob of students in Cary Hall. Al wasn't so lucky. He got a ticket for my behavior. So ever since then I've been working to pay him back.

Later Al and Ann, recently married, moved to Salt Lake City. But there was a problem. The 50s vintage Jaguar 2-seater, didn't have enough power. Al was pulling a trailer behind it loaded with most of their possessions. What he needed was a new head. The year might have been 1969 or 70.

So Al removed the head from the engine in his parents garage. It was a really small garage and, looking back on it, I don't see how he did it. Where to get one? Back then all you could do was get on the phone and call the junk yards. I would stop over a couple of days each week and early on Al announced he had found one at a junk yard in southern Indiana (Shelbyville, I recall). The next time I stopped by, Al had installed the head and concluded it was no better than his old one. He needed another one.

A few days later Al found a set of heads in upstate New York (I could be wrong just where but...) The only way to ship something heavy like this (and it was heavy too) was by bus. Eventually the head arrive and Al and Ann were ready to leave. By that time it was just after or near Thanksgiving. Ann was worried because it was time for big snow falls in the mountains. Getting that small sports car down the mountain to SLC, especially pulling a trailer that was overloaded, could be potentially tragic!

Oh yes, did I mention that Al had next to no rubber on his tires. I pointed it out to him but he just shrugged like "what are you going to do". So I knew that going down a mountain in snow would be tough. Oh yes, did I mention that the trailer brakes didn't work? So the trailer would be pushing that small sports car down the mountain faster and faster. And did I mention that Al had lightened the trailer before they left Pennsylvania? Al told me he loaded the stove, refrigerator, and all their furniture in the trailer for the trip. He supported the trailer with blocks to keep it stable during the loading process. When they were ready to leave he took the blocks out and the weigh of appliances mashed the tires to the rims. Whoops. So he off loaded some of the appliances and sold them before they left.

Ann, meanwhile, was driving their VW bus. If ever there was a car under-powered and under-heated (how in the world did the Germans let that car out of their country). At full speed you might reach 55. Fully loaded that would be fast. (I had a red 65 VW that took me everywhere too - but only at 60 mph full speed - a built-in safety feature.)

When they reached the top of the mountain and were ready to descent to SLC, Al told Ann to go ahead and he would follow - not to worry. But it was snowing, and apparently snowing hard. Ann said she crept along down the mountain road and parked alongside waiting for Al to make it. Hours went by - still no Al. Where was he? Did he slip over the edge and plunge to his death (Ann had lots of similar thoughts, she said, during that long wait.)

Eventually Al made it, but ever so slowly. Yep, the trailer (without brakes) kept shoving the car down the roadway. Al kept braking to slow down. The slick tires kept spinning out. The trailer kept fish-tailing. But they made it.

Mike Lavelle