When my nephew, Johnny Yeager, mentioned to me the opportunity to provide an article for the local Model A Club, I was immediately drawn to the subject — until I sat down to write it! That’s when I discovered my lack of real knowledge. Sure, I have some funny stories to share, but so does anyone who has ever owned a Model A back in the day. But where and how the vehicle originated happened to be a mystery to me; one I needed to solve before I could go any further.
You know, things like why did Model T come before Model A? What years were they manufactured? The basics are readily available and very interesting. With a $28,000 investment, Henry Ford and his partners created Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903. They made their first Model A Ford sale on July 15, of the same year. Model T is not truly older than the original Ford Model A; the original Ford Model A rolled off the line in 1903. Ford used an alphabetical naming system for its early cars; the first Model A filled those first years from 1903-1904. The famous Model T followed in 1908. As the twentieth version produced, Henry used the ‘T’ for twenty in its title. The Model T surged in popularity in both sales and reliability. However, by 1927, the public demand had changed to the degree that a faster and even more durable vehicle topped the public demand. Henry Ford decided to completely revamp his vehicle with the new generation Model A, introduced in 1927 to even greater success. By July 1929 two million Model A’s had been sold with styles running from the Tudor at $385 to the town car, $1400.
The new generation Ford Model A became the focus of the Ford Motor Company between 1927 and 1931. As the successor to the immensely successful Model T and modernized significantly, it became the centerpiece around with Ford built a variety of well-respected vehicles. Indeed, during the less than six years of production, more than 4.8 million new generation Model A’s were manufactured across various body styles. That is approximately the same number of Chevys sold during the same time period. However, the Ford plant had been closed for a large part of 1927 for remodeling to manufacture the A Model.**
Fun Facts:
• Will Rogers drove the first New Generation Model A off the assembly line.
• A Models were among the first vehicles to have safety glass in the windshield.
• John Dillinger used an A Model to escape Federal Agents in 1934.
• A green and black 1931Tudor Sedan -The Mean Green Machine- has been a staple of UNT football games since 1974
• The Ramblin’ Wreck, a 1930 sports coupe is the official mascot of Georgia Institute of Technology
**All Information above is based on on-line Wikipedia (Ford Model A (1927-1931).
My dad, John Yeager, Sr. was born in June 1895. Although our branch of the family Yeagers originally came from Illinois, Daddy’s mother and father lived in Louisiana. Members of his family owned a blacksmith shop in Holum and cars were just coming on the scene. To the best of my knowledge, Daddy bought a 1930 or 1931 Model A Tudor. It’s the year I am not sure of because he purchased it before I was born in 1943. Indeed, he drove it until I reached the third or fourth grade and one of my mother’s most often repeated humorous stories of their courtship involved the Model A.
I either truly remember – or heard it so often that I believe I recall the first time I heard it. Mama and I were visiting with Mrs. Curry, our next-door neighbor and Mama’s best friend. We often had coffee at her kitchen table, and I eagerly listened to every word they said. On this particular day, they discussed Mrs. Curry’s driving abilities. Not every Tioga woman drove a car; Mrs. Curry did. She sometimes drove us to a church revival meeting or took Mama to the grocery store.
“You know, Mary, I’ve often wondered why you don’t drive? It’s not as if you were a teenager when you and Mr. Yeager married?”.
Mama laughed. “You’re right, Novie. Not a teenager and I had been driving for several years before I met John. To the best memory, we were enjoying our third or fourth date when it happened. I decided then and there life might be more pleasant if I left all the driving to John.”
“What happened?” Mrs. Curry became animated and obviously ready to hear a good story. She poured fresh cups of coffee, gave me a homemade cookie of some sort and sat down, eagerly awaiting to hear the tale. My ears perked up as well as Mama began to relate the details behind her becoming a ‘rider’ only.
She turned serious for a minute, but she could not avoid the smile in her eyes.
“John and I were working together at the Colony and, on this Wednesday evening he asked me to ride back to his house. You know, then, his house was this house where we are sitting now. Of course, you and Ellis have made a lot of changes since then. You’ve added….”
“Mary, don’t change the subject!” Mrs. Curry interjected with a laugh.
“Okay. Anyway, we came here, talked for a while and he fixed some scrambled eggs for us. We sat out on the porch to watch the sun go down. I felt pretty romantic when he suggested we needed to get going. As we walked out toward that black Model A sitting in front of the house, he asked if I knew how to drive. I said yes as I practically floated out to the car. I can still hear him now in my mind.”
“Well, Mary, why don’t you drive us tonight? I’ll just sit over there and enjoy the ride.”
At this point, Mama began to look a little serious as the story went on.
“Novie, you know that T in the road about a quarter mile down from here?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, that’s where everything began to fall apart – or maybe I should say ‘go down hill!”
Even I began to laugh, and I didn’t even know what would come next.
Mama went on. “I got into that A Model that I had never driven before, found both reverse and first gear like a pro. I’m not certain I ever got out of second before John started to give instructions.”
“Slow down, Mary. This car will take off on you and you need to come to complete stop at Pardue Road. Stop before the T. Could be traffic coming.”
“John, I’m not going ten miles an hour!” Mama so excelled at telling this story that both Mrs. Curry and I were lost in the details. Mama continued center stage as she shared the incident.
“John, which way should I turn on the Pardue Road?” She explained that by this time, she had gotten nervous, put on the brake without engaging the clutch, resulting in both her and Daddy lurching forward in the car which stopped in the middle of the Pardue Road. Not a good look for Mama; still she tried to remain composed.
“Which way, John?” she asked as restarted the engine. There were no cars in sight and no emergency, but Daddy imagined one and managed to create a frightening scene.
“Turn left, Mary.” She started to do so.
“No. Turn right. I said ‘right’!”
They were getting perilous close to the three- or four-foot ditch directly in front of them. The ditch consisted of an incline – not a drop off – but still pretty steep and scary. Mama had almost completed her turn to right and safety when Daddy again shouted instructions.
“What are you doing, Mary? We are going to end up in that ditch! Turn left. Left. I said left.”
Next stop, bottom of ditch! Daddy jumped out of the car, but instead of making certain Mama had survived intact, he climbed up to the road where he stood, arms crossed and back to the car. Mama decided her best spot remained in the car. They occupied their chosen retreats for – according to Mama – what seemed like hours, but the time passed in likely fifteen or twenty minutes before Mr. Pardue himself drove up in his 1935 Ford — Also known as the Model 48? Not sure about that. All I know for sure is that it had five windows and more horsepower than the A Model sitting in the ditch.
Mr. Pardue, a deacon in Kingsville Baptist Church and a little more ‘monied’ than our family, stopped his car, got out and walked over to Daddy.
“Good evening, John. Looks like you might have some trouble here. Can I help?”
Daddy became the sweetness and light version of himself. “Hello, Henry. Yeah, looks like I’ve got a situation here. It’s a good thing that A Model is one sturdy car. Nothing’s hurt. Not even a ruined tire or a bent rim. Trying to think of the best way to get out of there. What do you think?”
“I don’t know. Maybe if we started it and one of us pushed and the other guided it? I don’t know?”
“Thing about it is – my lady-friend is in there….”
“What? John, you mean there is someone in the car? Now?” He literally ran from his car to the one sitting in the ditch. He went first to the passenger side, then seeing Mama behind the wheel, he hurried to the other side.
“Are you okay, Maam?” He opened the door to help her out of the car, but before he could do so, Daddy stood next to him.”
“Wait a minute, Henry. With you and me both pushing and her guiding, maybe…..” His voice trailed off for minute. “You are okay, aren’t you, Mary?”
“Yes, John. I can push or guide.”
“No sense you get out just yet, then.” He closed the door as Mr. Pardue, and he walked a short distance away to discuss the situation. Any romantic feelings were gone for the evening.
Mama’s attempt at seriousness in telling the story had completely evaporated by now, and both Mrs. Curry and I were giggling. She pushed ahead and, though I know she enhanced the details, it only made the story better.
Mr. Pardue continued to stand by the passenger window. “I don’t know, John. Maybe we should get Mary out of here and up on the road.” Daddy stopped in his tracks and Mr. Pardue joined him. Mama could see the conversation but couldn’t hear what they were saying. She got out of the car on her own and walked over to them.
As she arrived, apparently shocking both as they nearly jumped out of their skin, another vehicle drove up, Robert Neeson, driving a 1935 Ford Pickup. He barely nodded to Daddy and Mr. Pardue before he began to solve the problem. Standing next to his truck bed, he shouted instructions.
“Hey, I’ve got an eight-foot chain and a come-along. John, if you and Henry get that Model A hooked and guided, we’ll get it out of there in less time than the shake of a cow’s tail! That is your Model A, ain’t it, John?”
“Yes, it is but I did not drive it into the ditch. Let’s get it hooked up and out of there. Mary, stand out of the way so we can do this.
Mama never really talked much about what happened during the final steps of rescue or later that evening. She typically concluded her story with some variation for the following scenario.
“Once the car again sat on Pardue Road, I got in on the passenger side. Three or four additional vehicles were now attendance with all the men standing around, laughing, shaking hands and appearing to have a good time. I wanted to go home and eventually the men stopped pointing and laughing, John came back to the car. He came first to the passenger side.”
“Mary, are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to try a little more driving?” He chuckled as he spoke.
“No, I’ve lost all interest in driving. Take me home.”
Ann Mullen-Martin
September 27, 2025
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