That is such an amazing story!!!

How did you come about buying your van?

Julianna

Julianna
http://about.me/juliannaelligsen
1991 VW Vanagon Westfalia (Ophelia)
1990 VW Vanagon Westfalia (The Rastafalia)
1988 VW Vanagon Tintop (James)

> On May 7, 2015, at 2:42 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> Today I had a lunch meeting so before that I stopped off at Home Depot for
> a few things I would need this weekend. I was leaving the parking lot when
> I saw the chocolate brown 86 Westy of Nick, a former Vanagon mechanic at my
> local VW shop so I turned around and parked to talk with him for a minute.
> When I returned to my car, there was a guy about my age standing behind it
> and asked if I had time for a few questions. I told him I was waiting on a
> phone call about the exact time of a meeting, so until that happened, yes,
> I did.
>
> He told me that he was in the Air Force in Germany in 1892 When his dad,
> back in the states, became obsessed with owning a Westy. The son explained
> that they worked out a deal: The exchange rate was good, so the son put a
> westy just like mine on layaway at a dealership near Rammstein. Dad sent
> the money for some time, then the son drove it during the rest of his hitch
> in Germany with the agreement that dad would pick it up and own it after it
> got shipped back to the states.
>
> Dad's ownership of the Ivory diesel was legendary in the family. It was the
> only car he owned or drove regularly for the next 20 years, and in fact
> soon after the keys were taken away from him by the family, he passed away.
>
> The fellow telling me all this introduced himself as Travis Reeves.
>
> I asked him if his father was also Travis Reeves.
>
> He said that he was.
>
> "Then this is the car you bought in Germany in 1983" I told him. "This is
> your dad's car."
>
> An outing is planned for the few surviving family members to go somewhere
> in it.
>
> As we were leaving, here comes Nick in his brown Westy leaving the parking
> lot. I introduced Nick to young Travis as the guy who worked on the car
> throughout his dad's ownership. The old mechanic remembered the car, the
> dad, and Travis when he was a young man.
>
> It was quite a reunion.
>
> Jim