51 Kaiser getaway car--the watermelon caper

When I was growing up in and around Conroe, Texas, there were still quite a few farms. Watermelons were a substantial source of income especially in the area west of Conroe. I doubt farming can compete with the real estate developers today as Conroe and Houston are almost the same now.

All these watermelons were a temptation for boys on a hot early summer night--sneak in to a patch and pick a couple to enjoy the sweetness. We figured the farmer had calculated that in to the price of raising the melons. Much earlier when we lived in Louisiana I can remember walking through a melon patch on the way to a favorite pond for a swim. The harvest was over by this time but still many melons left. So many in fact that we did not hesitate to crack them open and just scoop out the heart to eat and then go to the next.

I got my driver's license shortly after turning 14 in the fall of 1951. We had a 51 Chevrolet pickup (it was loaded with two extras--radio and deluxe heater) and a 51 Kaiser Special. I learned to drive in the pickup but soon graduated to the Kaiser since my dad used the pickup for work. My mom did not drive so I had the job of taking her to the grocery store and on other short trips. At some point I drove for a trip she and my brother and I took to see her family in San Antonio. That was either in the summer of 1952 or 1953. I thought I was pretty important by then!

I pretty much had permission to drive the car on almost any night especially in the summer. And my dad had an account at the local flying red horse (Magnolia) station so I could fill it up when needed. Sometimes the other boys along with me would throw in some change to get gas which was as I recall was around 25 cents per gallon.

Anyway some local guy had managed to get his car shot at by a farmer and had the damage to show for it. Of course we had to try to prove we could do the job without getting shot at. We may have thought the guy had invented his story or maybe we were just stupid...

After some long-term planning (about 15 or less minutes probably) we had our master plan for the job. We would drive out to the area and drive up and down the road which split the patch into two sections. We figured if there was anyone on guard we would spot him for sure I guess. As I recall the moon was close to full and there was reasonable visibility into the patch even with the lights off. Of course there was also good visibility for someone to see a car driving up the road, turning around, and then repeating the trip from the other direction. Naturally that was not included in our long-term plan.

Anyway the all clear was given and the caper was on. I stopped the car and the guys hit the field in a sprint. All but Skeeter made it back and into the car. His door was open and he was starting to load a melon in when the shots were fired. I hit the gas and Skeeter grabbed on to the door and managed to get in the car. We could hear the rock salt (I guess it was) hitting the metal. It sounded like cannon balls to me and I could visualize the holes in the car. Fortunately for us the rock salt shot did not do any damage to the car or to us.

I can't recall for sure but this may have been our last watermelon heist.