Ray Clevidence
Ray Clevidence grew
up on the west side of
Vancouver, Washington.
The housing project was built for the aluminum workers at Alcoa
Aluminum. The project was called Fruit
Valley.
We were in the middle of orchards, farm land, and vegetable truck
gardens. In 1948 I started pulling weeds for a Chinese man (KeLoy)
in his vegetable gardens. As I recall there were about ten acres.
I earned .10 an hour working on weekends about four hours a day. I
gradually worked my way up to .35 per hour. I bought most of my
own clothes, and any extras I wanted. I longed to own a car and
worked hard mowing lawns, delivering news papers, and working in the
orchards. Before I became a teenager my dad said I could have a
car as soon as I saved enough money for one year of college, paid cash
for my car and paid a years worth of car insurance. On my
fifteenth birthday I had saved $1,500.00, for college and paid cash
$245.00 for a 1946 Chevrolet 2 dr. Fleetwood sedan. It was Pink
with black and red interior. It was a 6 cyl, but it was mine.
During the next year while waiting to get my license, I polished the
engine— remember the brass radiators? I put new brakes on it,
tuned it up, did oil changes and lubed it while working at a near by
service station at night from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am while still going to
school. Two years later I bought a 1948 Ford 2 dr. coupe. I
think I dropped at least three transmissions drag racing at the dike
road that ran from
Fruit
Valley
to the Alcoa Aluminum plant. My senior year I bought a 1947 Buick,
2 dr. straight eight. It was dark green with a stick shift.
I still think it was one of the best cars I ever owned. The last
time I ran hard on the dike road was at our last class renunion.
We were at Vancouver lake, great food and about a hundred
of us. I brought my 1950 Ford, which had a 350 bowtie, very hot.
Joyce, a classmate wanted a ride so I pulled out onto the dike road,
burning rubber, and drove past my classmates at the camp site; I thought
they were waving me on, so I stomped on it and hit second gear doing
about 70, and I looked in the rear view mirror and there was Vancouver’s
finest behind me with his light flashing. He wrote tickets which
included excessive noise, burning rubber, speeding, no insurance, no
license plate and reckless driving. About a month later I went to
court. The judge stated if you can’t pay the bail, you will
go to jail. I told the (“Pro-tem”) judge I did not have the
$1250.00 to cover the bail. I then showed her I had legal
insurance and license plates. She looked down at the charges, then
looked up at me. She looked down again, and looked up at me and a
smile came over her face. She asked how old are you. I told
her, and she said “What were you thinking?” I told her I was with
an ole classmate, and for the good old times we took a run on the dike.
She said how much money do you have and I told her I always have about
two hundred on me, and she dropped the gavel and said $200.00 fine and I
don’t want to see you here again. I assured her I would not be back
again, as next time I would have a faster car, and would not get a
second ticket. That is why I now drive a 1966 Oldsmobile 442, 650
4 bbl street demon, mild shift kit, 400 ci with a cam which gives about
455 hp.
