Rusty Relic to Be Restored

They've finally decided who gets the rusty 1957 Plymouth Belvedere removed from a time capsule in Tulsa last summer: 93-year-old Catherine (Humbertson) Johnson.

Ever since Tulsa officials discovered in June that Raymond [Humbertson]’s was the winning guess of Tulsa’s expected population in 2007 — at 384,743, only about 2,000 off from the actual population of 382,457 — the search for his heirs has been on. Recently, it was decided the car’s rightful owner is Catherine, Raymond’s older sister.

It involved Raymond’s niece, Mary Catherine (Humbertson) Kesner, searching through records in Allegany County as well as those in Arlington, Va., where Raymond and Margaret lived. She contacted several relatives, who gave written consent they were relinquishing any rights to the car, Kesner said. [Link]

The car will be derusted, after which it will be taken back to Tulsa for one more unveiling.

Car Contest, Sans Saturation

Not long after blogging about the guy who won the time-capsule car, I received an email from Debra Osborne Spindle about a second contest in 1957 involving a second Plymouth Belvedere. But this prize wasn't immersed in water for fifty years. Read more at All My Ancestors.

Lucky Guess Wins Dead Guy a Car

The winner of the rusty 1957 Plymouth Belvedere recently dug up in Tulsa is Raymond Eugene Humbertson, late of Cumberland, Maryland. He and his wife died childless, but he has two sisters living, and a number of nephews and nieces, including Sue (Humbertson) Gerhart.

Sue said her husband, Paul, broke the news to her early Saturday morning, when he said, "You're not going to believe what was in today's paper." Sue added, "I wasn't even awake yet . . . I thought he said, 'Raymond buried a car and they just dug it up.'

"I said, 'My God, is there a body in it?'"

Family members are wondering how Raymond happened to be in Tulsa, and how he managed to predict the city's 2007 population (his guess was 384,743; he was off by just 0.6%). They think he might have been returning from San Diego, where he was visiting his ill father.

They speculate that Raymond stayed overnight in Tulsa, and perhaps had a bite to eat at a local diner -- where he may have filled out the form for the time capsule contest. As far as why he chose the numbers he did -- no one knows. In fact, they said Raymond was not a great math or science whiz.

"For all we know, he could have picked those numbers because (the cost of his meals were) $3.84 and $7.43, or something like that," Ace [Humbertson] added. [Link]

Lousy Place to Park a Car

Bad news from Tulsa about the Plymouth Belvedere buried next to the courthouse in 1957, and due to be exhumed on Friday.

Workers lifted the vault's lid Wednesday morning to find about two feet of standing water and indications the vault may have been filled to the rim sometime during the past half-century.

The car itself remained encased in several layers of purportedly water-tight material, its precise condition a mystery. The outline of the Belvedere's trademark tailfins was clearly visible under the coverings, but hopes for recovering the car in something like pristine condition faded. [Link]

For what it's worth, you can watch Friday's unveiling live on the Intertubes via links at the Tulsarama! website. You can see lots of pics of the soggy mess here and here.

Curiously, the car was buried with a "bottle of tranquilizer pills in the glove compartment."

The tranquilizer pills got into the act when the committee decided to make the auto typical by stocking the glove compartment with the contents of a woman's handbag.

The pills showed up along with 14 bobby pins, a compact, cigarettes and matches, two combs, an unpaid parking ticket, a tube of lipstick, a package of gum, a plastic rain hat, pocket facial tissues and $2.73 in bills and coins. [Link]

Low Mileage, But Warranty Has Expired

A 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried under the lawn at the Tulsa County Courthouse nearly fifty years ago will be dug up June 15 as part of Oklahoma's centennial celebration. But will it run?

Sharon King Davis, who has chaired Tulsa's centennial efforts, is managing the efforts of a committee of Tulsans interested in the old car and their ranks grow daily. Davis, looking at photos of the 1957 planners, was surprised to see the face of her grandfather, the late Sam Avey. Avey was a Tulsa promoter, banker and civic leader.

There was a contest before it was buried. Tulsans were asked to estimate the population of Tulsa as of June 1. The estimate closest to the population posted by the U.S. Census Bureau on June 1, 2007, wins the Plymouth. If the winner is dead, the car goes to heirs. If a winner can't be located, it goes to the Tulsa Historical Society. [Link]