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Expert
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Location: Iowa USA | I hate to bring up anything political on this forum but I thought this was interesting.
I got an email from someone that had read that my old Desoto Aventurer convertible (now in Italy) was sold new at the Hollywood Perkins Desoto dealership in Wilmington Deleware. Following is the email.
Quote
"Hi,
Just saw your article about your Desoto. I was searching for info about my Grandfather who died 2 months after I was born. His name was Colonel James F Hollywood, co-owner of the dealership you spoke of. I am trying to find some old pictures of his dealership. It is now a beaten up motorcycle club in what is now the worst part of Wilmington. Let me know if I can help you with any information. My Grandfather employed Joe Bidens father and uncle there in the 50's."
I was sceptical so I did a Wiki search on Joe and this was in the information about him.
"Biden's father had been very well-off earlier in his life, but had suffered several business reverses by the time Biden was born, and for several years the family had to live with Biden's maternal grandparents, the Finnegans. When the Scranton area went into economic decline during the 1950s, Biden's father could not find enough work. In 1953, the Biden family moved to an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, where they lived for a few years before moving to a house in Wilmington, Delaware. Joe Biden Sr. then did better as a used car salesman, and the family's circumstances were middle class"
So I would say that the information is credible, and the VPs dad worked at the Desoto dealership when joe was a teenager. in another article the Vice president stated "Joe Jr. learned a number of lessons during his father’s lean years that he regularly cites in speeches and interviews. In his autobiography, he tells the story of his father quitting a job as sales manager for an auto dealership because the owner, who liked to reward his employees and customers with silver dollars, decided to amuse himself at the dealership’s Christmas party by spilling out a bucket of silver dollars on the dance floor to watch his workers scramble to scoop up the coins. Joe Sr. gathered up his wife and walked out, never to return." So it appears from this he was a sales manager at Hollywood Perkins?
Just some interesting information! No political flamewar please! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 802
Location: Norcross (Atlanta area), GA | From what I see here, this thread is not about the politician, but his father. Nothing wrong with that. Also, there is nothing wrong with discussing the cars of the politicians, as long as it's about their cars. I've never seen a thread about Lyndon Johnson's '57 Imperial or Harry Truman's '60 Polara, have their cars been discussed here?
 (LBJ.jpg)
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 LBJ.jpg (16KB - 195 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Wilmington, Delaware, USA | Not much to add, but I used to store a '63 Chevy at that motorcycle club. It truly is in the worst part of Wilmington. I also figured this is the safest place around since nobody messed with the biker gang and they were always hanging around their club.
I stored the Chevy in the old service area for the dealership. It is a huge warehouse type structure behind the old dealership. The dude I paid rent to ran a used tire business in the front of the building and car storage in the back. He had maybe 30 - 40 other cars in there (some old some new) which used up about one-quarter of the total space. It really was a huge place. No doubt it was an impressive sight in its hey-day, filled with the Forwardlook fleet. |
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Expert
Posts: 1357
Location: Iowa USA | Just recieved another email on the subject.
"Actually, Joe Biden used to claim the first job he had was as a life guard. My mother use to get angry and say "that's not true, he use to wash cars after school at my Father's dealership". So, I believe Joe was in high school in the late 50s, he may have washed your car."
I had to laugh at that one! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Wilmington, Delaware, USA | Lee,
I just remembered, if correctly, that the old Desoto dealer later changed names to Brandywine Chrysler Plymouth and went by the name BCP. The are still around however moved to a more hospitable location. I attached a link to their website as a possible source for more information.
http://www.bcpchrysler.com
Also, here is a Google link to the old Desoto dealership, which is now the biker gang club. You can clearly see the circular shape of the showroom, the parking lot and the size of the service area.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Governo...
Edited by hullinger 2010-06-28 2:33 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1357
Location: Iowa USA | I just received a follow up email to the one I quoted below. The picture did not come with the email so I asked him to send it again and I will post it when I get it.
If I can catch VP Joe Biden hitting the campaign trail here in central Iowa in the next few months I will have to make an effort to ask him about the dealership etc.
Quote from the email
Hello again,
I was the guy who told you about VP Biden and his Dad working at the Hollywood -Perkins Desoto dealership. My Grandfather was James Hollywood. There was a story from VP Biden's book that his father had a boss who threw silver dollars on the floor at Christmas time and watched his employees scramble for them. Someone then assumed that my Grandfather or his partner were the people who did that. I'd like to set the record straight since this story has gotten to many forums.
My son Matthew ran into Vice President Biden at the beach here in Delaware in June. Joe was busy working a crowd of girls and women, so my son spoke up and said" I'm Colonel Hollywood's great grandson. Immediately, Joe came over to talk to him. They spoke for a few minutes and my son asked Joe if Jim Hollywood was the owner who threw the silver dollars on the floor at Christmas. Joe said " No that was the owner of the Ford dealership my father worked at."
Maybe you could post this on your Desoto forum. I've attached a picture of my Grandfather at his dealership.
Thanks
Jim Dougherty
Wilmington DE
end quote |
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Expert
Posts: 1357
Location: Iowa USA | Here is the email that came with the pictures this morning
Quote
Thanks for helping me keep my maternal Grandfathers name in good standing. He was US army infantry in WW1 in France and an Army Air Corp officer in WW2. In 1946 he moved from Philadelphia to Wilmington and opened the dealership we spoke of, in two locations. The money he made at those dealerships helped put me and my 4 siblings through trade schools and colleges well into the 1970's. I myself have a 68 Mustang 2+2 that I drive on sunny days, and work on it on rainy days.
I'll send the only pictures I have of his dealership. If they don't come through I'll send them one at a time.
Thanks again,
Jim Dougherty
end quote
Many of the shots are prior to the forward look era but I will post them anyway. They have all been re-sized and most were double this size so if someone wants a larger image of any of these let me know and I will email it to you.
 (Colonel JFH_s.jpg)
 (HP salesmen_s.jpg)
 (HP002_s.jpg)
 (HP003_s.jpg)
 (HP004_s.jpg)
 (HP101_s.jpg)
 (Uncle Joe Buckley_s.jpg)
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Colonel JFH_s.jpg (41KB - 178 downloads)
HP salesmen_s.jpg (59KB - 191 downloads)
HP002_s.jpg (101KB - 183 downloads)
HP003_s.jpg (86KB - 186 downloads)
HP004_s.jpg (81KB - 184 downloads)
HP101_s.jpg (98KB - 176 downloads)
Uncle Joe Buckley_s.jpg (81KB - 183 downloads)
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
 
Location: bishop, ca | I've spent some time, now, unsuccessfully looking for my magazine photo of Nelson Rockefeller, standing by
his Imperial, which is seen from its rear end.
I 'want' to say that that pic was shown on the last page ("Miscellany") of a Life magazine, but I can't find my photo,
so, does anyone have access to that image, to post on this thread?
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | This is from the Imperial Club, but, I'm recalling the black & white 'news' photos of him with his car:
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1960/Limo/Rockefeller/index.htm |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Looking at these pix of the showroom cars, it is no wonder the fin era was so #@! exciting for the
buying public. Look at these boring tubs ! They have all the pizzazz of a hairball covered in spuzz.
Just a few short years later, DeSotos and Plymouths were styled like jets and painted all sorts of
wild colors. Was there ever such a radical change in the auto industry in such a short period as the
54-57 years ? Must have been heaven-on-earth for the "introduction day" crowd. 
Cool pix, Lee. 
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Desotos and Joe Biden SR the Vice President's father
