1989 Ford Bronco – Sharon H.

My parents bought this 1989 Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer Edition brand new. They took such good care of the truck, and they drove it everywhere they went. It became an icon around town after several years, and everyone in town knew whose Bronco it was. My dad passed in 2015, and mom kept the Bronco as her only vehicle after he passed. She always kept it in tip-top condition. The interior is still as immaculate as the day it came off the showroom floor. I got a phone call one day, informing me my mom had been in an accident and they asked if I could come down right away. I, of course, went down immediately. She had had a health episode, and had backed the Bronco through a local storage shed, causing a lot of damage to the driver’s side and back end of the truck. She was still in the truck when I got there, and all she could say was “I ruined the Bronco – Dad’s going to kill me!” I told her vehicles were fixable and not to worry about it, and asked if she was ok, and got her the medical attention she needed. Later, my brother met with me to look it over. It looked pretty rough – but it was still drivable, so we took it to her house and parked it in the garage. Unfortunately, mom never got to drive that Bronco again, but after she passed, I got to keep the Bronco as my own. I couldn’t let it leave the family – that Bronco was my parent’s pride and joy – they had owned it for almost 30 years! It needed a lot of body work, but mechanically it was sound, and only had around 72,000 miles on it, so I called a local body shop and asked them if he could repair it. He said he thought he could find the necessary parts, and in a few months, I got the call he was done with it. I about fainted when I saw the beautiful work he had done! He finished it right before my annual family reunion, which has been a family tradition since June of 1985, so I was able to drive it to the reunion and show it off. My eight siblings and their families loved seeing it back to its original beauty. Now I get the privilege to get it out and drive it periodically to keep it running good. It gives me a sense of freedom, and I get to spend some moments going down memory lane with my parents when I drive it. It’s a priceless heirloom for me, with so many memories from the past, and hopefully many more memories to be made with my own kids and grandkids in the future. My husband has always been a “Ford Man”, so the Bronco fits right in with our Ford family of vehicles. And yes, I still drive it around that same town every once and a while for old time’s sake, and people still remember whose Bronco it was. It’s a great way to keep my parents’ memory alive in my local community. I couldn’t be more proud to own such a wonderful piece of my family’s history!