Derek Pollard

I own Johnny Harris’s car, a 1925 Dodge [pictured above]. I bought it from Alma in 1955 for $100. Some guy was going to buy it and I whipped it up there. I didn’t have any money. I gave her $5 to hold it. She held it for a year and found me in Nelson and wanted the rest of it. I didn’t have the car by then. Then I paid the rest and got it going right away. I drove it around Nelson for quite a while for fun. It was not a tour car, but interesting. 

 

I drove it to Victoria and back in 1968. The government sponsored a tour from Fernie to Victoria to celebrate the centennial. They paid for everything — neat deal. My wife and I drove it to Victoria at about 35 mp/h.

 

I bought the car the year the creek flooded. Alma was selling everything out of the Reco. I had no money but I remember CPR pictures of the boats all sitting in the hall for sale. The arched streetlights were for sale and a guy in New Denver had them for years in his yard, hanging up. They had the globes. 

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I live in town but have a place in Procter. It needs restoring. It’s complete. I have the original registration with Johnny’s signature — John Morgan Harris it says on the original registration.

 

He still has all the papers, owner’s manuals, and sales literature. He bought it new in Nelson for $1,700.

 

I spent a lot of time in the hills above Sandon. It was an interesting town. Gene Peterson was quite a character. I wandered all over that hillside and would see him when I went by. I never did talk to him. 

 

I also have a gauge out of original Sandon powerhouse. 

 

Derek Pollard obituary: https://thenelsondaily.com/obituary/pollard-derek-vane/