I recall my dad, Bill, first got a Crosley when I was about 12-13. In fact, I recall going to the first Wauseon in the early 70’s when it was combined with a Steam Engine convention at the fairgrounds. I even recall singing around a campfire with other long-term Crosley folks, You are my Crosley…” to the tune of  🎶 “You are my sunshine”. 🎶

Tell me a bit about your multi-generational (4) “affliction” with Crosleys? In the very early ‘70s, my dad, Bill, was going through the local Bargain Mart ad newspaper looking for a Nash Metropolitan. He found one, sort of…. When he got there, it wasn’t a Metropolitan. It was a ’52 Crosley station wagon! Well, he bought it anyway and brought it home. That was the beginning. The second Crosley came a few years later while driving in Colorado. My mom, Junaita, saw one from the highway, and we got off the interstate. It was a ’49 Sedan. We bought it. We actually drove (tried to drive it) it home – almost - before the brakes went out. This car is now painted pink, in honor of my mom who died of breast cancer. 

Junaita’s pretty “Pink” Coupe soon to be on the frame.

My dad, Bill’s, longest running Crosley he bought in ’74-75. It was built with wood body at local vocational high school…in southern Indiana. We call it the “woody”. (Warning-It was jokingly known to attract termites…) 

All of my brothers, Tony and Tim, have Crosleys too. When I got out of the navy in 1991, it was my time to start. My first Crosley was a ’49-50. I’ve had 12, but I am down to 6 right now. I bought a Super Sports that was going to the junk yard. I fixed it up and ended up selling it to a guy in California. I bought one from another lady (from right here in Louisville just 10 miles from me. Then, I sold that one to a guy in Ohio. My brother and I also have saved 2 wagons. At one point, a while ago, I was looking for a “hard topped” Crosley - anything. However, what I found was only a series of “convertibles” which I now own: 2 super sports, a “Beep” (one of a kind fiberglass FOR). We even have a Crosley my brother found that was owned by a monastery. To get to the monastery, you had to cross a 5’ long bridge (only navigable by a Crosley) to get supplies. My brother still drives it everywhere! 

Directly from “the monastery”

We all live in the suburbs of Louisville within 25 miles of each other. I live in Valley Station and my other family members live in Brooks and Bardstown. My grandson, Michael the 4th Crosley generation, lives with me. He has the green ’49 sedan I got from Ted De La Camera of Yankee Crosley. A Louisville KY Exposition Car Show-Fundraiser took place for the family of the 16 who were killed in the UPS plane crash. My brother and I took his fire truck and My Super Sports to this 250 - car event. Being close to Christmas, Santa was at the Expo walking around sharing “Christmas spirit” with others. However, about 20 minutes before the end of the show, Santa came up to me. We started talking, and I invited him, a full-sized Santa I might add, to sit in our car. He commented, “That will be cool - if I can fit. Well, he got in – a little tight, but he fit! Santa commented, “With these 250 cars at the fundraiser, you were the only one who invited me to sit in your car” Billy Joe, in a Crosley confirming way, said, “We let everyone sit in our cars.”  

Santa enjoying his “ride”

The combined Lands’ Crosley enterprise includes some very unique models as: 

• The Crosley fire truck was the original “Kiddie Land” from Louisville, KY. All of Lands’ family members pitched in and helped restore it. This is one of the original 25 Crosley specially-produced fire trucks.

• A recently acquired Crosley Ice Cream truck is currently undergoing “refinishing”.

• Plus, another FOR #17 (the 17th made) has been found and saved from the Iowa/Illinois border.

Do you have any “wrench-turning wisdom” to your family’s engagement in the Crosley world?In musing about the Land’s four generations of 21 or so Crosleys, Billy Joe commented, “It is just something we do together. We all go to the shows, talk to people. We talk about everything and say nothing. They all, my family, call me to work on their Crosleys….I love talking to people about Crosleys, which turns into talking about anything.”

Bill, the Lands’ patriarch, recently finished this gorgeous Crosley Hot Shot, Bill is next to his pristine restoration in this photo.

Bill Lands, the family patriarch, with his “just-finished” beauty.

Upon completion, Bill declared, 

“After 4 years of a frame-off, every nut and bolt restoration, I am pretty happy considering I am 86 years old and doing the work from my scooter! Special thanks to Tim Hamblin, Barry Smedley, and my sons, Tony, Billy Joe, and Tim and…Junaita’s cat.’ He concludes, ‘I am not finished though as I have a ’49 sedan already in the works.’