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Benjamin (Ben) R. Caskey Jr. began collecting rare automobiles in the early sixties. His first acquisition was a 1940 Cadillac, 60 Special sedan. It was what is called in the hobby, an original car. It had the original carpet, upholstery, and headliner. It had never been painted and had at least ninety percent original parts. With the exception of battery, tires and some electrical wiring, it was the same car that came off the production line in 1940. He paid $2000 for it. It is still in the collection and it is still original. From repeated polishing, there is bare metal showing under the wax on one, front fender. The car is a "driver." In the last ten years it has been on three trips of at least 3000 miles each, the longest being to the middle of Lake George, in New York, and back to Vero Beach, a 4300 mile trip. From the time he was sixteen years old, Ben loved cars. He paid much of his college expense by selling used cars in Pennsylvania before graduating from Lafayette in 1956. Having married his high school sweetheart, Edna Hoffman, during his senior year in college, he started his professional career in south Florida. He quickly worked his way from sales to management with John Hancock in the insurance business. He was a natural salesman and an effective manager. Ben viewed collecting vintage automobiles as a means of combining an enjoyable hobby with investing for the future. He focused his attention on Classic™ cars as defined by the Classic Car Club of America (CCCA)™. These, in general terms, are limited production cars which were produced from 1925 to 1948. They include the Duesenbergs, Cords, Auburns, Packards, Cadillacs, Chryslers and several foreign marques of the thirties and forties when cars weighed close to three tons. He was a member of many auto clubs but his favorite was the CCCA. He was instrumental in spinning off the Gold Coast Region from the Florida Region in south Florida. When he moved to Vero Beach in 1986, he continued to be active in both regions. At the time of his untimely death in 1987, he had bought, sold or traded over fifty Classic™ automobiles and there were 23 in his collection. Most have been sold off by the estate. So, how do I fit into this story? My wife, Patricia Powell Wieler and Ben's wife, Edna were high school sorority sisters at Lower Merion in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Patty died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) eighteen months after Ben died. Over the years, the ladies had kept in close touch and I had come to know both Edna and Ben as good friends. After Patty died it did not take long for Edna and me to agree to combine our families and get on with our lives. I became custodian of the remainder of the car collection and made a commitment to maintain it in his memory. We do that by taking the cars out on a rotating basis so that our neighbors in Vero Beach can enjoy them and learn about the history of automobiles. Occasionally we will take one out of town to a car show or on a CARavan™ for the same reasons. Watch for us on the road.....drive carefully!
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