I have a mystery on my hands. About a year ago while driving over West Ninth Street, just before the intersection of North Eighth Avenue and East Orange Street, something caught my eye — what appeared to be an old car in the woods. After a couple passes, I could see that it was indeed an old car. Curious, once home I started some research. On the newly updated Google maps this past spring, I could see the car in question. Checking the DNR Historical Airphotos, I found that up to 1961 there are what appears to be two buildings, houses or perhaps a house and some other type of building on that very corner. Sometime between 1961 and 1972 they were torn down, as they no longer appear on the 1972 imagery.
So this fall I decided to actually check it out for myself, and I was not disappointed. The car (after some research later) is a spot-on match for a 4-door 1950s Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline, and it was not alone. There was another unidentified and very rusty car, turned over, leaning near upside down against a tree and what appeared to be the front end of another car not too far away, (all three seen in the top image). A short distance away, the foundations for the previously mentioned buildings also remain, with various rusty artifacts strewn about. However the real frosting on the cake was the Deluxe Styleline, it had writing on it. Chuck’s TV.
It would seem that some time ago, this car was used for a TV repair service, the aforementioned titular Chuck’s TV, which according to the markings on the car, they made house calls and had the old-style phone number listed on sides and trunk, RA24655.
Does anyone remember this business? Was it located near where the car now rests, or somewhere else in Duluth? Also, it’s a long shot, but historical photos would be a amazing if anyone has some, or an old advertisment, anything that can shed more light on this old rusty relic.
The word Deluxe in front of the driver’s door and this picture I took helped solve what type of car it was, an early 1950s Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline.
Here’s an example of the same car I found on the internet, at nearly the same angle. This one has been treated a lot better.
Another shot of Chuck’s TV with it’s rusty companion. Fascinating, I want to know more of this story.
