Remembering Mick Hunter through his granddaughter’s eyes

On Saturday Sisters resident Brittany Meudt contributed as a judge for the Glory Daze Car Show in honor of her late grandfather, Mick Hunter. The award for Best of Show, “Mick’s Ride,” was in memory of the man who was most passionate about cars and family.

“My grandpa’s love for vintage cars dates back before they were ever considered vintage cars, and far before I was born,” Meudt said. “In 1965, when he was 19 years old, he knew he had to get a 1955 2 Door Post after he decided that his favorite street machine to watch coming down the road was a ’55 Chevy.”

That year Hunter bought his first 1955 Chevy for $200. Time passed and the car stopped running, so he sold it to a friend for $35.

“It wasn’t long after that he knew he had to find another one. He worked at the Oregon Trail Bean Farm for only $1.00 per hour. He worked six days a week, 16 hours a day in order to save enough money to purchase his second 1955 Chevy, ‘Ralph,’ for $250.”

Hunter sold the car but kept coming back to those 1955 Chevys. He picked up a third, fourth, and a fifth ’55 Chevy and named them all Ralph.

The 1955 model year is considered a huge turning point for Chevrolet cars as well as a major success. The 1955 Chevy had smooth straight panels on the sides and hood. This was a major departure from previous years for Chevrolet. For 1955, Chevrolet designed the entire car with the full shoebox look.

Michael Hunter, Mick’s son, added, “Dad always loved the shoebox style of car.”

Over the years Hunter purchased a 1955 Chevy pickup, three 1962 Impalas, a 1967 and 1978 Camaro, 1995 Z-28, 1985 and 1989 Corvette, and a 1984 Corvette roadster.

“That man loved his cars!” Meudt said smiling. “And he loved his family. It was a blast growing up with him. We got to ride around with the top down in the Camaros and Corvettes. He’d randomly pick up the speed and we’d all scream out of joy, and maybe a little fear — but boy he really knew how to make us smile.”

Meudt and her grandfather were nearly inseparable throughout her youth.

“I guess you could say grandpa was my best friend growing up. He spent his time teaching me — along with my brothers, sister and cousins — the proper way to clean a car, from polishing the chrome to which towels were for the body and which for the wheels (never mix those up),” she recalled.

Meudt spent most of her childhood at her grandparents’ house, and during the summer they spent every weekend at car shows.

“I can’t tell you how many mornings we’d wake up at the crack of dawn and drive a couple of hours to a car show,” she said.

“We’d get to the show, get the car clean and show it off! I must have gone to hundreds of cars shows with him. How to tell the difference between a ’55, ’56 and ’57 Chevy was one of the first things I remember him teaching me, probably because his favorite car has always been the ’55 Chevy. I grew to love vintage cars/muscle cars and overall just being at the shows. But the thing I enjoyed the most was being with my grandpa. He was loving, compassionate, patient and very funny.”

Meudt added that Hunter spent his time encouraging others to be the best versions of themselves.

“It didn’t matter if he barely knew you, or you were his best friend, he would always find time to be present, to listen and just love. He put others before himself, instilled good principles and morals in each of us,” Meudt said. “There’s not a person out there like him, a man loved by so many with a smile that could light up any room!”