A TOYS FAMILY
I was going to write something about this great car, and the family who has cared for it since 1927. Instead I think that I would rather simply let Tom Gambuti tell it himself.
I have only one thing to add to this story. This is a family that holds dear to their childhood, and fond memories. The next time you look at one of your pedal cars I hope you wonder about the children that have played with it for many hours. Let yourself go back to those carefree days, and let your mind wonder.
It was a pleasure to work for the Gambutis. We know that their grandchildren will play with the car in the future. How many generations will this toy touch????? - Linda Portell
A Toys Family
It’s
a 1927 Chrysler pedal car. Original
Owner -- Catherine Onorato-Gambuti. In 1927 my mother Catherine
Onorato- Gambuti received from her father Thomas Onorato a pedal car for her
second birthday.
My
grandfather Tom Onorato was an ice deliveryman in the city of
My
mother played with it for several years….
as she got older the car went where she went… when she married my Dad
it ended up in the garage of our home where it sat for years.
I
was born in 1955. A few years later
I became familiar with the car and began playing with it along with my cousin
Greg and my best friend Doug. I
don’t know how we did it, but the three of us would ride on it at the same
time. I was at the steering wheel,
Doug on the hood and Greg on the back holding onto my shoulders.
We had countless adventures with the car both good and bad. Every time
the garage got painted so did the car with the left over paint.
As you can see, before the restoration the car was definitely played with
a lot.
As
time will have it, we out grew the car and it ended up back in the garage again.
My Mom passed away in 1975 and the car stayed with me.
Through the years I have had many opportunities to sell the car as is or
throw it away in the trash but something always told me to hold onto it… and
boy I’m so glad I listen to my inner voice.
One
day in August of 2003, I was delivering my mail and came across an article about
the restoration of pedal cars. The
article referenced a gentleman by the name of Dan Portell.
We sat down, wrote an email and attached a picture of the car.
We sent the email and about 5 minutes later the phone rang and it was
Dan. We spoke and he mentioned he
was going to be in the area so then we arranged to meet in
Meeting
Dan and Linda Portell turned out to be one of the best experiences for my wife
and I. They are two of the
friendliest people you would ever want to meet.
Dan did a superb job on the car (as you can see) and he is I believe one
of the finest craftsman in the business.
Thanks to Dan and Linda my car is back to its original state and we couldn’t be happier. My Mother would be very proud to see her little car the way she remembered it … I know she is smiling down from heaven. The car now sits in the middle of my living room until we are on the road to show it off to the world….
Lincoln
Park
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