We took very few trips.  We would go about 80 miles to my mother’s sister, Leota Bilbrey Shaw and her family in San Saba, Texas  perhaps three times a year.  It would take about three hours.  There were no interstate roads then as we know them today.  There were many small towns along the way.

Leota Shaw’s husband, Frank, was a staunch supporter of Ford cars.  My dad was just as strong supporter of Chevrolets.  It was interesting to hear uncle Frank and dad argue about which was the best, Fords or Chevrolets.  Dad later bought a 1936 Chevrolet and Uncle Frank a 1936 Ford.

The other trips we took were to my Grandfather Bilbrey’s farm.  That took about an hour on an unpaved road made of caliche which is a type of clay like dirt.

Today tires are made with rubber or synthetic rubber on the outside, them steel mesh or belts underneath that and then more rubber.  Before that fabric was used instead of steel.  Because the base was fabric tires did not last as long, wore out more rapidly, punctures and cuts were common causing tires to go flat or have blowouts.

Too, beginning in 1942 tires were rationed.  It was difficult to find tires for sale even if you had ration stamps and money to buy them.  Today tires are tubeless and compressed air is placed directly in the tire.  Back then tires had a rubber insert called an inner tube.  Compressed air was placed in this  inner tube and not directly in the tire.  If a tire got a hole in it another piece of rubber, perhaps from an old worn out tire was cut so that it was larger than the hole and placed in the tire before the inner tube as inserted.  This piece of rubber was called a boot.

It was very common for tires to go flat as the tire was punctured by a nail, rock or anything else.  When this happened the driver pulled off the side of the road and repaired the tire himself.  All cars carried jacks and tire irons.  At that time the jack was placed under an axle which required the driver to lie on the ground until the jack was placed squarely under the axle.  Then a crank was put in the jack and a screw like gear was turned until that corner of the car was raised.  Later jacks were made that fit under the bumper.  Today the bumpers of many cars are so flimsy it would bend or break with that much weight on it.

After the car was jacked up the wheel was removed.  The tire iron was used to remove one side of the tire from the rim or wheel.  The inner tube was then removed.  Efforts were made to find the hole in the inner tube.  You carried a patch can with you in the car.  The most popular brand was called Monkey Patch.  In the can were strips or patches of rubber and a can of glue.  The top of the can had bumps on it.  You took the top of the can and rubbed around the hole to clear it of dirt and to roughen the service so the glue would hold.  You placed glue around the hole and then the rubber strip or patch on the glue and waited for the glue to dry.  You then put the inner tube back in the tire, used the tire iron to put the edge of the tire back on the wheel or rim and then used a hand pump to put air back in the tire.  That was called a cold patch.  When the tire was pumped up you lowered the jack and placed the jack, handle or crank, pump, tire iron and can back in the trunk of the car and you were on your way.  Later a patch was developed that had an inflammable substance made into the patch.  When you had the patch over the hole you lit it with a match and the patch adhered (you hoped) to the inner tube.  This was called a hot patch.

There was also a process called retreading.  If the tire had a hole in it or was very worn but the sides were good, a layer of rubber was placed over the tire under extreme heat to place a new tread on the tire.

From our home in Coleman to San Saba it was not unusual to have two or three flat tires that had to be repaired usually on the side of the road.  If you were fortunate to have a spare tire you could put that on the car and take your flat tire to a service or filling station for repair.