Rosie: lady with a past

Press, 19 April 1986, Page 20

Rosie: lady with a past

Rosie Studebaker — an Auto Biography. By Jack Hoven. Rosie Books, 201 Darraghs Road., Tauranga, 1986. 144 pp. (Reviewed by A. J. Petre) This is a book about a man, written by a car. The car has been putting up with the man’s foibles, failings, enthusiasms and disappointments for about 30 years. A lot happens to a man in that time. A lot happens to a car, too, as it helps its owner to set up a business, raise a family, and cope with the triumphs and tragedies of life. Rosie is a 1923 Studebaker light six. She is a lady of considerable character. Rosie served her first owner faithfully for nearly 30 years, but a few years later, in the mid-50s, she was dumped in an orchard and left to rot. Just because she wouldn’t start —

something that was hardly surprising, since her battery was flat. It looked like the end for Rosie, until she spotted this impecunious young fellow, Jack Hoven. Hoven quickly fell for Rosie’s faded charms, and $l5 later, he was her owner.

Thus started a life of excitement and adventure for Rosie. Jack did some pretty strange things at times, but Rosie looked after him, and helped without grumbling when he used her to start a commercial cleaning business, later a shop and, of course, a family.

Jack’s desire to do his best for Rosie, and to keep her looking her best, led him to join the Vintage Car Club. That was to change life dramatically for both Rosie and Jack. For Jack’s growing family too, come to that.

Now Rosie is a veteran of many vintage rallies, including the 1986 Pan Pacific Rally that brought hundreds of delightful veterans of the road on to Christchurch streets. She is one of several Studebakers in Jack’s big garage, and her future is firmly assured.

This is a delightful little book, and one of those rare volumes that can bring a lump to the throat from time to time. There have been few better explanations of how and why the vintage-car bug bites, and how those bitten are "hooked” for life. It is also written in a way that crosses age boundaries: Rosie’s tale will bring pleasure to all ages. Well done, Rosie. Jack must be green with envy at your efforts.