September 23, 2022 - You may be like me in that when I think way back to my younger days I wonder how I stayed out of jail. Young men sometimes do things that are not exactly kosher. One such incident occurred in the spring of 1956 while I was attending Baylor University in Waco. Living in a private boarding house off campus with ten other young men did not help matters any.
One of my fellow boarders, a young man named Shackelford, owned a beautiful 1953 Buick convertible. We all loved to ride around in that vehicle with the top down feeling a little bit cocky and making the other guys envious. However, there was a devious side to Mr. Shackelford of which we were unaware. This side came to light as the result of a radio ad on a local Waco station.
A rather large service station sponsored a contest which basically stated that the first car with a certain mileage on the odometer would win a full tank of gasoline. As I recall the mileage had to be within ten miles of the number given, that is either five above or five under. When Shack heard this ad he sprang into action. “Hey, guys ! I can win that contest hands down”, he spouted. “I really need a full tank of gas in my car.”
We protested, “But Shack, the likelihood of your having the correct mileage on your odometer is slim to none.” He grabbed his jacket off the bed post and headed for the door. “Ya’ll coming with me or not?”, he queried. So, three of us hopped into the Buick to see what sort of plan he had hatched.
We drove for a few miles and finally located the service station running the contest. He studied it for a few minutes then said, “Let’s check the odometer from here back to the boarding house and see how far it is.” We did that and it was around seven miles.
Arriving back at the ranch Shack began rummaging around in his car trunk until he found an electric drill. We watched in amazement as he quickly removed the speedometer/odometer from his car and took it up to his room. “Now, let’s wait for the radio ad to tell us what the odometer reading is for today.” His devious plot was beginning to take shape.
We tuned in the radio station and listened intently for several hours. Finally the news we were waiting for came over the air waves. “Friends, the Mobil station at 7th and Broadway will give a full tank of gas today to the first driver who comes in with an odometer reading of 35,640 miles, or within five miles over or under. This offer is good between the hours of 4:00pm and 8:00pm today.”
Shack immediately went to work. With the skill of a surgeon he dismantled his speedometer/odometer, connected the electric drill to the bracket that controlled the mileage and began to spin the miles back rapidly. It only took a few minutes to reach the magic number and reset it to 35,633 miles. After reassembling the meter he announced, “Any of you guys want to go with me to the station?” I thought to myself Is the Pope a catholic? We all wanted to witness the execution of this plot.
The four of us drove into the Mobil station and stopped beside a gas pump. The attendant appeared and Shack said, “I am here to win the contest. See, I have exactly 35,640 miles on my odometer.” “Wow”, said the attendant. “I will have to get my boss” as he headed for the office.
The boss seemed surprised that anyone could actually claim this prize, however he filled up Shack’s gas tank with ethyl as he had requested. I think he was even given a cup and saucer as service stations used to do.
Well, we all had to admit that the devious plan worked perfectly. To our surprise he bragged, “I’m gonna do this again next week. It’s like taking candy from a baby.” “But what if you get caught? This must be against some kind of law”, we protested. “I’ll take my chances on that”, he boasted.
The next week came around again and Shack was ready. He had the speedometer/odometer disassembled on his table, radio turned to the proper station, and electric drill in hand. As soon as the mileage was announced, he again spun the numbers to within seven to account for the drive to the station. After re-installing the speedometer in his Buick he asked, “Anyone want to come with me?” I was quite apprehensive this time, but decided to tag along just to see what would happen.
Again, we drove into the station and parked by a gas pump. A different attendant appeared and was told that the car had the exact mileage that the contest required. However, this time, the boss was a little suspicious. He stared at us for a moment then asked, “Weren’t you in here last week with the right mileage?” Playing it cool, Shack responded, “Naw, wasn’t me. Never been here before.” Shack got his second tank of gas and another cup and saucer. Before we could leave the boss appeared with clipboard in hand. “Son, I want your name, address, and phone number. Also, I am recording your license plate number for future reference”, he bellowed.
A little shaken, we drove off and headed for home. “Boy, Shack, that was close. We could have been arrested”, I whined. “Well, they did not have any proof so we were in no danger of that”, Shack boasted. However, I noted that he never pulled that stunt again.
The last time I saw Shack was when he was in my wedding in 1958. Here’s to you, odometer man, wherever you are. I think the statue of limitation has expired on your devious crime in Waco by now. We can all relax.
