Tribute to Mom (Cox employee in the early sixties)

It must have been hard raising a family with three boys in the sixties but when dad got hurt and required surgery, Mom stepped up to the plate and got a job at Cox in Santa Ana, Ca. (which was only a few miles from the house) to help with the bills. I'm not sure what she did there or even how long she worked there (I was about 10 and she's not around to ask anymore ) but what I do know is that every time Cox came out with a new airplane or car, all the employees got to bring one home!
A few weeks ago I got the urge to see what was left so I climbed up into the attic to find out. They were covered in dust and baked on castor oil and most of the engines were froze up as well. You have to realize that #1) They are 50 plus years old, #2) They survived 3 different moves and one was to Arkansas and back, and #3) They have been in my scorching hot attic for 35 years!  As you can imagine, the Curtiss Pusher took the biggest hits. It's still missing some parts that I haven't been able to find. The Comanche has a broken wing tip, the Spook plastic film shrunk from the heat and pulled away from the glue, the Mercedes front shock mounts are broken and need repair and well, you get the picture. I'm still looking for my PeeWee tie clasp that I was so proud to wear to church. We weren't the kind of kids that kept them in the box and collected them, we used the heck out of them, had so much fun and created great family memories. Here's some pics of how they turned out.
Thanks Mom for everything.        Rest in Paradise.......                 Elsie Marie Haller (1921-2009)

Happy memories are wonderful.

Clean those up so you can enjoy them more!

Phil