Model Ts run in the family of Arlington woman

ARLINGTON — Sarah Newberg never thought she’d fall in love with an old car.

Cars were her dad’s thing. He took rusty pieces and turned them into showroom-new Model Ts, driving them to exhibits and on tours around the county. She used to ride with him, ducking quickly if he hit the horn — which could sound like a wolf whistle — as they passed people. He loved to show off his collection, especially his carefully restored, teal-green 1927 Model T Touring.

Heading into surgery after a heart attack on Aug. 25, 2013, Lawrence “Larry” Garner was chatting about his Model Ts. He promised to take the hospital chaplain on a ride once he’d recovered.

Garner died in surgery. Doctors said his heart wasn’t strong enough. He was 77.

To family and friends, Garner’s heart seemed unfailingly strong. He was full of life, Newberg, 39, recalled. He went all-out for car shows, fundraisers and holidays. He loved Christmas and Father’s Day and drove one of his cars in just about every local parade or car show.

“It was so sudden,” Newberg said. “I don’t think people realize how suddenly a heart attack can happen.”

Several days later, his Model T Touring was parked in Newberg’s garage. Her dad wanted his favorite car to one day go to her son, Tyler, then 15.

“I couldn’t just let it sit there and do nothing,” Newberg said. “So I joined the Model T Club and learned to drive it.”

She’s been honing her driving skills for two years, learning the basics of Model T maintenance and showing her dad’s cars in the local car shows he frequented. She hopes to drive in next year’s Lake Stevens Aquafest parade once she masters stop-and-go braking. Her dad was in the parade every year from 1988 to 2012.

Garner also was a member of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Model T Club of America. They call themselves the T’Oilers. Newberg joined the group a month after his death, turning to fellow T’Oiler Jerry Wrolstad for driving lessons.

“Dad loved Model Ts so much and I think I always took for granted that he’d be here to teach me,” Newberg said. “Then after he died I got behind the wheel and just fell in love with it.”

Some lessons were harder than others. Like the time Newberg tried to reverse out of Wrolstad’s driveway in the Model T Touring. Wrolstad sat in the passenger seat and a friend rode in the back seat. Instead of easing backward, she shot forward, plowing into her instructor’s garage door.

After that, she started driving a different Model T. Her dad had three. His older brother now has his 1912 Model T Pickup. The 1927 Touring shares Newberg’s garage with a 1923 Roadster. Newberg affectionately calls the roadster Molly, and that’s the one she drives.

Driving a Model T helps her feel close to her dad. He taught her to ride a bicycle and drive a car. He was her mechanic whenever something went wrong. When she was 21 and ran over a median in Snohomish, flattening three of four tires, her dad showed up to rescue her in the middle of the night, wearing jeans, a pajama top and a black cap to ward off the chill.

Larry Garner’s wife, Roni, didn’t expect Newberg to become a Model T fan. Their daughter wasn’t interested in cars as she was growing up. And driving was always a bit of a hurdle.

One of the first things Newberg learned to steer was a little red riding lawnmower. She was 12 or 13 and her dad wanted her to learn to mow their large back yard.

Roni Garner laughs as she remembers the day.

“Sarah closed her eyes and yelled, ‘Help! Help! Help!’” she said.

She crashed into a tree. Her dad never asked her to mow the lawn again.

Newberg was a girly-girl and didn’t like getting dirty. Roni Garner was surprised when her daughter helped push Molly out of storage.

“You just never thought she’d do it,” she said.

She’s been surprised before, though. When her husband bought his first Model T, she thought he was getting a car, not a trailer full of pieces. She didn’t think he’d ever finish putting them together.

Roni Garner hasn’t taken a ride in a Model T since her husband died. She doesn’t want to go without him.

Newberg hopes to change her mom’s mind.

She wrote a book about her experiences and her bond with her dad. Self-published in June, it’s called “The Model T in Me” and she sells it for $27 in paperback or $10 for electronic readers on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

“Dad would have been thrilled,” Newberg said. “I believe he can see me.”

Molly, the 1923 Roadster, won her first trophy at a local car show on June 15, 2014. That was Newberg’s first Father’s Day without her dad.

On Aug. 25, 2014, friends at Sunrise View Retirement Center where her dad worked put together the Larry Garner Memorial Car Show. They raised $300 for the American Heart Association. Another show is planned for Aug. 22.

A lot of people remember her dad and his Model T’s, Newberg said.

“He loved life. He loved talking to people. He loved parades. He was just so happy,” she said. “When I was writing the book, I never knew why I called it ‘The Model T in Me.’”

Now, nearly two years after losing her dad and learning to love his favorite hobby, she understands.

“It’s the happy in me,” she said.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.

Into Model Ts?

To learn more about Model T’s or to join the Puget Sound Model T Club, visit www.pugetsoundmodeltclub.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.