When you searched for van options in the early 1960’s there were Volkswagen vans and the more commercial looking Chevy and Ford vans. VW Clearly had a product designed for transporting people. There was no caption information with this print from the Loyd Sandgren collection but it looks like this family needed all the seating they could get. This photograph was taken at the Brundage Motors dealership on Eight and Haines Streets in Jacksonville, Florida and the dealership obviously wanted to document the capabilities of their product.
Update: I received this wonderful note from Kimberly Hendriks that helps fill in the rest of this story.
“This is MY FAMILY! The parents are Manning and Martha Walters. We lived on the corner of Tallyrand and Beaver. Mrs. Walters worked for Sears downtown and Sgt. Walters was a recruiter in the Army. Six children lived nearby with their mother and became wards of the state and were taken into the Walters’ home with their own four children for four years. The Walters wanted to adopt us, but at that time it was impossible if the mother wouldn’t release custody. The Walters were transferred to California by the Army and Sgt Walters was sent to Vietnam. VW donated the use of this van to the family. The people in the picture are: (L-R) Anton, Roger, David, Michael Walters, Dawn, Patrick Walters, Pam and Kim (twins born in 1956), Dennis Walters, Lisa Walters, and parents Martha and Manning Walters.”
Thank you so much for sharing this! Hearing these kind of stories are what I really love about sharing the work of Loyd Sandgren. Bob Self/Vintage Jacksonville
Tags: 012910, brundage, cars, family, Family Van, historic photograph, transportation, Van, vintage photography, volkswagen, VW
