1912 - A.O. Ringsrud gets a Ford Dealership - the first in
South Dakota.
1914 - Ronald Harrison Ringsrud was born
1926 - At 12 years of age Ronald got his own Model T
which he had all through high school. Later, Sherrif Fritz Pike, a
ladies man, percieved with great envy the upholstered back seat of
the Model T - Fritz was limited to the county sherrif department's
official motorcycle: a 4-cylinder in-line Henderson. It's hard
to be romantic on the skinny seat of a police motorcycle!.
The
Henderson
The only other motorcycle that Ronald had was an old Excelsior ("borrowed from the Smiths") that he ended up pushing more than riding!
1932-37 Ronald Harrison's college car was an old red
four-door Hupmobile with disk wheels that he got from Elk
Pointer Jim Walsh.
Dad,
what do you think? Was this the Hupmobile or was it the '38 Ford?
1938 For a year after college my Dad went to Minneapolis in
a '35 Ford. 
He
was quick to point out that this Ford had the new flathead V-8
introduced in 1932 by Henry Ford and was the hottest new thing to
happen in those years. His job was distributing liqour to grocerys,
bars and stores.
1939 War was looming in the distance and Ron, using his college military training, entered the Civilian Conservation Corps - the CCC. He went in with a new 1939 Chevrolet Coupe.
1941 Called into active duty for World War Two, Ron's father Knute sold the Chevrolet for a good price.
1946-1952 Several olive drab Jeeps later, Lieutenant
Ron returned and, in Sioux City, started a Kaiser Fraser
dealership.
1947 Somewhere in the streets of Sioux City, Iowa, Dorothy Polley and her wild sister Bonnie were driving around in a borrowed convertible singing songs like 'Dont Fence Me In' and 'Sioux City Sue'. She would later get asked to dance at a party by the man who would become my father.
1952-1956 This lasted for 6 years until he was called up on
reserves and sold the business. The family moved to an Army base in
Heidelburg, Germany. He kept a 1948 Kaiser from the dealership
and took it to Europe. 
That
car was the first Ringsrud Family car of that generation. Ronald said
it blew a rod and was fixed.
1956 Back in Sioux City, Iowa, the Kaiser was traded in for
a new Nash Rambler Wagon. 
I
remember being driven to Kindergarten in this car. Not, however, as
dreamy or idillic as this Nash brochure shows!
1959 The family moved to Falls Church, Virginia and Dad was promoted to Captain and worked in the Pentagon. The rambler was out and a new 1959 Plymouth was in.
1961 However, 2 years later, in an accident now remembered with great trepidation, Dad was hit by a Brick truck and totalled the car. We got a used Ford Coupe after that.
1962-1964 As our famliy was stationed in Panama and Puerto
Rico for these years, our car was a 1958 Ford Fairlane with
the new 352 cubic inch V-8 engine.
I
remember Dorothy had a rather heavy foot driving this car around.
1966 This Fairlane was brought to Lt. Colonel Ringsrud's
new tour of duty: Professor of Military Science at the campus of Ole
Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. It was immediately traded for a white
1963 Ford Galaxy four-door.
This
photo was taken at the ROTC Building at Ole Miss in 1966.