Plenty of drivers look back fondly on their old vehicles, appreciating either the memories attached to them or the style that comes with a classic car.

One Waterloo man recently got a heavy dose of automobile nostalgia as his family gifted him a 1962 Mercury Meteor, a car that’s long been dear to him.

Lucille Ohms spoke with the Republic-Times to recount how her children recently fulfilled a longtime dream for her husband Bill.

The couple have always lived in the area, as they’re both originally from Randolph County.

Lucille said they met through a mutual friend from the convent in Ruma, and they got married and moved to Waterloo after dating for a few years.

Prior to their marriage, Bill purchased his first Meteor – his second car – in 1962.

Lucille recalled how her father hadn’t given her the chance to learn how to drive even as she grew up on a farm, and driver’s ed at the convent only consisted of a textbook at the time, so she actually learned how to drive behind the wheel of that Meteor.

“It was neat that he was able to help me, coach me in learning,” Lucille said.

Time passed and the couples’ lives went on, with Lucille running her own drapery business in the area and Bill serving in the United States Air Force for four years, later working at the Republic-Times.

Though they wound up replacing the Meteor, the car clearly left an impression on Bill as he occasionally mentioned considering purchasing one should the opportunity arise.

His talk of the car also caught the attention of the Ohms’ kids and family – particularly their son Sherman, who led the effort to find a model.

“I know Bill has talked several times years ago about wanting to find another Meteor, and Sherman kept that in mind, and he actually has been looking for this car since 2017 at different auctions,” Lucille said.

Back in May of this year, around the time of the Firebird Fest car show, her family reached out to ask if Bill would still be interested in a Meteor as Sherman managed to find one on the auction website Bring a Trailer.

Pooling their funds, the car was hauled from Kansas City – the owner attaching a letter noting she’d like to be contacted should they plan on selling the vehicle later – and parked in  their son-in-law’s garage.

The Meteor was then taken to V8 Speed and Resto Shop in Red Bud for inspection as well as some work to make sure it was safe to drive.

Lucille said the car is in decent condition. With no body work done, it does have a couple dings and scratches, as expected.

The car was returned to the garage in Waterloo, with the family doing some light work on it themselves in the way of cleaning and replacing the upholstery and flooring.

Sherman also had license plates ordered for the vehicle, which led to a small hurdle for Lucille as the plates were delivered by FedEx right to Bill.

Quick thinking on her part kept him from getting too suspicious, and she was able to swipe the car’s title from the mailbox when it got delivered without him noticing.

The family kept the secret quiet for some time, with the big reveal finally happening Oct. 13 at Salt and Honey Bistro in Waterloo.

Family came in from all over, with their excuses for stopping by the house ranging from PumpkinFest to visiting a friend from college.

That Saturday was rather busy at the Ohms’ house as they hosted family with a meal of chicken and dumplings. Bill was still kept in the dark even as friends stopped by Sunday to chat and enjoy coffee and breakfast.

Then came the surprise.

“He was so astounded. He actually couldn’t speak for several minutes,” Lucille said. “Hands to his mouth, he actually had tears. It was so worth it to me to have held this secret from him.”

Lucille proved to be a bit surprised herself as she came to realize just how much the Meteor meant to her husband.

“It’s kind of what he’s talked about a lot in the last three weeks,” Lucille said.

She expressed thanks to her kids for handling the process, both the purchasing and the work that was done on the vehicle.

They, with her urging, did shy away from getting a whole new engine for the Meteor given the tremendous cost, though she’s hopeful about how long it should keep running.

Lucille expects it to be well-loved and used rather than just kept as a display car.

“I don’t think he’s gonna run it down the road at 80 miles an hour, so it could last 10 miles and it could still last another 10,000 miles,” Lucille said.