World Water Day

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Today, on World water Day 2021, the United Nations hope you’d want to dwell upon the importance of water and ‘Water and Climate Change' in particular – it’s this year’s theme. Water surely means different things to different people, and in some ways, maintaining or restoring a classic car is pretty much a struggle against water. Or rust, to be more precise.

But car owners have been treated to different water-related struggles in the past, and coming back to the climate change thing, we thought these pictures would be particularly fitting for today. They date back to March 1938, when parts of California were besieged by the water due to a flood. This was caused by a pair of Pacific storms, sweeping inland across the LA Basin and causing extraordinary rainfall across much of the southern California coast. When the storm finally ended on March 3, the damage was enormous and people who’d fled their houses returned to pick up the pieces and dig out their cars.

The main picture seen here was taken on that day and it shows William L. Griffin shovelling out the family car in Fernlane Street, Los Angeles, in tie and good shoes, while son Lloyd and a friend watching safely from the car’s roof wearing Wellies! It made us think of another great Randy Newman song once more… Think of that when you drink a glass of water or a cup of coffee today.

Words by Jeroen Booij. Pictures JH McCrory / Los Angeles Times.

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