Note: The following is submitted by Claire Miller Jazwick, daughter of Dr. A.C. Miller, of Eunice. She graduated from the LSU School of Journalism and was deputy press secretary for Sen. J. Bennett Johnston for more than 10 years. She resides in Arlington, Virginia.
Miller was an OBGYN in Eunice for more than 50 years and then was an emergency room doctor at the Eunice hospital for 10 years until retiring at the age of 85.
Jazwick explained in an email, “... I sat down with my father and asked him how he got interested in this type of car and he began talking.”
By A.C. Miller, M.D.
I bought both of them in 1972. When I went to college at Loyola in New Orleans, in 1948, the Spanish Consulate was located across the street from school. There stood this beautiful dark green 1947 Continental. The consulate had a chauffeur that constantly polished it so that, when I looked at it, I could see myself in it like a mirror. I told myself, “one day I’m going to own a car like that.”
Later, when I moved back to my hometown of Eunice to begin my medical practice, a drug rep, with whom I shared a mutual interest in cars, told me that he saw a Lincoln that was identical, but it was dark blue. I had my doubts but he contacted the owner for me. It was a 1947 Lincoln Continental! And he wanted to sell it … said that his wife told him he had to sell it or she’d leave him! But there was a condition, he told me that I had to buy, not only the Continental, but also the 1948 Zephyr that he owned. He said he’d sell me both cars for $1,800. I was shocked. What a deal! So I gladly bought the entire package!
I brought the Lincoln home to Eunice where it stayed in the garage until my son, Cliff, and I started tearing it down in 1995. We took the whole thing apart, organized the parts and took pictures so we knew where everything went. Although I’d never done anything like this, I was familiar with the car because I was an auto mechanic from 1946 to 1948 — after I got out of the Navy and went to college —and before entering medical school.
Since we both worked full time, it took us over 10 years to restore it. We did this on the weekends and part time. We actually got in touch with the people who made the paint and they went into their archives and I got the formula from them. We then went to the local dealer and they produced the paint for us. My son learned how to spray and we made a clear plastic walled room in my shop where we individually sprayed all of the parts.
In the meantime, the Zephyr was still sitting in an upholstery shop in a nearby town where I had brought it in the 70s. It had been there for over 20 years. The wife of the shop owner called me to come and get it due to the aging condition of her husband (the upholsterer). Cliff, my son, and I went, put air in the tires, put the Zephyr on a trailer and brought it home. We stored it in my son’s garage, where it sat until a few years ago. When my son retired he got interested in it and he began to restore it.
Presently, both cars are in running condition and have participated in local parades and the occasional spin around town. My grandchildren especially like to take a ride with me — usually during the holidays when we are all together at my home.
The photos attached are of me and my son standing next to our respective cars. The big group is my family, including all of my children and grandchildren. These pictures were taken on Christmas Day, 2019. I took my grandchildren for a spin after we took the photos.
And, oh, by the way, I am 92 years old.