Love story

Lee and Pam Schlenvogt recently purchased a new car — an old car, really — a 1966 Chrysler Newport convertible.

It’s a  car that the Town of Port Washington couple seems destined to own, an automobile that embodies their past and present.

It is, after all, the car Lee fell in love with as a young man, the car they drove off from the church in after they were married, the car they used to take rides in with their two young daughters and with Lee’s parents, Earl and Arlene.

It’s a car they sold 17 years ago when they realized they weren’t using it very much, and a car that they decided quickly to buy back when the man they sold it to asked if they wanted it back.

“There are so many memories in that car,” Pam said.

The car started its life in the possession of a woman in Milwaukee, then was purchased by Lee’s good friend Paul Miller.

“I always liked that car,” Lee said. “She’s a beauty. I always told Paul, ‘If you’re ever going to sell it, I would like to buy it.’ I told him that for years.”

The car was special, he said. 

“It’s unique because of the color and the shape and the length,” Lee said. “And it was a convertible. I always wanted a convertible.”

Like many cars of its day, it’s big with a powerful engine that has a throaty sound. The color, cream, is unusual for a car but apropos for a man who spent the bulk of his life as a dairy farmer. 

About a month before Lee and Pam married on Aug. 16, 1985, Pam heard that Miller was thinking about selling the car.

“I told him I would buy it but don’t tell Lee. It’s going to be his wedding gift,” Pam said.

She bought the car and stored it at Lee’s cousin Wally’s garage in Milwaukee. 

“Everybody knew he was getting that car for a wedding present but Lee,” Pam said, noting she asked friends and relatives if they thought he would appreciate the gift.

Then Lee found out that Miller had sold the car.

“He came up to me one day and said, ‘I sold the convertible,’” Lee said. “I was so angry. I wanted to take him out of the wedding party.”

“It was personal for him,” Pam said. “He cursed Paul out a couple times for selling the car out from under him.”

Miller remained in the wedding party, and after the ceremony at Friedens Church in Port Washington Pam blindfolded her groom and led him down the steep stairs lined with guests on the east side of the church to Harrison Street, where the car, appropriately decorated for the occasion, waited with a sign “To Lee,  With Love On Our Wedding Day, Pam” on the side.

“I started to put things together when we were going down the stairs,” Lee said, adding that he thought Miller might have loaned them the car for their wedding day.

“I kind of thought it could possibly be. Why else would you blindfold someone and go down stairs?” he said. 

When he saw the car, “he was pretty shocked,” Pam said. “I think the crowd of people there enjoyed it as much as Lee.”

Lee then spied Miller in the crowd and said, “OK, I forgive you now,” Pam recalled.

Through the years, the couple enjoyed the car, riding around with the top down in summers, heading to the Port lakefront to watch the fireworks with their daughters Melissa and Megan in the backseat, even participating in area parades.

But as time went on and their lives became busier, they used the car less and less. Finally, in 2004, they decided to sell it.

“Lee was reluctant all along, but in our minds it was the right thing to do,” Pam said.

They sold it to James Jahnke of Abrams, who received not only the car but the three large boxes of spare parts — everything from an extra windshield and transmission to hubcaps, chrome pieces and owners manuals — that they received from Miller when Pam bought it.

“Through the years, if we would see a convertible, Lee would comment, ‘I wonder if I made the right decision,’” Pam said.

Then, about six weeks ago, Lee received a call from Jahnke, who told him a familiar tale, “I’m going to sell the car. Our grandkids are grown and we just don’t use it much anymore.  I want to know if you want to buy it back. I’ll give you first choice.”

It didn’t take long for Lee and Pam to decide to buy the car, which they said was in about the same shape as when they sold it, except Jahnke had replaced the upholstery, carpet and brakes.

“I was just amazed at the shape it was in,” Lee said. “We took it for a ride and it was exactly the same.”

So they bought the car again. Lee didn’t want to drive it home on the freeways, so he made arrangements to have it towed on Aug. 20. There was just one glitch.

Lee’s cousin, who was picking it up, called to ask, “How long is that car?” When told it was 18 feet, he said he couldn’t do the job. His trailer was only 16 feet long.

Lee headed up to Mueller Sales and Service in Random Lake, where he was able to rent a trailer that would accommodate the car, then picked up his nephew Eric and they headed north to bring the convertible — and the three boxes of spare parts — home.

They kept it at Lee’s brother Alan’s house, and two days later had a family gathering with their daughters to celebrate Lee and Pam’s anniversary, their daughter Melissa’s anniversary and daughter Megan’s upcoming wedding.

After dinner, Lee excused himself and drove the car to his home on Highway H. He and Pam asked if the family wanted to see their anniversary gift to each other, then led them outside.

“There was a scream, and three times they said, ‘I can’t believe you got the car back,” Lee said. 

They went for a family ride, and said their 15-month old granddaughter Charlotte was amazed.

“She kept looking up like where’s the roof,” Lee said.

They took the car to Miller’s house to tell them what had transpired, and he “checked the engine and kicked the tires” before making a simple request.

“He said to me, ‘If you ever want to sell it, let me know,’” Lee said.

That won’t happen, Pam said. 

“We’re glad to have it back where it belongs,” she said. “We didn’t buy it to sell it again. We’re looking forward to having fun with it again, to creating more memories. It’s going to stay in the family.”