1961 Studebaker Lark

One of the more memorable cars that we owned was a 1961 Lark VI Taxi model that arrived on our doorstep back in early 1962. It was a two tone Black and Gold and was used as a Taxi in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

We did quite abit of traveling in those days with annual Camping trips thousands of miles away in Canada or the United States so we needed a reliable car that could fit 5 persons. It had the new OHV six cylinder engine that give you a total of 112 HP and with the Borg Warner Automatic Transmission it was a smooth car to drive along with good gas mileage

An unfortunate Grouse leaped in front of our car and become our dinner that night some where in the BC Interior

Back in 1962 we found ourselves driving the Lark up to Barkerville which is a old Gold Mining Town in North Central BC. The back roads were gravel back then and we didn’t hesitate driving down them in this car as it was solid.

One of our favourite stopovers was Vaseux Lake near Okanagan Falls BC

We did alot of camping back then because it was cheap. BC Provincial Campsites were free and so was the wood. No more great deals like that anymore. It wasn’t until the late 60s that Campsite cost money and now some places you need a second mortgage.

Camping at Lac La Hache BC - We weren’t the only one to have a Lark

In 1963 we traveled to Alberta to see the Canadian Rockies, visit the Alberta Game Game and also see the Calgary Stampede. We were staying at Chestermere Lake just outside of Calgary when hailstones as big as golf balls came down. We were soaked and decided to cut our visit short and headed back to more familiar territory - BC’s Okanagan Valley. Cars didn’t last long in our family because their was always a newer model or vehicle waiting to be bought. In early 1964 it was traded in for a 1963 Ford Pickup. It didn’t last long either as we find ourselves with a 1964 Studebaker Daytona less then a year afterwards.