Pastor Mark Woodward still has the Mercedes Benz that his father, Mark T. Woodward, principal of Robbinsdale Junior High, bought new in 1961. Mark T. saved and saved to buy that brand new Mercedes Benz. He had grown up as a farm boy and respected good machinery. He felt the car was well designed mechanically, and liked the quality of the well-built, well-engineered car.
Mark T. and a Navy buddy made a trip to Fargo, N. Dak., for a good deal on the Mercedes; the car ended up costing around $3,000. The new car claimed the space in the family’s one car garage. Mark T. usually walked to school instead of taking the car out in bad weather. The car was not extensively used, but made many trips for family visits to Iowa.
The 1961 Mercedes is a 4-speed, manual transmission. Pastor Mark remembers that his mother did not like driving the manual shift car; she preferred to drive her automatic Chevy Impala. Mark T. made sure the engine heater was on for the Impala and cleared the snow and ice so the Mercedes could stay cozy in the garage.
As Pastor Mark grew up, the Mercedes began to show signs of age and rust. Mark T. met Kurt Pohlman, an immigrant German mechanic who knew Mercedes cars “backwards and forwards.” Pohlman took care of the Mercedes for the Woodwards.
In 1977 Mark T. hired Pohlman to completely restore and totally repaint the Mercedes. At that time Mark T. was dealing with recurring cancer; fortunately, he was able to see the refurbished car come home before he passed away in 1978. Mark T. had wanted his son to take the car. Pastor Mark and his mom talked about the Mercedes after Mark T.’s death, but they decided not to sell the car, and kept it for the sentimental connection.
Pastor Mark drove the car to Hamline where he was attending college; he felt uneasy having the car parked in a public area, however. He ended up buying a ‘76 Nova and rented a storage garage for the Mercedes.
When Pastor Mark married his wife Deanna, also a pastor, the Mercedes followed them through moves to Preston, Rochester, Eyota and back to Preston, always landing up in a garage.
In September 1988, Deanna and Pastor Mark brought their first baby girl home from Methodist Hospital in the old car. Pastor Mark reminisced, “That old car glided along Highway 52 heading toward Preston as autumn colors were radiant against a bright blue sky … I remember it vividly!”
As the couple’s children Laura and Amy came along; life got busy and the car was driven less and less, spending its time in storage.
When Pastor Mark was living in Eyota, he lived across the street from Steve Erickson.
Erickson, a former Mayo HVAC specialist, got the Mercedes running again. Pastor Mark called Erickson, “A blessing, an absolute genius!”
After returning to Preston, Pastor Mark’s wife Deanna later proved to be a catalyst to fix up and use the car more. Deanna, who passed away last year, had told Mark, “You know that car’s not a paperweight!” Pastor Mark took the car to Justin Jones and Craig Bond at Preston Service Plus and asked them to give the car a thorough going over.
The car still ran rough; the carburetor had issues so Pastor Mark returned the car to Erickson who currently works extensively on Jaguars and Volkswagens. Erickson was able to fix the carburetor and rebuild the master cylinder, using the internet to hunt down parts. The Mercedes was finally roadworthy after some new brakes.
“Old Blue is very basic, a four-speed, crank windows, no air conditioning,” Pastor Mark declared. When asked why it was called “Old Blue,” Mark replied, “Well, it’s old and it’s blue!”
Old Blue has been in a few parades and was at the Preston Show and Shine Car Show in 2024. Parades are too slow and are hard on Old Blue’s clutch so Old Blue probably won’t be in many more parades.
Pastor Mark credits Kurt Pohlman, Steve Erickson and Preston Service Plus for the great work they have done to get Old Blue running today. Pastor Mark is looking forward to being able to take his grandkids out for a ride in Old Blue this year. With only 62,000 miles on Old Blue, it should be ready for a lot more enjoyable family rides. His goal is to simply enjoy this inheritance as long as possible and share it with his family.
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