Dassel man bought the vehicle twice; he and his wife took it to both their senior prom and 30th class reunion
By Bill Vossler
Phil and Jackie Tipka of Dassel were high school sweethearts who became husband and wife shortly after graduation. And old cars has always been part of their relationship. One car in particular, a 1960 Packard 160, has held special meaning for the couple.
When Phil was 16, he bought a 1937 Chevy Sedan. It was his first car.
When Phil and Jackie were juniors at Litchfield High School, Phil caught wind of another car... the Packard.
“My buddy found it over by Eden Valley and so went over and bought it for $100,” said Phil, who worked as a caddie at the local golf club to pay for the vehicles. “When I looked at it, it had no plates and no title, so I came back a week later and they had a title.”
Phil said there was talk around town that his car and others at the location where it was purchased was being used to store and sell vehicles that had been used by “the mob.” He said is “fairly sure” that his Packard had been owned by the mob, but has never been able to completely prove it.
Phil and his buddies spent many hours riding around in it. And of course, he and his girlfriend, Jackie, would go out for lots of cruises.
“We always liked to cruise around Lake Ripley,” said Phil. “A lot of people would do that.”
One special occasion that Phil and Jackie drove to was the Litchfield High School Senior Prom.
In the fall after graduation, Phil and Jackie were married in Litchfield. A short time later, Phil was drafted by the U.S. Army, and spent a year in Vietnam. While Phil was away, he stored the Packard at his father’s place.
In 1969, Phil was discharged from the Army and the couple moved to Buffalo, Minn. Months later, Jackie learned that she was pregnant. Although it only cost $500 to have a baby in 1969, that was a lot of money for the young couple. The only thing they could think to do was to sell the Packard, said Phil. A collector of old cars from Buffalo stopped over and bought it for $350.
“I didn’t regret selling it right away, because I knew we needed it for our baby, but I always knew where who had it,” said Phil.
Nearly a decade had passed when Phil and Jackie moved to Dassel, Minn., They now had two sons and a daughter.
Throughout these years, Phil never got over his love for old cars. He bought a 1931 Chevy Sedan, and he and his boys started restoring 1967 Camaros... but he never forgot his Packard.
As the years passed, Phil would run into the man who bought his Packard. He would ask, but the car wasn’t for sale. That is until 1993. The man who owned the Packard was ready to sell, but he would only sell to Phil. They agreed on a price ($7,500), and the Packard was Phil’s once again.
The man had parked the Packard in his garage and never touched it.
“It was in a shed, which was good, but animals had been sleeping in (the Packard) so there was a lot of work to do on it when I bought it,” he said.
The original title was still in Phil’s name. He said he rationalized out the price as if he had paid $25 a month for storage all those years.
In 1995, with Phil and Jackie’s 30 year class reunion coming up, Phil had an idea. He thought it would be fun if they would drive the Packard with his lovely bride to the reunion. Since Litchfield is a small town, and everyone knew everyone, he figured most of them would remember the car. Not only that, but Phil said many of them had ridden in it at one point, including 13 people in one night!
He and other friends spent many hours working on the car in the days leading up to the reunion. The night before, the car looked beautiful, but a test run revealed some mechanical issues. It quickly became a “community project” he said. Phil, his friend Jerry Danielson, and several others worked up until an hour before the reunion getting the car ready. The Packard was up in running in time and performed well.
Sometime during the work on the Packard, Phil discovered that Jackie’s prom dress was hanging in her mother’s closet, and Jackie could still fit into it. Phil spent hours trying to convince her that she should wear it to the reunion... and she finally agreed, but only if Phil would wear his tuxedo.
So, 30 years after their high school prom, Phil and Jackie went back to their high school reunion in the same car, and wearing the same dress.
The car was big hit with all their classmates, said Phil, and after the reunion, many friends went for a ride around the lake just like in their high school days.
In the years since, Phil has had the pleasure of chauffeuring his daughter to her senior prom in the Packard, and also several friends after their weddings. In July of 1997, he even had the honor of driving Chubby Checker to Annandale to a concert.
Over the years, Phil and Jackie would take the Packard out for a spin many times, occasionally to a car show.
“I still go to shows, but I don’t bring the Packard,” said Phil. “After one show I was coming home and just got it into the garage before it started to hail. It was close. Too risky.”
Phil has a handful of Packards now, but most of them are parts vehicles. He said he plans to pass on the Packard to one of his sons. His other son already owns a Packard, a similar model but it his was one of the first to have the luxury of air conditioning. As for his daughter, she will be receiving one of his 1967 Camaros. Phil and his sons have restores several of those over the years.
Phil and Jackie were married for nearly 58 years. Jackie passed away about one year ago.
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