I’m sure most of us have experienced something amazing, something that could only happen after a sequence of events takes place. Here a story of something incredible that happened to me last August.

I purchased my ’59 Biarritz in July ’03 from my friend Ron in PA. Although the car was red, Ron said he believed the original color was white because there was some evidence of white paint in the convertible top well. This was confusing because the color on the body tag was code 50 (red). Ron went on to say that he thought the previous owner painted the car red and had a new body tag made with the matching paint code. It was extremely disappointing to find out that the car was missing the original body tag. I ordered the original build sheet from Cadillac Historical Services and it confirmed the car was originally white.

I decided that I would try to find out if the original tag still existed. Ron said he bought the car from a guy in NY and gave me his name. I called a few times before I finally reached him. He claimed he had sent the original tag to the guy who reproduced the new one and he did not receive it back. At first, he was reluctant to tell me who this person was that reproduced the tag, but eventually he told me. When I called the guy, he said he had never received the original body tag. It seemed likely that the guy in NY had sold the tag. At this point, I felt that I hit a dead end. I now had little hope that I would ever find the original.

Fast forward to 2009:

One of the better Cruise Night gatherings during the summer is at Fuddruckers on Rt. 22 in Bridgewater. They draw quite a crowd every Tuesday night and you are always guaranteed to see a few RRR members. I try to attend every week and usually meet Jay Raskin along the way, sometimes Ray Koziol joins us, and we caravan over together. It was a beautiful Tuesday night in August so I decided to take my ‘59 Biarritz, which I don’t usually do.

Soon after we arrived, my cell phone rang, and it was a fellow that I purchase ’59 parts from. He said he was on Rt. 22 and asked if I was at Fudd’s. I told him I was, so he decided to stop by. He lives about 45 minutes away and had never been to the Fudd’s Cruise before but remembered me talking about it. He walked over to my Biarritz, took a walk around and then glanced at the body tag. He did a double take and turned to me and said, “I think there’s a Biarritz for sale on eBay with the same body number”. I asked how he could remember the body number of a car on eBay. He said “I could be wrong, but I remember looking at the number”.

When I returned home, I searched for the car on eBay but couldn’t find the listing. The auction had already ended. So, I searched under completed listings and found the ad, the very last picture showed the body tag. I couldn’t believe that I was actually looking at the original body tag for my car. I studied the rest of the pictures and noticed the car was missing an option that was standard on Eldo’s so, it appeared to be a 62 series made to look like an Eldo. There was a phone number in the ad so I called the guy and asked how my body tag could end up on his car. He offered no explanation and abruptly said “the car is sold”. When I told him that I would call the State Police, he became a little more cooperative. He said if I could prove the body tag belonged to my car, he would send it to me. So, I made copies of the build sheet with my VIN number on it, a copy of the original Owners Protection Policy booklet with the VIN on it, and I also took a picture of the VIN stamped on the frame. I sent him all of the information and I received my original body tag within a week. So, this unlikely sequence of events brought the body tag back to where it belonged!

Antique and classic car owners often wonder about the ownership history of their cars.  I was fortunate to find the original Owners Protection Policy booklet in the glove compartment of my ’59 Eldorado Biarritz. The owner’s name was Shirley Buchanan Anderson. Curiosity finally got the best of me, so I spent some time researching who she was. Here is a snapshot of her life as well as interesting details about the ownership beyond Shirley Buchanan.

1921: Shirley Mae Quickstad was born in Hettinger, North Dakota on April 9^th. She resided there with her two older siblings and her parents, originally from Minnesota and descendants of Norway.

1943:  She moves to Hollywood and begins to use the name Shirley Buchanan.

1947: Is heralded Boat Show Queen of the Los Angeles National Boat Show.

1950: Is Queen of the Lakewood Park $10,000.00 Invitational and demonstrates a new putting stroke with pro Joe Robinson. She marries Fleischmann Food’s heir, Bill Holmes.

1951: Plays a role in the movie “Two Tickets to Broadway.” Is also a guest on Art Linkletter’s prime-time ABC-TV show “Life with Linkletter.”

1952: Introduces the new De Soto Fire Dome V-8 motor at the Los Angeles Auto Show

1953:  Is Queen of the Los Angeles Home Show and now holds over 20 beauty Queen titles. Is a guest on Harry Babitt’s TV show “Glamour Girls”

1954: Plays a role in the movie “The French Line” Was on the cover of British magazines “Blighty” and “Reveille”

1955: Plays a role in the movie “Son of Sinbad.” Her spouse, Bill Holmes, is frequently seen with actress Anne Francis.

1956: Plays a role in the movie “Meet Me in Las Vegas”. Spends six weeks in Nevada divorcing Holmes (they had two children together).

1957: Plays a role in the movie “The Garment Jungle,” Acted in many episodes of NBC-TV’s “Matinee Theater”. Is a guest on the Art Linkletter prime time TV show “People Are Funny”

1958: Plays roles in “Perry Mason” and “Dragnet”. She marries Arthur E. Anderson, owner of a Studio City golf course, and becomes Shirley Buchanan Anderson. They reside at a Sherman Oaks, CA residence valued at $60,000.

1956-1959: Is a page girl in the TV series “Queen for a Day”

1960: Her son, Carl M. is born on February 6^th.

1963: Promotes the Palm Springs Golf Classic

1970: Is among the celebrity models at the Auto Show Premiere. Also hosts a radio show that is broadcast from the Capital Records Tower.

Shirley Buchanan Anderson purchased a white/red ’59 Eldorado Biarritz from Dawn Motor Co in Trinidad, Colorado on April 21, 1959. Why she purchased the car in Colorado is a mystery. There is a stub in the Owners Protection Policy booklet that shows Casa de Cadillac in Sherman Oaks, CA preformed service on June 12^th, mileage was 2,882. Another service stub was filled out on June 22nd, mileage was 3,241 Shirley signed the dealer’s portion of the stub which they never collected, and is still in the booklet. Shirley wanted the car to look even flashier driving down Sunset Boulevard, so she had the car painted red about 6 months after she purchased it.

Shirley gave the car to her brother, ‘Dode’ Quickstad, in July of 1965. Dode flew to Sherman Oaks and drove the car back home to Hettinger, ND. Dode passed away in 1980 and his widow, Della, and Shirley, decided to sell the car to Bud and Verna Anfinson of Hettinger, who were long time friends of Shirley. The Anfinson’s 21 year old daughter, Stacie, won the title of Miss North Dakota and competed in the 1981-‘82 Miss America Pageant. Bud had magnetic signs made for the sides of the car that read “Miss North Dakota 1981-1982”. He proudly drove Stacie to many functions/appearances and parades. Although the car changed hands a couple of times after the Anfinson’s, the magnetic signs were still in the trunk when I purchased the car in 2003.

Stacie went on to lecture at over 25 conventions / civic organizations, sang at 20+ conventions and / or pageants and made over 50 TV / radio appearances. She co-chaperoned Miss ND 1982-83 and co-emceed the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon on KDIX TV, North Dakota.

Stacie now lives in Arizona and is a college professor. She owns S.A. Productions and performs 3-4 times a week as a vocalist and musician. She is also a judge for the Miss America pageants.

I recently made contact with Stacie, and her mother, who shared many details, not only about their ownership of the car, but also about Shirley Buchanan. Stacie’s mother remembered when Shirley called one day, very excited, because she had drove Dean Martin home from the studio in her new Biarritz.