KATE NEWTON Art Deco is always a blast from the past but this year's celebrations have already brought car enthusiasts Gordon and Shirley Vogtherr more history than they ever expected. Yesterday the Hastings couple were reunited with the first car they bought as a married couple, more than 50 years ago, thanksto a stroke of luck. The 1927 Lea Francis has been on display at the Napier and Hastings HBS branches for the 75th anniversary of the Hawke's Bay quake. HBS funding manager Kevin Smith did some investigating into the car's history and, to his surprise, found a previous owner was one of his customers. And, coincidentally, the former owner was Gordon Vogtherr, who dropped in to do his banking the very next day. Mr Vogtherr was astonished when Mr Smith told him about the coupe and was eager to see the car that had been hidden away for 30 years. The emotional reunion brought back memories of putting the engine in the car after he bought it and of teaching his wife to drive. The Vogtherrs dug up photos taken of themselves in the car at the 1956 street parade when Hastings became a city. As the family expanded the car had to be sold and it has since undergone a paint job and a new awning. At the time of the earthquake the Lea Francis, one of six imported by a Havelock North garage (and believed to be the only one of its kind in New Zealand) was owned by Iona College headmistress Miss Stollery.
