A man’s 51-year love affair with a car ends when ‘Old Blue’ burns outside his condo
A fire that destroyed four cars parked at a Bradenton condominium last week also broke the heart of one of the owners.
Among the cars destroyed was a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible, nicknamed “Old Blue,” that Patrick Guinan, 76, had owned a since buying it new in Michigan for $4,200 in 1970.
The car was destroyed when a fire roared through a covered parking area in Pinebrook Ironwood Golf Club on March 11, destroying Old Blue, a car with many miles and many stories.
Guinan, a retired Southeast High School teacher and former member of the Bradenton City Council, drove the Olds to school throughout his 35-year teaching career and drove it through city streets in local parades.
When he and his wife bought the car, it was winter and very cold in Michigan. They were so delighted to have a convertible, they put the top down, turned on the heater and drove it home to show off to neighbors.
Probably his most memorable story involves getting a flat tire while taking his wife to the hospital to have their first child. Guinan quickly changed the tire, and then discovered he had locked his keys in the trunk. The couple had to flag down a passing motorist to take the mom-to-be into town, while he stayed with the car. By the time Guinan arrived at the hospital, their first child had already arrived.
Of all the ways that Guinan imagined that might spell the end of Old Blue, he never imagined it would be in a fire while parked outside his condominium.
“I heard the fire engine, and couldn’t believe it. I came out, looked out the door and Old Blue was one ball of fire,” Guinan said. “I was devastated. I got so sentimental. It has been with me every day for 51 years. I know it’s kind of silly but you get really attached to something like that. Everybody identified me with Old Blue.”
The Bradenton Fire Department, and departments from West Manatee and Cedar Hammock responded to the fire in the 3800 block of Ironwood Lane. Damage to the four cars and parking space was estimated at $175,000.
Bradenton Fire Inspector Teri Pierson on Tuesday said that while the fire is still under investigation, she could confirm that it was accidental and not arson. The fire is believed to have started with another vehicle under the canopy and spread to the others. Old Blue was the last one to catch fire.
While the fire was unfortunate, it could have been worse, Pierson said..
“Nobody was hurt and everybody went home,” she said.
Guinan taught English and American government at Southeast High School and also served four years on the city council. His political career might have been longer, except he ran against former mayor Bill Evers.
Niles Williams, a friend and long-time colleague from his days at Southeast, served as treasurer for Guinan when he ran for city council in 1980, and again four years later when he ran for mayor.
“He won in a landslide,” Williams said of Guinan’s run for city council. But when he ran against Evers, who ultimately served 20 years as mayor, “he lost in a landslide,” Williams previously told the Herald.
Since retiring Guinan has published several books, including “West Roaring Brook and Other Poems.”
During the 1960s, Guinan took a six-month break from college to go to New Orleans where he worked in a small library near the French Quarter. His experience with young people there help pushed him toward a teaching career.
After earning a bachelor of science degree from Eastern Michigan University, he taught in Michigan for a few years.
It was while visiting his parents in Bradenton and looking for something to do, that he decided to visit a local school campus and came away with a job offer that brought him to Southeast High School.
“I see my old students all the time and it’s a thrill. I realized I had been there a long time when one of my students raised their hands and said my grandmother had you,” Guinan told the Herald in 2010. “I came to Southeast as a kid, and then I was the oldest person there.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 2:49 PM.
