16 | SEPTEMBER 15 • 2022
ANTIQUE
PANEL TRUCK
Rachel Monahan wrote to
us about an antique panel
truck restoration project that
is itself an act of love. “My
grandfather is Milt Weinger.
My husband, Tim, and I
tracked down my great-
grandfather’s grocery van. It
is a 1950 Chevy Panel Van
that my grandfather, who
is now 96, used to drive for
deliveries for his father Bill’s
grocery store when he was
younger.” (See the William
Davidson Digital Archive of
Jewish Detroit History for
1940s advertisements for Bill
Weinger’s Fine Food Shoppe
on Seven Mile Road).
“We are working to
restore the van back to how
it looked in the 1950s,” she
continued. “Grandfather
was so happy to see it again!
However, he was upset that
it no longer had the family
name on it. We promised
we would repaint it in the
original color with the same
writing that it once had for
‘Weinger’s.’”
The most intriguing part
of this saga is how Rachel
and Tim played sleuths like
Sherlock Holmes to track
down the van. Rachel tells
the story: “The abandoned
van was found in a field and
ended up in the hands of a
man in Indiana. This man
sent my grandfather a letter
about the van a few decades
ago.
“When my husband and I
heard about this a few years
ago, we worked to track
this guy down, hoping that
he still had the van,” she
continued. “We kept in touch
over the years hoping that,
one day, he would sell it to
us. He ended up selling it to
someone else forgetting that
we wanted it. We were able
to contact the new owner,
and he sold it to us. It was so
exciting bringing it
home, back into the
family.”
We at the JN
hope that Rachel
and Tim will send
us a photo of the
final restoration of
grandfather’s panel
van.
Car culture is alive and
well in Detroit’s Jewish
community. The JN would
like to thank everyone for
sharing their car stories with
us.
OUR COMMUNITY
continued from page 15
Rachel and Tim Monahan
with Grandfather Milt
Weinger and their 1950
Chevy panel van.
The original condition
of the delivery van
Supported through the generosity of The Jewish Fund and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Family Foundation.
.org
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