Flory, J. Kelly, Jr. 1963- (John C. Flory, Jr.)

PERSONAL:

Born September 28, 1963, in Topeka, KS. Education: Washburn University of Topeka, A.A. S., 1987. Hobbies and other interests: Collecting automotive-related sales brochures, postcards, and model cars of almost any scale, collecting World's Fair memorabilia from Chicago, 1933-34, New York, 1939, and the San Francisco 1939 Golden Gate Exposition.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Overland Park, KS. E-mail—wydtrak@kc.rr.com.

CAREER:

Kay-Bee Toys, Topeka, KS, manager, 1981-97; Payless ShoeSource, Topeka, manager, 1997-99; Swiss Reinsurance, Overland Park, KS, senior accounting specialist, 2000—.

MEMBER:

Contemporary Historical Vehicle Association (assistant director for Sunflower region, 1988-93), Society of Automotive Historians, Pontiac-Oakland Club International.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Awards from Contemporary Historical Vehicle Association, 1990, for article "The Roaring '65s," 1992, for article "Welcome to 1967," 1995, for article "The 1973 Automobiles," and 1999, for article "1949, the Big Three's New Post War Car."

WRITINGS:

American Cars, 1960-1972, McFarland Publishing (Jefferson, NC), 2004.

American Cars, 1946-1959, McFarland Publishing (Jefferson, NC), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Action Era Vehicle.

SIDELIGHTS:

J. Kelly Flory, Jr., told CA: "I have enjoyed automobiles since I was a child, playing with Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. My mom remembers that I could identify almost every car by the age of three. I made my first writing effort when I was twelve, having spent hours typing up pages of information gleaned from the automobile sales brochures that I was already collecting. Pictures were cut out of the local newspaper to go with each car I wrote about. My aunt worked in a book bindery and, once I was ready, she bound my pages into a hardback book. At age fourteen, I acquired my first car, a 1958 Pontiac Chieftain Convertible, which my dad and I restored. I drove and enjoyed this car for twenty-eight years, selling it in 2005. Along the way I've continued to build on my automotive collection of scale models and die-cast models, sales literature, industry magazines, and factory-issued postcards. It is safe to say that my enjoyment of the automobile, its history and even its design, is my motivation for writing."