Under the Hood of the love and legacy in this Ford Galaxie 500

With miles of memories and love on the odometer, this classic Ford continues to run on love even after one party has passed on.

Wendy Friesen Koethler owns this 1967 Ford Galaxie 500. While the forest green body paint and white roof are a little faded, the patina it's grown shows marks of her family. Bumps and scrapes from kids climbing in and out of the windows and the small dents and scratches from trips all over southwest Sask. show that her family was raised in this car. They all continue to spend time together in it as it rolls down the streets and avenues of Swift Current.

Parked at the Living Sky Casino, this family car is far from done hauling the kids to and from outings as the grandkids have taken over the back seat. 

Originally, it was purchased by her late husband, Cory Koethler, before she had met him. It had been sitting for 20 years, untouched with 14,000 original miles on it. Since then, the couple managed to put on 39,000 more miles to bring it up to 53,000 total.

That includes trips to places like Elkwater, and Sask. Landing. At the latter, they would meet former Sask. Premier Brad Wall. There, they would form a bond over a love of cars, as he was out in his own 1967 Dodge Coronet 500.

Friesen Koethler's son, Tyler, first got to drive the Galaxie when he was 16 years old, shortly after he had gotten his license. It was during a trip to Saskatoon, which added a small amount of pressure to the new driver's experience. 

"We took it on tons of camping trips, tours, car shows, everywhere," said Friesen Koethler. "(Cory) drove it as a daily driver all summer."

Sadly, Cory passed away close to two and a half years ago. It was six months after his 50th birthday.

Since his passing, Friesen Koethler has made sure to keep 'Fridge' running. The name of the car is something it inherited from Cory, as it was his nickname in High School.

"He was a wrestler in high school and they nicknamed him Fridge because Refrigerator Perry was big then and it just stuck," said Friesen Koethler.

Friesen Koethler still runs the vanity plate 'Fridge' on the car, which she purchased for Cory the first year they were together.

Plenty of friends still flag Friesen Koethler down when they see the big green Ford roll by. 

"I still take it usually at least once a weekend," said Friesen Koethler. "I think the way to honour Cory is to keep driving it and let it be seen instead of it sitting in a garage, hiding, getting dusty and rusting."

The car itself is as Cory left it. A purist, he kept the original paint, interior and engine, only adding in an electric ignition. Under the hood, the V-8 289 'Challenger' still cranks out lots of power. From factory, these engines are reputed to have made 271 horsepower. Seeing as this particular Galxie 500 is being kept as close to the original as possible, it's assumed to hover around the same output.

The future still holds more miles for 'Fridge'. Friesen Koethler plans to fix what needs fixing, keeping the wheels turning so she and her family can continue to ride around with 'Fridge'. She, her son, and her grandkids all get to keep adding miles of memories to the car, adding to the ones Cory left on the odometer.

The goal isn't to pretend Cory isn't gone. The goal is to keep his memory alive. 

She encourages others with loved ones who have gone ahead of them to keep their cars running.

"Go out. Take a drive. Think about them," urged Friesen Koethler. "Remember all the good times and all the special times because it's important. Keeping the people that you love alive even after they've left is a big deal."