During my teenage years, one of my favorite activities to do with my dad wasn’t playing soccer or going fishing; it was visiting junkyards. All those happy Saturday afternoons spent running around old, rusted cars helped forge the love I feel for obsolete machinery.
In those years, it was easy to come across some interesting cars and bikes from the 1930s, all the way to the 1960s. There is something magical about a car that was discarded but still holds the noble mission of supplying parts that will keep another “sibling” car alive.
Slowly, the cool cars faded from the junkyards, and those places lost their magic, but some of them still hold on to symbols of a more romantic past.
As a parts guy, junkyards are still part of my life, not in a fun way, though. A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to find some affordable parts for a used car that came as a trade-in here at the dealer, and I found Jasper Auto Parts, one of the most traditional recyclers in Edmonton.
Jasper Auto and Truck Parts was founded in 1946. Harry Cohen started it in downtown Edmonton, and today it operates as a major family-owned auto recycler at 5410 76 Ave NW.
On their Google page, I found these two super cool pictures. The first one shows two family members posing in front of the business. Those 1920s/30s cars were certainly destined to be scrapped.
The second pic shows a second-gen Camaro that, after retiring from the race tracks, now sits atop a sea can as a proud display of its glorious past.
I believe the pictures deserve a post here at TCM; I had to share them with you, regular readers of the blog. I hope you enjoyed this edition of The Picture of the Day, and I will see you next time.
The Classic Machines 
Cool post. My dad made guitars mostly and knew nothing about cars…but my brother-in-law showed me a lot. My first car was a 66 Mustang that my mom bought me in 83…a great car… but a wrong car for a first car lol. I love junk yards…just walking through them. We have Pull a Part I go to sometimes.
We have a Jasper in Tennessee as well…I knew I heard of them before.
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What??? A dad who built guitars and a mom who gave you a 66 Mustang??? Ask me if I am jealous 🤣. LOL!!!!
Learning to play guitar has been the unicorn in my life. I have been trying, on and off, since I was 9 years old; now I am 57 LOL. As you can see, I don’t have what it takes.
Thanks for being a regular here.
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lol…back then a 66 Mustang wasn’t at the status it is now. It was $1000…oh how I wish I would have kept that car! My dad made necks for Gower Guitar and Grammar Guitar…they used to sell them to country stars like George Jones and others…because they all lived in Nashville at that time.
My dad couldn’t play a lick…I started to learn when I was 15-16…been playing ever since. More of a rhythm and bass guitar guy…I don’t do much lead playing. Hey I’m 59…so we are not too far apart. Learning guitar was a blessing to me…it’s something that never goes away. Plus I had a lot of fun in bands when I was younger.
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I enjoyed all three of your “Picture of the Day.” They’re all interesting for different reasons. The airplane and motorcycles displayed over the Brazilian junkyard are really eye-catching. The Jasper Auto Parts image is wonderfully nostalgic. The Camaro is just neat, rising above the junk. Thanks, Rubens. 🙂
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I am happy you have enjoyed this article. The airplane wasn’t there when I used to visit the place, LOL. The black-and-white photo is awesome; I am happy they kept it and made it “available.”
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Never really liked visiting the scrappies. They knew you needed the part and they would try to screw you out of every £ they could. Not the nicest of folk.
Nice post though, like the old photos.
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Junk yards had a different atmosphere in Brazil back in the 1970s. But after the 1990s it became the kind of business deeply involved with the organized crime, selling parts from stollen cars and bikes.
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