06/05/2026
It was a grand day when I acquired my beautiful air-borne ’58 Buick. It came with everything: immaculate bodywork, manuals an inch thick, a cool radio, a clock that may or may not have ever been right, and enough chrome to signal all ships at sea. A classic car owner’s dream.
It also came with two keys. One was magnificent. Etched, ornate, proudly wearing the Buick crest like a medal of honour. It looked like it should unlock a kingdom. It unlocked… very little. The other key, plain and unimpressive, looked like it had given up on life sometime in 1963. Naturally, it did everything.
Early on, I figured I should get a spare made. That led to many trips to hardware stores, where skeptical clerks would cut keys that might open the trunk, or possibly a vending machine, but not much else. Eventually, I accepted my fate: I was a one-key man.
For ten years, that one key served me faithfully. Then, one cold winter night, I left it in my unlocked daily be**er. At some point, obviously a person having an even worse night, decided to go treasure hunting inside. Their haul? A toonie, a half pack of Life Savers, an empty toolbox, a car jack (still not sure why), and most tragically, my one working key to the Buick.
So now I was left with the glamorous key. All style, no substance. I did discover it could turn the ignition to “ON” after ten-minutes of raking the lock. Regretfully my options became “ON” and "OFF but no more "Lock".
A few years later I realized I was living dangerously. One evening, I forgot to lock the door after putting Reggie (yes, my daughter named the car, and yes, I lost that battle) to bed. The next morning, I found the door slightly open, the ignition in the “ON” position, and the battery completely dead.
Apparently, another would-be thief had tried their luck and spent a frustrating amount of time discovering that no amount of determination was going to make that switch actually start the car. The hidden kill button John had installed quietly saved the day. Reggie: 1. Thief: 0. Battery: deceased.
At this point, something had to be done. But What?
My wife, who handles the family’s supply of common sense, suggested Randy’s Lock, Safe & Alarm in Owen Sound. She knew them from a condo board project. My plan up to that point had been to simply hope things improved on their own, which, by my experience, had not been a winning strategy.
So I called. Yes! A man asking for help. I am humbled indeed. I explained my situation, half hopeful, half expecting a polite laugh.
"Sure we can" came the answer over the phone.
“Even a cantankerous 68-year-old Buick named Reggie?” I asked.
“Yup!” came the confident reply.
That level of confidence is dangerous. It makes you believe things.
Soon after, I walked into the shop and presented my sad, glamorous, yet useless key. The woman behind the counter tapped away at her computer and sadly informed me that their records for Buick keys only went back to 1970.
Not encouraging.
Then she paused, stared at my key, and said, “But I’ve seen this before.”
She grabbed a footstool, climbed up to the very top row of a towering wall of key blanks (apparently the archaeological section) and began comparing. After a moment, she pulled down one key… then another from two rows over.
“It’ll be one of these,” she said. “Want to gamble?”
At this point, I’d invested more in hope than logic anyway. “Sure,” I said. “Let’s roll the dice.”
Ten minutes later, and $14 lighter in the pocket, I walked out with two keys. Two. Working. Keys. They opened everything. Doors, trunk, glove box and ignition. It was like magic, or at least like 1958 engineering finally getting the respect it deserved.
Best fourteen dollars I’ve ever spent. Reggie is back in business. I now have a spare key. And somewhere out there, a very confused thief is still wondering why that Buick absolutely refused to cooperate.
Yes indeed this is an endorsement for Randy's Locksmith company but a word of encouragment for old classic car owners everywhere.
(Randy's Phone 519 372-1573. This is not a paid endorsement but if it works maybe they could make a donation to Brightshores Health... our favourite charity.)
