This particular picture was taken in 1978.
The van must have been used by the nuns from the forties till the mid-seventies. Those days, they used to call it the Convent ‘Dabba’, i.e. a sort of Jalopy or junk. It was the late Joe D’Silva who realized the vintage & antique value of the van and got it parked at his ancestral home in Navelim, Goa. Hence the nuns must have used it till about this time. The Ford logo can be seen clearly on the Van.
She must be nearly a century old. Somebody who is an authority on automobiles could throw some light on this vintage car.
The Ford Company made an attractive offer to acquire the van – a lot of Companies do try to acquire their old and rare models – but Joe refused. Perhaps the best source to get more info on the van would be the nuns themselves (esp. the old timers) who may know of many a colorful tale on this beauty on wheels and of their driver, Pascu.
Thanks George Coelho and others members of the ExStudents_StPauls_StJosephs_Belgaum group.
