Something of and by my dad is in this Coke commercial

The first building that shows, with icicles, and the next shot, too, are the Stop & Eat drive-in in Española, New Mexico. My dad, Kirby Adams, built that red and white canopy. The shot with the icicles shows some of the structure of the inside. He built the support struts that show there, too—made a jig to bend the steel and welded it.

My sister and my cousins and I all helped a bit with the on-site assembly, when the building was new. It was in 1964 or so. I helped scrub off the logo/printing off the sheets of corrugated steel that went on the top of the frame he built, with alcohol and rags. And we were holding and handing my dad bolts and supplies. Kid-help. ☺ I think mostly we were hanging out while he was making it.

The owner was so impressed with little girls (8, 9, 11, 12 I think we were) were helping that for a few years after, each Christmas Eve he drove about a mile from there to the little adobe house we lived in, in his big car and would give each of the four of us girls $5, and say Merry Christmas and how impressed he was with our having helped our dad.

Now, 50 years later, it's in a Super Bowl Coca-Cola commercial. Like a polar bear. COOL!

My dad died in 1979 and the canopy is still there. My dad looks very American in these photos, taken in Texas some years before that. Click to go to larger versions and a bit more information.