Family car for 56 years: Colton sophomore Colby Bishop takes driver's test in Chrysler 300

A big event for any 16-year-old is taking and passing the state driver’s examination, that hurdle which offers a whole new range of independence via the automobile. Colby Bishop, who will be a sophomore at Colton High next year, made his big day a lot bigger when he showed up at Pullman driver’s licensing office May 19 in a Chrysler 300.

Not the latest retro edition of the Chrysler 300, but the original Chrysler 300, a 1955 model that weighs more than two tons and is four to five feet longer than the modern U.S. sedan, the one that has a 331 cubic inch hemi V-8 engine.

Colby’s test drive with the big Chrysler was the result of a family effort that included his grandfather, his father and other members of the Bishop family.

The Chrysler was purchased by Colby’s great-grandfather, Dr. Paul Bishop, who practiced in Coupeville.

The Chrysler has remained in the Bishop family for 56 years. Colby’s grandfather, Malcom Bishop, is the present owner.

Malcom remembers the day his father, Dr. Bishop, brought the Chrysler, advertised as “the gentleman’s fast car,” home for the first time. A few years later Malcom drove the car when he took his driver’s exam.

Dr. Bishop used the car to make house calls in the central and south Whidbey Island area until he died in 1962. Malcom’s mother, Betty, died in 1968, and the Chrysler, which has been used infrequently, became a restoration project.

In 1988, Malcom’s son, Peter Bishop, drove the Chrysler when he took his driver’s examination at Mount Vernon. Peter is Colby’s father.

Peter and Julie Bishop moved to Whitman County so she could attend graduate school at Washington State University. They found a genuine appeal of the Palouse country, where Peter’s great-greats homesteaded, and just never left.

Colby, representing the next generation of Bishops, often mentioned his intent to take his driver’s exam in the Chrysler. During the family’s traditional gathering last Christmas, Colby stressed that his 16th birthday was approaching and the Chrysler would soon be needed.

Malcom Bishop, who will retire next month after serving as Coupeville’s Public Service director, liked the idea. However, it meant he had to again get the Chrysler roadworthy after it had been out of action for about seven years. That mainly involved rebuilding brakes so the Chrysler could pass the equipment check made by the driver’s license examiner before Colby started the test.

Malcom also had to get the Chrysler from Coupeville on Whidbey Island to Colton.

That turned out to be a saga. Malcom and his brother, Wilbur put the Chrysler on a trailer and headed across the state, but the trip stalled out when their truck had engine problems.

They backed the Chrysler off the trailer and used it to get back home to Coupeville.

Peter Bishop then departed Colton with his truck, loaded Malcom’s disabled truck on the trailer and pulled both back to Coupeville. Peter Bishop then drove the Chrysler onto the trailer and brought it to Colton so Colby could take his driver’s license test at Pullman.

The delay meant Colby had less time to practice with his car, but he soon become familiar with the “gentleman’s fast car” which was purchased by his great-grandfather 56 years ago.

When the Colton Bishops informed the driver’s examiner they had planned to arrive with the Chrysler, they were advised on the modern-day rule that test cars have seat belts.

That requirement had actually been met by Dr. Bishop shortly after he purchased the car. Being a doctor, he was aware of the toll auto accidents can take on people and installed airplane-type seatbelts in the then new car. Cables were used to extend through the floor of the new Chrysler and secure the seatbelts to the frame of the big sedan.

After passing his driver’s test at Pullman, Colby also drove the Chrysler in the May Day parade at Garfield where he was hosted by his great uncle and aunt, Stephen and Sally Bishop.

Stephen, Malcom and Wilbur Bishop are among nine Bishop sons and one daughter born to Dr. Paul and Betty Bishop.

Dr. Bishop was actually raised on the Bishop family homestead northwest of Garfield. The son of Jack and Edna Bishop, Paul Bishop graduated from Garfield High School in the early 1930s and decided to undertake studies to become a doctor at the University of Washington. He completed his studies and served on a hospital ship during World War II before going into private practice.

Last week Colby also drove the Bishop Chrysler in the Memorial Day parade at Coupeville after his mom, Julie, pulled the big sedan on its trailer back to Coupeville and returned it to Grandpa Malcom.

Malcom Bishop plans to spend more time working on several restoration projects after he retires next month. One of those is a 1929 Franklin which for years awaited restoration in a barn at the Bishop homestead near Garfield.

The Bishop Chrysler is also tentatively booked to make a return here in about three years. Colby’s sister, Macy, has already put in a request to take her driver’s exam in the big sedan.

(This story derived from a May 19 account written by Gordon Weeks, staff writer for the Whidbey Examiner.)