Life Through Ed Lincoln's Rearview Mirror

Ed likes to laugh at himself, reminisce about his life as a youngster growing up in the Lincoln Auto Wrecking business, and now enjoys retirement.

Seattle -- Have you ever had your car towed? Just to make you feel better, Ed Lincoln, founder of Lincoln Towing Company and creator of the Pink Toe Truck, also had his car towed…by Lincoln Towing! Ed laughs at the incident even though, as he relates, “It became even more embarrassing when a reporter got wind of the story and ran it in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.”

Pink Toe Truck, a product of Ed’s humor, now resides at Seattle’s new Museum of History and Industry on the south shore of Lake Union. If you missed seeing it in a parade or at a trade show, you probably saw it parked in full view as you exited I-5 onto Mercer Street.

So, what’s behind this Pink Toe Truck?

A traveling salesman stopped by Ed’s office and got to discussing tow trucks.

“He had seen a funny tow truck on a bulletin board once and proceeded to sketch a crazy foot truck,” says Ed. “It wasn’t exactly the design I eventually built, but it gave me the idea,” he adds.

Ed decided right there that he’d build a foot-shaped pink “toe” truck, which he envisioned entering into the annual Seafair Torchlight Parade.

“People will think you’re crazy,” said his wife, Connie.

“Maybe it’s in my genes,” said Ed. Ed’s dad, who had run Lincoln Auto Salvage, once a 21-foot replica of the Space Needle out of car wheels. “He built it in a heated rush to have it ready by the time the World’s Fair opened and secured it out front of his office at 122nd and Aurora,” says Ed. The car-wheel Space Needle was completed months before the real one and made headlines in several newspapers.

Ed searched through the wrecked vehicles lined up outside his office, destined for the abandoned-vehicle auction.

“I spotted a vehicle that seemed perfect, a wrecked Volkswagen van,” says Ed. At the auction, he bid $125 on the VW and won. “I got my friend, Jim, to sketch a truck with toes.” Since Ed’s goal was to enter the toe truck in Seafair’s Torchlight Parade, he only had two months to complete the project.

Ed says of his friend, Ed Ellison, former body shop owner who worked on the truck, “He’s a magician with metal and fiberglass.” Ellison cut the VW down to its floorboard. He formed the new body with tube steel, chicken wire and fiberglass. A sculptor carved the toes from a huge Styrofoam block. Ellison duck-taped them to the fiberglass and carved the inside of the toes to make room for lights for those evening parades. The next steps included a tune up, brake job, rewiring of headlights and painting it a bold pink.

The Pink Toe Truck debuted in July 1980 at the Queen Anne Parade where Ed Lincoln and family gave J.P. Patches and The Wheedle a ride in the new toe truck.

A proud Ed Lincoln entered his Pink Toe Truck in the Seafair Torchlight Parade that summer, to the amazement and amusement of hundreds who lined the parade route in downtown Seattle.

The more exposure the Pink Toe Truck experienced, the more the tow truck business grew. The toe truck, an instant hit, was also used to bring in money for charities. People bid on the Pink Toe Truck for weddings, parties and children’s birthday parties.

“It was even hired to pick up a business executive at the airport,” says Ed.

Ed says of his unique Toe Truck, “I think every business person would cherish at least one homerun in business.” He adds, “The Toe is my homerun, became a Seattle icon and for me, that was a big wow.”

Fascination with cars has always been in Ed’s blood. He got his big start as clean-up kid at his dad’s auto wrecking business and boasted about his tools – a rake, broom and shovel. While Mom feared for 11-year-old Ed’s safety, working among the crowded rows of wrecked cars and scattered parts, Dad was totally comfortable with his young employee and his ability.

At age 15, and no surprise to his parents, Ed purchased his first car.

“It was a 1931 Model A with a rumble seat,” says Ed. With a year of remodeling, lowering it 6 inches, installing wide wheels with fancy hubcaps and, with his mother’s help upholstering the interior, Ed got his driver’s license and drove the car to school. He proudly gave kids rides in the rumble seat, or what his friends called the “Modern A.”

Ed likes to laugh at himself, reminisce about his life as a youngster growing up in the Lincoln Auto Wrecking business, and now enjoys retirement.

“Over the years I loved to tell stories, most of them true,” says Ed.

Ed’s daughters and wife, Connie, always said, “You should write a book. Everyone enjoys your storytelling and you make people laugh.”

Connie’s wish came true and Ed set out to recreate stories of childhood on up to his owning and ultimately selling Lincoln Towing Company.

“At Connie’s urging, I took a computer class in Woodinville,” Ed says. While there, he met another budding author who convinced him to join her writing class at the Bothell Library.

“For three years, I wrote stories and then the class and teacher, Frances Dayee, critiqued them.” Once he had enough stories, he and his family began to put them together in order.

Life Through the Rearview Mirror by Ed Lincoln, takes the reader on a light-hearted journey of young Ed, the entrepreneur, (I mean selling frogs that he caught?) to CEO of his own company.

Ed and Connie owned Lincoln Towing Company for 21 years and now enjoy retirement. They were pleased to be able to help the industry improve the towing image and help bring professionalism and honesty to an industry that was plagued by lesser standards.

“After selling the company, we stayed on to manage it for an additional 2 ½ years,” says Ed. Lincoln Towing was sold to a national tow company called RoadOne, out of Chattanooga, Tenn. It was later sold to a group in San Diego, but remains RoadOne.

When Ed retired 11 years ago, Connie surprised him with the ultimate retirement gift – a red Porsche Boxster! The gift was short lived, however, when a couple of hooligans broke into their garage, took it and wrecked it the same night. Later Connie and Ed purchased a black Lexus which Ed drives today.

Ed remains focused on giving back and served on the Board of Directors for Friends International. He volunteered once a week at a Bothell nursing home for four years and also volunteered at his grandchildren’s elementary school. Ed and Connie continue to serve on Friends of IThemba, an organization providing foster homes for orphans in South Africa.

Ed currently enjoys yard work at his Woodinville home and spends lots of time with his grandchildren.

“We are fortunate to live within one-half hour of both our daughters and our seven grandkids, ages 6 to 16,” says Ed.

Ed and Connie Lincoln are very close to their children, grandchildren, and now a great grandchild. The entire family traveled together to China. “We are fortunate to live within one-half hour of both our daughters and our seven grandkids, ages 6 to 16,” says Ed.

Ed and Connie travel extensively. Their journeys have taken them on U.S. road trips; they’ve visited Hawaii, South Africa twice, Zambia, and even attended one of their exchange student’s wedding in Rio, Brazil. Last year, their youngest daughter and family flew with Ed and Connie to Beijing, where their other daughter was living at the time.

Ed’s love for cars remains strong.

“I enjoy going to classic car shows within a hundred mile radius,” he says. He eats breakfast once a week with a group of fellow ‘car nuts.’ “I also belong to a second gathering of car guys on Thursday nights.” Ed has owned classic cars over the years. He particularly loves ‘60s Corvettes and the ’55 to ’57 Chevy.

“I’ve owned about 15 collectable cars in my lifetime,” says Ed, although he doesn’t own one now.

Ed’s message for retirees rings loud and clear…Love life and enjoy it to its fullest!

“Take time to make others smile and perhaps even get them to laugh.”