| Maddy Huff poses next to her father Bo’s custom Mercury. Maddy has been featured in several national magazines over the past couple of years. |
Stepping into Bo Huff’s shop on U.S. Highway 123 in Dragerton (East Carbon) is like stepping into the year 1951 in every imaginable way. And even though the shop is now recognized as a national museum the memorabilia that fills every nook and cranny does not feel “old,” it feels alive and correctly placed in its own time.
Bo has made a living customizing cars for the better part of his life and after meeting his three children it is easy to imagine that the legacy he started in East Carbon will continue far into the decades to come.
“This Rockabilly way of life and going to car shows is the only thing I have ever known,” said Maddy Huff, Bo’s 17 year-old daughter when asked what it was like to grow up as the child of a custom car legend.
| Jr. Huff holds a panel he painted this year. Jr. finished second in judging for the VonDutch award in 2005. |
Maddy has been working as a pin-up girl in hot rod magazines for the last two years. Looking at her also makes you feel like you are at a 50’s sock hop. She has been featured in Old School Rods twice this year as well as Bilsport which is circulated mainly in Denmark.
The 50’s style dress is not something she or her siblings do just for the magazine pictorials which have become common place among the members of the Huff household.
“I dress this way because I don’t want to look like the preppy, cookie cutter kids I see all over the high school. I get a lot of crap from the other kids but it doesn’t bother me, I have my own style,” continued the high school junior.
While she doesn’t know what she wants to do when she finishes high school she does think it will have something to do with working for her father.
“I have done some work with photographer Anna Marco from Fox Studios in Hollywood and she and my father do a lot to get me jobs. Anna is so fun to work with because she is very spontaneous and creative,” continued Maddy.
She credits liking the rockabilly look to seeing Betty Page and Rosie the Riveter in magazines as a kid.
| Kendall Huff shows off his custom ’56 Ford. Kendall is the oldest of the Huff siblings at 21. |
“I don’t want to do the typical bikini car girl thing, I like Vargas style (named for artist Alberto Vargas) shots that are more about style than skin,” commented Maddy.
According to Bo while the Rockabilly scene is not very big in Carbon County right now, but it is popping up all over the United States and has been the biggest movement within the custom car scene for several years.
While Maddy’s is in high school she is not the youngest of the car loving family. That title goes to her 16 year-old little brother Jr. Huff who just may be the best upcoming pin striper in the custom car scene according to the judges at last years Grand National Roadsters Show. The prestigious VonDutch award is given during that contest in Pomona, Calif. where Jr. finished second in ’05 and was given the honor of presenting the award during the show’s closing ceremonies.
“Steve Stella started teaching me to stripe about three years ago and I just took to it right away,” stated Jr. “I’ve always been around it and now I’m doing it too.”
Like his siblings, Jr. grew up around the garage. His father Bo has a picture hanging in the garage of him putting flames on a car custom ’36 Ford at the age of five.
While Jr. does have other interests common to his peers such as biking, hiking and skateboarding, his dress also sets him apart from the crowd.
“I’m the kid at school with the greasy hair,” laughed Jr.
| Bo and Kendall Huff stand next to two of Bo’s custom creations while promoting the upcoming Dragerton car show on July 5-7. |
To see more of his work interested parties can look him up on pinheadlounge.com.
The most ambitious of the bunch is 21 Kendall Huff who is ready to seriously continue his fathers legacy.
“I want to do everything I can to take the business and this whole movement as far as I can,” Kendall says while smiling below his enormous Pompadour.
Kendall says that he cannot remember a time when he wasn’t around his fathers shop.
“I’ve also played in a few bands and music is something that I love but even that is just an extension of the custom car scene,” commented Kendall.
When interviewing these kids one can look over and see pride written all over Bo’s face, a pride that is far more distinct than one might see when admiring the cars that have won him many national awards. Even though his family’s style is different it is easy to see that they are a very tight knit group who spend more time together than most conventional families. Look for all the Huffs July 5-7 at their hometown car show in East Carbon.
Or as Bo would say, Dragerton.
“Just being around my dad has got me play in a couple of magazines this year,” concluded Kendall. “Being raised in my household is the best thing that could have ever happened to me, I plan to continue the legacy of unique style and custom cars that my father has always worked and lived for.”