When Moraga celebrated its 25th birthday on Oct. 23, the main event was a two-mile parade along Moraga Road. There were more than 80 entries in the parade— marching bands, the Wells Fargo stagecoach drawn by six horses, llamas, girl and boy scouts, a troop of motorcyclists, horse clubs and vintage cars.

Standing out was a 1937 Daimler. which carried three passengers who represented the Moraga Hacienda Seniors.

As you can see from the photograph that accompanies this article, the car was an eye-catcher. A four-door sedan, with an engine casing that seemed to be a mile long, the Daimler was manufactured in England in 1937. It weighs two tons, has a right-hand drive, no power steering or power brakes and makes 14 miles per gallon.

In the '30s, this type of Daimler was used by the British royal family and was honored by being designated "by appointment to the King." The name Daimler is a completely separate company from the present Daimler-Benz—from which we recognize the current Mercedes-Benz auto manufacturer. Daimler started in the UK during the first decade of the 20^th Century and was purchased by Jaguar in the 1960’s. Jaguar is now a company that is today a major subsidiary of Ford Motors.

This Daimler is owned by Robin and Heather Bransbury, who moved to Moraga from London, England, in 1990, having selected Moraga as "a safe and healthful community."

Heather is a member of the Moraga Hacienda Seniors, who likes our monthly book reviews and Robin is an impressive 6-footer, with a full beard topped by bright blue eyes that reflect his jolly demeanor. For the parade, he wore a Sherlock Holmes hat and smoked a large, curved meerschaum pipe. He attracted as much attention from the parade watchers as his Daimler which has been in his family for over twenty years. The car has underegone a significant refit in the UK and once this was finally accomplished, he imported it to Moraga a few months ago just in time for our parade.

Heather rode "shotgun" in the left front seat and was a gracious hostess for the "royal" passengers representing the Moraga Hacienda Seniors. They were Iris Hart, Norma Heath and myself. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride and the enthusiastic greetings we received from the parade watchers.

As "our" car moved along slowly and sedately in the procession, literally dozens of onlookers ran out to the car with the question "What kind of car?" "What year?" Robin would cheerfully respond "It's a Daimler. 1937" and toot his horn.