Shade Tree Mechanic

[Murrah Lee]

The term "shade tree mechanic" was very common in East Texas (Angelina
County) when I grew up there in the 1950s.  Most people in those days
did not have a garage for their vehicles.  My grandfather had one of
the few in the area, and it was a one-stall corrugated metal building
with a dirt floor, which was not suitable for working on a vehicle.
The only alternative was to do the work in the open air, and in hot
East Texas that meant getting under the shade of a large tree in the
yard.  Many trees had the further virtue of a large limb that with a
rope and compound pulley or comealong could be used to pull the
engine.  For obvious reasons like "jake leg carpenter," it implied an
amateurish level of skill.

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