Driver: my very first trip

Memory of. Dassetto appeared in the review L'Etoile Bleue n ° 6 in the spring of 1948.

The men of good will from Savoy at the time were making meritorious efforts to make our little homeland a paradise for tourism and winter sports. Our late representative Mr. Bourgey, accomplished mountaineer, was one of these pioneers. Thanks to his efforts, the petrol pumps surmounted by the Blue Star sprouted like mushrooms. Chambéry, Aix-les-Bains, Annecy, Albertville, and many other cities or towns, were supplied by our House with the famous brand "Automobiline". But we had to go always further and above all higher, where our winter stations were to be installed. Bourg-St-Maurice, in the Tarentaise valley, at the foot of Petit Saint-Bernard, 110 km from Chambéry, had just been equipped with two garages and two DF pumps At that time, the current Chambéry depot n 'did not exist, but was managed by the company "L'Allobroge" whose Personnel Director was Mr. Roissard. We were three drivers at the Fuel Delivery Service and, probably because I had just campaigned for the Riff, I was considered the most daring and designated to make the first delivery of one of the new customers, Mr. Chevassu in Bourg St- Mauritius. We did not have the current vehicles then; our trucks were doing painfully 22 km / h at most, which for the time was already beautiful! I drove the Delahaye N ° 102, with chains with bronze rings on the axles as ball bearings, tires at the back, tires at the front, acetylene headlights, kerosene lantern, and at the rear a red light powered by an electric battery. Its capacity was 4,601 liters.
For this first long trip, wanting to put all the assets in my game, I greased my truck from front to rear, adjusted my brakes, etc ... I carried 100 liters of gasoline, 5 liters of oil, 5 kg of fat, 2 liters of castor oil. The next day, at the start, I found our representative and the personnel director of "L'Allobroge" near the vehicle, ready to give me the last instructions: "Above all, don't go too fast - Be careful when cornering - Be careful downhill - Finally, call as soon as you arrive "...