The Vintage Motor Car Club of America Kansas City Chapter DISTRIBUTOR AUGUST 25, 2017 Kansas City Chapter Web Page - National VMCCA Web Page http://vmcca.org President Dan Richardson 816-524-6390 Vice President John Barnes 816-254-8192 Secretary Dave Higdon 816-774-3513 Treasurer Gary Barth 816-800-6070 Vice President, Appointed Steve Wolff 816-809-4457 Webmaster Ray Council 816-807-7294
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE Greetings, fellow car club enthusiast. By our August club business meeting we will have viewed the Eclipse with worldwide attention. Cloudy skies are forecasted in Kansas City but news coverage will none-the-less show vividly what we may or may not see with our paper eye glasses. I know my family from the oldest to the youngest have plans to witness this phenomenon. A big thank you goes out to Mike Welsh for planning the St Joseph car tour to the Ken Smith Auto Body Shop, owned and operated by Mike Brown and arranging our participation in the local monthly cruise night. I asked Mike Brown questions I had regarding certain procedures for the upcoming painting of my 1972 Chevelle. He graciously answered every detail presented as he gave the group a comprehensive tour from where a damage vehicle entered the door to finish product leaving the shop. Everything was state of the art equipment. I believe he said they averaged an output of 37 cars a week. I drove the Studebaker to the cruise and Jim Clock rode shot gun. Once parked in the lot reserved for this night, we walked the rows of beautiful cars from stock, modified, rat, and original. Great time! Oh, then I traded places with Jim and he drove the Hawk home while I viewed the landscape without crossing the white lines. There is in the planning a local tour for September which will include, what else but eating out at a Mugs-Up Drive In, the date will be confirmed soon. Another event for this year is the Fall Tour overnight scheduled for October 13 & 14. Mark it down on your calendar. Dan Richardson **The Kansas City Chapter of the VMCCA meets at 7:00 PM the fourth Friday of each month at the Faith Presbyterian Church, 8301 James A. Reed Rd., Kansas City, MO.
CALENDAR: Aug 25 Regular monthly meeting at Faith Presbyterian Church 7:00PM Sept 05 Board meeting at Richardson s home, 7:00 Sept 22 Regular monthly meeting featuring PIZZA NIGHT - 6:30 PM Sept 23 Join us for a morning tour and lunch stop Oct 13/14 Reserve these dates for our fall tour ****** VETERAN MOTOR CAR CLUB OF AMERICA KANSAS CITY CHAPTER MONTHLY MEETING July 22, 2017 VMCCA members assembled at Waterfall Park in Independence, Missouri, to enjoy a breakfast of items prepared and presented by members in attendance. Following breakfast, the meeting was called to order by president Dan Richardson at 9:30 A. M.. There were 23 members in attendance. President Richardson called for recognition of any guests in attendance. None were reported. It was duly noted that two very special long time members, Karl Schmidt and Ed Ernat, were in attendance after long absences due to health issues. We were glad to see them both and hope to see them more often. Thanks for coming, guys. Under health reports, it was reported that Jim Erickson has been experiencing difficulties resulting from a history of debilitating strokes. We are all hoping for a quick recovery from his current issues. The minutes of the June meeting were approved as published in the Distributor. Gary Barth gave a treasurer s report since the last update. Gary reported that activity since the last report resulted mainly from tours to St. Joseph and Des Moines. During the June meeting Gary had reported that based on conversations with representatives of the Bank of Kansas City it did not appear to be worth the effort to transfer the club bank account from Bank Midwest. However, Gary related a more recent conversation with a different branch the Bank of Kansas City who told him that the club still has an inactive account which can be reopened with documentation indicating Gary has been elected Treasurer, the transfer authorized in the club minutes and new signature cards. Secretary Higdon agreed to provide the necessary minute documentation. Based upon this information, the club authorized Gary to pursue reopening the account at Bank of Kansas City and transfer funds from Bank Midwest to reactivate the account.
It was advised that a balance be retained in Bank Midwest sufficient to keep the account open without incurring charges to enable the club to move back to Bank Midwest without hassle if desired in the future. President Richardson announced that there will be no Board meeting in July. It was announced that the club is working on a tour to the Ken Smith Body Shop and collection display for August 12, in St. Joseph. August Cruise night will be held on August 10. Cheryl Barnes will pick the location in honor of her birthday. Dan Richardson presented our new banner indicating our new name of Vintage Motor Car Club of America Dan also displayed a map he had prepared to tour destinations of our chapter. The map indicated 46 locations. Attending members suggested there may be some locations missing and Dan invited them to review the history and advise of additional locations. Additional tour possibilities were discussed. Mike Welsh reviewed his experiences on the 36 th annual Glidden which included 100 cars. Mike Welsh gave a brief synopsis of the 2018 and 2019 National Lewis and Clark tours. The 2018 tour will run from St. Louis to Kansas City and will be led by the St. Louis chapter. The 2019 tour will be led by the Kansas City chapter with Mike putting the route together. Mike has asked for suggestions for venues and meal stops during the tour. The wheel was spun for the Must be Present to Win pot and Andy Welsh missed out on his chance at wealth. In parting, we were reminded that the August cruise night will be held august 10 at Ted s Mexican Restaurant at 291 and Chipman Road in Lee s summit. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 A.M.. Respectfully submitted David Higdon, Secretary.
****** JULY 22nd - BREAKFAST/MEETING IN THE PARK What was advertised to be a very hot day in July started out fairly comfortable allowing our annual club breakfast to proceed as scheduled. We had a great turn out knowing several families were out of town and the weatherman telling us how hot it would be. It was great to see our friends, Marilyn and Ed Ernat who drove all the way down from Hamilton. The table was set up and looked like something from a restaurant brunch buffet. The food selection was outstanding and included everything from biscuits and gravy (Don Oberholtz special), to egg casseroles, fruit dishes and pastries. Following the wonderful breakfast and visiting our new President called the July meeting to order. Dan indicated that there might be some changes coming in the operation of our club. He had gone to great effort to display a map showing Missouri and the eight states surrounding and using push-pins marked each city our chapter has visited while on an annual Lewis and Clark Tour. The total number of Lewis & Clark Tours to date is 46 and looking at the map we have toured in five of the eight states. Presenting this map was Dan s way of showing us where we have not traveled as a club with hopes of stimulating some ideas. Dan did stress if we are to continue to be the active touring club we have been in the past it will need participation from all the members. ****** MEMBERS VISIT SPRINGIELD SWAP MEET Well it is that time of year and the Ozarks are calling it is time for the annual Springfield Swap Meet. This meet has always proved popular with our chapter, being that it is fairly close and always offering a great variety and reasonable quantity of vendors. Held at the Empire Fair Grounds, this meet seems to continue to get bigger each year. That may actually not be the case, but I know I could not begin to cover the complete swap meet area and remain upright. Could be that I m getting older but I m sticking with the possibility the meet is getting larger. Steve Wolff transported passengers Dan Richardson, Dave Tope, Mike Welsh and Jim Clock to the southwest area of the state. When we first arrived we found the parking area that we have always parked in closed as it was already full. We followed the line of traffic to another parking area they had opened for this overflow and all was well.
One vendor team was found to be in their usual spot meeting, greeting and helping customers find that special part they were searching for. That would be Randy and Don Oberholtz. Fortunately for Dan and Steve, the Oberholtz team was willing to transport back to Kansas City heavy and bulky parts they had found and purchased. One special event did occur and is worth mentioning as many of our members will recall the names Bob and Colleen Mills. As we were walking the swap meet with our heads down and glancing from side to side in search of who knows what, I noticed Dan suddenly took off quickly through the crowd. As I watched to see what item had caught his attention, I saw it was a person and not a part. Somehow Dan happened to notice Bob standing on the side of an isle. For those who may not remember Bob, he is quite tall and I m sure this led to Dan s noticing him. Bob and Colleen were active members in our chapter through the 90 s. Bob drove a 1936 Model 81 Buick, red in color. As his interests turned more to the Model T, he and Colleen joined the Chuggers and were active with them until moving out of the area. Bob had a successful period of dirt track racing. I mentioned to him that we had in the Kansas City Automotive Museum one of the cars he drove in the races. He said he had heard about it and came up to see it when the Chuggers held an event in the museum.
****** AUGUST CRUISE NIGHT We had a great turn out for our August cruise night. As it was Cheryl Barnes birthday, she got to pick the location and she chose Ted s Café Escondido in Lee s Summit. This was a good choice, as we were allowed to use their private room that just accommodated our group. The service was very good, as was the food. Those in attendance Bob Gentry (recovering from pneumonia), Maurica Campbell, Dave and Linda Gish, John and Cheryl Barnes with daughter Jennifer, Larry and Cheryl Delmont, Dave and Wanda Tope, Ray Council, Dave and Linda Higdon, Gary and Dorothy Barth, Jim Clock, Mike Welsh and grandson Carl. Not exactly sure what prompted the waitress to pour a full glass of ice water down the back of Ray Council but boy, can that guy move!
****** Happy Birthday to Bob Ehinger August 04 Bob Saderstrom 09/08 Cheryl Barnes August 10 Larry Delmont 09/13 Diana Poole August 12 Linda Gish 09/15 Eileen McKee August 24 Mike O Hara 09-/27 ****** ST JOSEPH DELIVERS AGAIN Once again it proves out you wanted to go but you need to mow, take bottles back to the store, etc., etc. well you missed out on a great time. I know we were just there in May but we obviously failed to see everything of interest on that trip. Mike Welsh introduced us to Mike Brown and his wife, Mary, who own and operate a full service collision repair/body shop in St Joseph. Mike Brown supplied eight cars or so from his personal collection and had them on site for us to enjoy while we added an additional 5 cars. We kicked tires for awhile and then took a tour of the facility. Mike started in 1973 in what I believe he said was around 5,000 square feet. He has grown the business to sixteen employees and a shop of 17,000 square feet. He is currently considering how to expand the space once again. They do it all from standard collision repair work to restorations. They even do custom paint work on motorcycles with an in-house person that can pin-stripe. After an hour or so we headed east on Frederick Blvd to a shopping center on Village Drive. It was shortly after 4:00PM and cars were already arriving for the once a month cruise night. It was difficult to say but I m sure there were 75 cars or more. They meet here the second Saturday of the month so if you re in the area make it a point to drop by it is just two blocks off I-29 at exit 47.
****** MEMBERS & MORE Our Secretary, Dave Higdon received the following note on July 21- I'm sorry that Debbie and I cannot be with you this morning but I would ask that you convey to the club and its member our thanks for your support after the death of my mother. While her death had been expected for a long time, it s nice to have your friends at your back when you need them. Thanks too for the donation the club made to the Raytown Christian Church Endowment Fund. Your thoughtfulness and generosity was very much appreciated. Steve and Debbie Wolff Ray Council submits this interesting video as food for thought The War on Cars https://www.prageru.com/courses/political-science/war-cars ****** Aug Vaneta Beeson and Diana Poole Sept Lorraine Schmidt and Don Oberholtz Oct Eileen McKee and Bob Saderstrom Nov Jim Gustafson and Cheryl Delmont Dec No meeting NATIONAL/REGIONAL TOURS & NEWS ****** September 17 22 AACA, AAA Revival Glidden Tour, Hastings, NE John Hikodym, 402-746-2248 Please send any information you would like to see in the Distributor to the newsletter editor, Jim Clock @ jclock@kc.rr.com - 708 NW Eagle Ridge, Lee s Summit, MO., 64081 or 816-525-9745. The Distributor is published monthly. The purpose is to keep the membership informed of upcoming club meetings and events. It also includes news highlights about members who have attended an interesting swap meet, car show, and museum or bought, sold or restored a car.