LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 1. Steve Jordan PRESIDENT STEVE JORDAN / VICE PRESIDENT DARRYL NIEMI /

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1 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 1 JUNE 2017 The Clatskanie Cruisers will host the Heritage Days car show on the 24th of this month and if you haven't registered yet, there is a printable form on our club website. I know I plan to be there. You will receive an from me as time draws nearer, as to where and when to meet to travel together to the show if you so choose. From the Prez. Before you receive the next newsletter, July 4th will be in the past, so be advised that registration forms for the Warrenton Old Fashion 4th of July celebration Car show are out. They will be available at the next club meeting or at the UPS store in Warrenton. May was a busy - busy month, just trying to get ready for the next few months. The lawn has done everything it could to turn into a hay field, the shrubbery is attempting to take over the whole yard and my get-up and go has gone missing. Then there are the car related maintenance chores that lurk in the background. All that is normal just seems to keep on keep n on, but in spite of that, I am determined to be ready for the coming auto events. This months regular meeting will be held at Ross & Patty Getchells shop, Simonsen Rd. in Svenson, OR. on June 15th - at 7:00 p.m. For those of you who may not know where that is, I will leave the front of the Astoria D.M.V. at 6:15 p.m. Feel free to follow! This Saturday is Art Stotts celebration of life and I wouldn t miss it for anything. I expect to hear all kinds of memories shared by friends of Art & Katrina. Steve Jordan

2 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 2 Lower Columbia Classic minutes minutes of regular meeting May 18 th 2017 Steve Jordan's shop, Helligso lane, Astoria, Oregon Jim Wood and Oliver Yackley will be the new College Committee. We have two new members. Eric and Jenni Rolls. They own a 68 Chevelle. The regular meeting of the Lower Columbia Classic Car Club was held May 18 th 2017 at 7pm at Steve Jordan's shop. President Steve Jordan called the meeting to order. It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes as printed in the BACKFIRE, with one correction. The spelling of Thad Nolan was incorrect last month. The motion carried. There are two car shows in June. The Rods and Reels Rod Run on June 3 rd at the Skamokawa WA Fair Grounds, and the Clatskanie Cruiser's Heritage Days Show and Shine, at the Park in Clatskanie, June 24, 2017 from 9-3. Thank everyone for the articles in the BACKFIRE. The treasurer Burt Young distributed the reconciliation and profit and loss statements for review by members. The 2015 and 2016 scrapbooks are ready for viewing. Thank you Gail! Gail would also like pictures of the Cruise in this year. The Sunshine Committee reported that there is a memorial for Art Stot's at Chinook Gym on June 3 rd at 12. Hot dogs will be served, bring your favorite side dish. Cindy Young's mom has passed away, and Burt is having some medical issue's. Please keep them both in your thoughts. The 50's cruise reunion did well, and we received great reviews. We had a record number of cars, with 106 total. Three vintage trailers, four dragsters, and one tractor. We were up in sales in all areas. Thanks to all who volunteered! We need more volunteers for future events. Please sign up!! The 50/50 raffle made $117 to go towards the WHS safe and sober graduate party. Five cars were able to attend the MERTS open house. It was a very successful event. Oliver traveled to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He went to Bowling Green to the Corvette factory, and watched them build an LS7 engine. Ask Oliver about the rest of his amazing trip! It was Motioned to sponsor a trophy for the Rod Run. It was seconded and passed. June's meeting will be held at Ross and Patty Getchell's June 15 th at 7. The address is Simonsen Rd Astoria OR (Svensen) Meeting adjourned at 7:58pm. Ken Upoff won the attendance drawing. Ken donated the $56 winnings to the MERTS campus. Secretary Margot Gittins.

3 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 3 Ramblin `Round With Steve nother month has flown by, June is here - the real start of the auto related event season. By that, I mean the calendar is so chuck full of events that it s almost impossible to decide which one to attend. Such a problem! This past weekend, the 3rd, was the Rods and Reels show at Skamokawa, attended by some of our members and I understand, as usual, a great presentation. Unfortunately, it fell on the same day as member, Art Stotts Celebration of Life. Among the upcoming local events, those that stand out; the Muscle & Chrome show in Seaside on the 17th, Planters Day at Woodland, WA. on the 18th, the Heritage Days show at Clatskanie on the 24th and Oh! I forgot to mention the Portland Mecum Auction on the 16th & 17th of June. well by attendance of a good number of members. The Chinook gymnasium was full to overflowing, it was obvious that Art had touched a lot of lives in very positive ways. Lots of memories were shared by friends and family of Art. A cruise through Long Beach by 20 or 30 collector cars concluded the celebration. A fitting tribute to a fine individual. Let s Celebrate! Independence Day - July 4th 2017 What: Potluck / Bar-B-Q Where: Steve & Judy Jordan s house Helligso Lane, On July 4th, the Warrenton car show at the park in conjunction with the Parade, will take place. On July 8th the Midnight Cruisers host their Rod Fest in Aberdeen, WA. and on July 15th the Hot July Nights show at the Ocean Park, WA. moose club. Astoria, OR. Time: :00 P.M. Or immediately after the Warrenton parade July 14th is National Collector Car Appreciation Day, so all I can say is Support your hobby - Drive your Ride on that day, if not every day. Going back to the Celebration of Life we attended on Saturday last, it was an outstanding event. Lower Columbia Classics was represented Dogs, Burgers & punch furnished, bring your favorite side dish.

4 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 4 By Jim Wood Lewis and Clark road out of Seaside. Wow. what a nice handling, solid feeling, open top hot rod Ford! The 350/350 power train is perfect for this rod. Everything about this car seems to be very efficient and simple, not too much and nothing missing. This car qualifies, in my opinion, as the quintessential American Street Rod. It's simplicity is beautiful. This car has a interesting history as a rental. Yes, you read it right, a rental in Seaside for tourists. The company Wheel Fun Rentals, in Seaside, that rents the scooters, carriages, bicycles etc. used to own this car. Yes, believe it or not, you could rent this hot rod for $80.00 an hour. It was running a 283 in those days and a powerglide I would guess. About 3 years ago Mark bought the car from the rental joint and started restoring it. He had already been doing maintenance and repairs on this car for years. He replaced the tired 283 with a peppy 350 and 350 trans. Steering is from an '81 Plymouth Horizon. Rear gears are supplied by a Ford 9". He re-did the body and paint and new interior. A couple of years ago Mark was at a car show with this car and by chance met the guy This months adventure took me all the way down the coast to Seaside and Mark Gittin's Auto Repair Shop. The place looked suspiciously hot-rodish with a roadster parked out front and the tail of a '63 Chrysler '300' poking out of the garage. Next to the shop sat a '49 Chevy sedan that has seen better days. I think it's going to have a better future if Mark can ever get around to it. The name of this column is "what are you working on" and I gotta tell you this guy is working on a lot of things all the time! Unfortunately most of these cars and trucks aren't his, he just gets to work on them. The day I came to visit, Mark was servicing a nearly new pick-up truck. In the next bay over sat a nearly perfect '63 Chrysler '300' 2dr. ht. The hood was up exposing a fresh 383 rebuilt by Mark. The engine bay also looked new as this car only has about 50,000 miles on it. This car belongs to a customer of his. This fella is talking about joining our club, I hope he does. Cool car you don't see very often. I walked into the next room to snoop around and found a couple more goodies. Sitting there in the semidark smiling at me was a '48 Chevy coupe. It looked like it was sitting flat on the ground with no wheels. Mark said "no its got wheels, it just sits that low". Turns out, this car belongs to Doug and Dorothy Gillies. They have Mark work on it occasionally as well as their other vehicles. Back in the corner I could make out the grill of a '65 Ford F100. A little further inspection revealed a '65 F100 step-side truck that Mark hopes to get going one of these days. This room also contains several V8 engines and transmissions that he is saving for future projects. By the time I had finished snooping around the shop, the sun had come out of the clouds. Boy, did that '27 Ford roadster sitting there looked shiny. Mark looked at me grinned, and said "hey, wanna go for a ride"? I asked him if he thought bears, you know, lived in the woods or something like that. Next thing I know we are flying up who originally built it. I've got a feeling that many of you reading this know Dewey Ames. I had a great time visiting with Mark and checking out his vehicles. I also found a new place to get my vehicles serviced. Mark has a lot of experience with old and new vehicles, a great alternative to high priced dealerships. I did not get to see Margot at the shop, she was doing duty with a grandchild. Margot does a lot for this club as our secretary. Thank you both for taking active roles in this club! P.S. Mark is selling the roadster.

5 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 5 FROM THE BACK SEAT THE GAL S PAGE Club Members who need a little Sunshine The names below have been submitted by the Sunshine Committee. Those listed are our fellow members and need you. Burt Young. Someone not up to speed let Judy Jordan, Sunshine Committee Chair know. Judy s Phone number is: (503) It was going to be a Grand Adventure! It was the summer of Mac and I had been married but one year and we were leaving our jobs in Boston, our parents and siblings in New England and heading West to live and work in The Last Frontier Alaska. The State of Alaska was hiring many people to work in public safety, (Mac was hired as District Attorney in Ketchikan), to cope with the huge increase in population about to arrive due to the building of the Trans- Alaska Pipeline. The State would pay our way, if we promised to stay for 2 years. Well, really? Who would say no? So, we climbed into our 1970 shiny, blue Checker, packed to the gunnels, waved goodbye, and headed off on a 4000-mile journey from Boston to Prince Rupert, BC. From there, we would get on board the Taku, an Alaska Marine Highway Ferry, to reach our final destination, Ketchikan, Alaska. We loaded our 1970 blue Checker (affectionately named Chubby, well...what else?) to the gunnels; waved good-bye with promises of See you in two years! (which turned into 43 years) and headed West. Mac had driven across the country to Dayton, WA as a teenager in a 1936 Dodge, 2 door sedan (affectionately known as The Jitney ) with a couple of friends. I had only flown from one coast to the other. It was an eye-opening trip. The Checker always drew interest and the further we traveled the more an object of curiosity it became. Folks in the Mid-west had rarely seen a Checker Cab and never seen a civilian one and the Massachusetts s plates just added to the mystique. We had some interesting experiences. Like the night in a hotel in Joliet when glaring lights scanning across the building woke us up and we discovered why our hotel was so cheap. It was located a stones throw from the Maximum Security Prison. Next stop, Fargo and our evening dinner at the Best Western. We were perusing the menu and noticed that they had Maine Lobster listed. Hungry for a taste of Home, Mac asked our server about it. She listened, obviously caught the still- fresh New England accent and asked, Where are you from? Boston, we reply. She paused for only second and cheerfully told us they served a fabulous steak! I m sure that young lady went far. At Minot, we took a right and tooled north into Canada and took a left onto King s Highway 1. What beautiful sights along this roadway. The Checker passed endless miles of wheat fields on both sides. I had never seen the impressive sight of threshing machines marching along in staggered formations harvesting all those square miles of wheat. The water in the drainage ditches was covered with a thick layer of chaff and wheat. Ducks just sat and ate. Ate so much that you could walk right up to them. They were so full and fat they couldn t fly away. The plains gave way to the Canadian Rockies. Rising up from the flatlands, so massive they were on the horizon for two days before we reached them. The Checker again proved the easiest way to make new acquaintances. The valets at Banff Springs Hotel and Jasper Park Lodge were awestruck. Most asked, Is this an old Bentley? With the Rockies in our (severely restricted) rear view mirror, we started off on the final few days of the road to Prince Rupert. We were seeing fewer fellow travelers by now. When we passed a car pulled off the road several miles outside of Burns Lake, BC, it was noteworthy. A couple of miles further along, we saw a man and woman walking along. Moments after we passed, the penny dropped. These folks had to be connected to the car on the side of the road! We turned back and sure enough. They were about our age and had been walking into Burns Lake for help. The only space we had was that front seat but we squished and squeezed everyone in. We waited in the local diner with them while their car was towed and determined if it could be repaired. We shared our stories and found out that Harry and Bernie were from Michigan and due to take the same ferry, Taku, up to Juneau; two stops (Wrangell; Petersburg) beyond ours in Ketchikan. A former MP and policeman in Michigan, he had been hired by the Alaska State Troopers. The friendship that started as a Good Samaritan deed lasted for many years until they left Alaska. I still have the faded picture that one of the mechanics took when we dropped them off at the garage. Mercy, we were all so young! Mac, Susie, Harry, and Bernie. Dusty, smiling, undaunted, leaning against Chubby Checker headed down the Road. Susie and Mac Brown Judy Jordan was gracious to provide individuals who will make up the Gals Page articles for the entire year. Please provide a written article with or without pictures, to me (Ross Getchell). You must get it to me by the end of the first week in the month. Sending it by is the best, or send by mail. If you have any questions, just give me a call. My phone or address is at the footer of each page of the Backfire. Here is a list of those who signed up to give an article. Thank you! June--Susie Brown, July--Cindy Glegor, August--Gail Penuel, September--Gloria White, October--Kathy Sasso, November--Joyce Aspmo, December--Dorothy Gillies

6 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 6 FOR SALE LOT & ANNOUCEMENTS This 1955 Buick Century owned and restored by Steve Jordan is For Sale. Spread the word. Questions, call FOR SALE 1960 STUDEBAKER 2 DR LARK V8 AUTO GOOD BODY JON For Sale 1965 Mustang 2 dr. coupe, Cream paint w/red interior, miles on odometer (since new crate engine), automatic transmission, new tires, garage kept. $14,900. obo, Phone; (503) ask for Terry or (503) Caron Lewis. Selling due to illness in family. Art Stotts Many members of Lower Columbia Classic s will remember with great fondness, Art Stotts, who passed away on April 18, 2017 following a long battle with cancer. Art was born in Portland, OR. on Sept 24, He grew up in Portland and Scappoose, working at various jobs until he purchased the business in Long Beach, WA. where he eventually built Pioneer Market. There he met and married his wife, Katrina in Their daughter Kaarina now operates the business. Art was a huge fan of anything automotive and along with Katrina, owned & built a number of collector vehicles. He never met a stranger and was always willing to help out anyone, whether he knew them or not.. Art will be sorely missed in the gear-head community and by Lower Columbia Classic s members.

7 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 7 JUDITH ATKINSON 6/26 ROD DAWSON 6/28 DOUG GILLIES 6/22 SCOTT GLEGOR 6/29 ROGER HYNEN 6/24 ANN MESTRICH 6/25 DOUG PERRY 6/14 SONIA WOOD 6/21 JOHN SANTEE 6/21 GILLIES 6/8 LARSEN 6/16 MEYER 6/15

8 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC CAR CLUB 8 LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC S CAR CLUB P.O. BOX 1259 ASTORIA, OREGON BACKFIRE LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC S JULY 20 CLUB MEETING AT BURT & CINDY YOUNG S SHOP