Join us for a Potluck Following the Warrenton Old Fashioned Fourth of July car show and parade. The Time: 4:00 P.M. At: Steve & Judy Jordan s home 35232 Helligso Lane, Astoria, OR. Please bring a dish of your choice Hot Dogs furnished Car-drama on the I-5 Back when I was 30 my wife, Jan, and I were returning back home to LA after spending a couple weeks with my parents in Sweet Home, Oregon. I had stored a 1930 Buick (which ran and I still have) in grandfather s barn and decided to take it back to LA to begin a restoration. So I rented a trailer and mounted the car onto it, tied down securely with chains. In what would later prove a near-calamity, I didn t know enough to make sure the trailer had its own brakes-it was built to haul a tractor or small dozer, and should only have been towed behind a heavy vehicle, not a lightweight like a 1965 Pontiac Catalina Ventura! To make things worse, I didn t properly have the weight over the trailer tongue, instead it was spread evenly front to back. Finally, the trailer tongue was fastened over a ball which was strapped to the Pontiac s somewhat puny rear bumper! Well, with no foreboding of the awful day ahead of us, we set off high-spirited, looking forward to a pleasant trip home. We actually did have a clue of possible trouble, since every so often the load would shimmy, and gave the fleeting impression we COULD lose control. But, sadly, I ignored these subtle warnings. So about mid-afternoon we were sailing along about 70 mph and came to a long, steep section of highway that dropped down to Grant s Pass, or as Jan later punned Grant s NOT pass, that after she was sure she was still alive (This stretch of highway has been improved and widened since our little adventure back in 1969.) At the bottom of the long hill I could see the road curved somewhat sharply to the left. And just as we started down, the car started jerking violently from one side to the other! I astutely sensed this situation would probably not end well! I knew we could not make the curve at the bottom of the hill, and upon leaving the highway, we would sail gracefully off the hill and free-fall into Grants Pass! So I mashed the brake hard, determined to bring this disaster to the earliest possible conclusion. A thick cloud of dust was rising around us, but we were stopped. Jan looked over at me and asked are we in heaven? Turns out she was serious. As the dust settled, it was apparent we had landed in a deep ditch off the highway, and pointing back up the road. The car, trailer, and 30 Buick had moon shined across the north lane and left the road. Miraculously, we had not wiped out anyone else! A couple hundred feet in front of us, further up the opposite bank, sat the trailer, with the Buick sitting, majestically, on top! The trailer tongue was bent at 90 degrees, and hanging off the tongue was my mangled chrome bumper! Somehow, all vehicles and persons were still sitting upright. A crowd gathered. The police stopped and called a tow truck. When at long last the truck arrived, the driver looked over the situation and declared we were too far down the steep hill to be retrieved. So he left. We began to feel somewhat abandoned. But not long after, an angel pulled up in his 4 wheel drive pick-up. Without hesitation, he drove down the hill, hitched the car up, and pulled us out. Then he went back down and retrieved the trailer with its load. Turns out our angel was an old car enthusiast with a big heart and a lot of know-how. We followed behind him to a machine shop in town. The next day we had a new wheel and straightened tongue on the trailer, and a hitch welded to the frame of the Pontiac. The only further adventure on the trip back home was receiving a ticket from the CHP for driving too slow! Grant Espelund 1
Club Members who need a little Sunshine The names below have been submitted by the Sunshine Committee. Those listed below are our fellow members and need you Joe White Vicki Clayton Dorothy Harmon Jerry Benning Know someone not up to speed let Judy Jordan, Sunshine Committee Chair know. Judy s Phone number is: (503) 325-1807 MARV S PICKS 2014 From the Prez At our May meeting, new member Mark Gittins was welcomed into our happy group. Mark and his wife Margot of Warrenton, are our most recent new members and bring with them a 1923 Ford Roadster and a 1949 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe. Welcome to our club! Join us for the Clatskanie Heritage Days Car Show and for the Warrenton Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration This month s regular meeting will be held at Fred & Ann Mestrichs shop ; 35525 Little Lane, Astoria (that s off of Lewis & Clark Rd.) For those of you who may not know where Fred s shop is, I will be parked at Clatsop Power & Equip. (John Deere dealership at Miles Crossing) to lead members to the meeting. I will depart from Clatsop Power at 6:40 p.m. Steve Jordan, President 6/7 Country Cruisers Car Show Vader, WA 6/8 Ghost Flames and Grills North Plains OR 6/14 Highway 30 Cruise In Scappoose OR 6/22 Planters Day Woodland, WA 6/28 Winlock Egg Days Car Show Winlock WA 6/28 Clatskanie Car Show Clatskanie, OR 7/4 Crusin Thru Time North Plains, OR 7/5 Riverside Run Hoquiam WA 7/5 All Chevrolet Show Longview WA 7/12 Toledo Cheese Days Toledo WA 7/19 Believe in the Son Longview WA 7/20 Napavine Show and Shine Napavine WA 7/26 Midnight Cruisers Rod Fest Aberdeen WA 7/26 Run to the Rock Castle Rock WA 7/27Hot July Nights Ocean Park Moose, WA I ll show more of my picks in upcoming Backfire Newsletter s. Marv Stunkard 2
The regular monthly meeting of Lower Columbia Classics Car Club was held on May 15, 2014 at 7:00p.m.Steve Jordan s shop, Steve Jordan being in the chair. Judy Jordan substitute secretary. One new member, Mark Gittins, and one guest made 15 in attendance. A motion was made by Judy Jordan to approve the minutes as printed in the backfire, seconded by Fred Mestrich, motion passed. Since the Youngs and Getchell s were on vacation in Alaska the treasure s report will be given at the June meeting. President Jordan gave a brief report on the 50 s cruise reunion. A more complete report will be given at the June meeting. There will be a follow up meeting when Burt gets back. Social committee reported on the Bundy s cruise, a great time was had by all who attended. It was suggested that we make sure to put the street address on our fliers as new members did not know where Bundy s was located in Clatskanie. Our next social will be the Clatskanie car show on June 28 th. Judy reported that we will probably be doing some spur of the moment things this summer, so watch your e-mail for time and dates. For those who don t have e- mail we will give you a call No membership committee report was given. Old business Jim Wood reported on the Merts Open house and car show, quite a few members attended and had a great time. Seven cars from our club attended the Chili Chowder feed in Raymond Wa on April 27 th, great food and a fun time was had by all! New business: Judy Jordan made a motion to donate $50.00 to Merts Automotive Department in memory of Chuck Tontz, seconded by Fred Mestrich, motion passed. Oliver Yackly reported that Costco is putting on a car show on May 31 s and the Skamokawa Wa, Rods and Reels car show is also on that date. The Woodland, Planters day car show was mentioned and is on June 22 nd. Ann Mestrich volunteered to chair the club picnic in September, so be prepared to hear from her to help out. President Jordan asked that she select two additional members to assist her with the event. The picnic is scheduled for September 14th Attendance Drawing was won by Burt Young, but since he was not in attendance the money carries over until next month. Sorry Burt, you missed out! Fred and Ann reported they went topless on Mothers day in the 56 Chevrolet ( topless meaning no top on the car yet). The next meeting will be held at Fred and Ann Mestrich s shop 35525 Little Ln, Astoria Or. Thursday, June 19 th at 7:00 p.m. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Judy Jordan 3
As most of you know, Patty, Ross Cindy and Myself were not at last month s meeting. We were on vacation in Alaska. We caught a Cruise ship out of B.C. and sailed to Juneau and then onto Skagway. There we departed the ship and caught a train over White Pass where we were picked up by a motor coach and then into Whitehorse for the night. From there we were off by coach to Dawson City. We spent the night there and had a good time at Diamond Tooth Gerties. Pizza, beer and a Stage Show with live can can girls. The next morning we flew out of there, Dawson City in a twin engine Turbo Prop on a gravel runway, headed for Fairbanks. We got into Fairbanks in the afternoon and didn t know exactly what we were going to do for fun. As we were getting off the bus at our hotel our tour director told us about a car museum in town that was quite nice. Okay, that sounds like something we could do. We caught a taxi and went over to the museum. WOW, nice doesn t even begin to describe what we were in for. At this point, this was the highlight of our trip. It was late in the afternoon, early evening and when we got there, there was no one else in the Museum. The people running the museum were super friendly and as we got to talking to the manager, we started talking about some of the cars on display. The girls kind of took off on their own as Ross and I were getting a personal tour of the museum by Willy Vinton, the museum mgr. I only wish I could remember half of what he told us about the cars. Every car had a story, and we got to hear it all first hand. The cars are all restored to pristine condition, however there were a few that were better off not restored. There are several that are one of a kind that you will not ever see anywhere else. I believe he said that all but three are drivable. With each car there were manikins that were dressed with cloths of that era. This is where we caught up with the girls. They were interested in the cloths and hats, and were trying some on. After a few pictures Willy also took us into their restoration area where they were working on a couple of cars. Very, very interesting. Some of the cars you cannot get parts for any longer, so they have to make, cast or whatever it takes to get the part they need. I am sure that the pictures we are going to attach to this article will not do the museum justice or the cars. The museum also puts on a car show every other year. This is the year that they will have a show and the next being 2016. If any of you are interested in taking a car cruise, we are going to look into organizing a cruise to Fairbanks in 2016. This would be about 17 or 18 day cruise. The rest of trip consisted of a coach ride from Fairbanks to Denali and a trip to Jeff Kings dog sled ranch. Jeff is a 4 time Iditarod champion. Patty just wanted to hold the puppies. She got her chance, and they were just adorable. This was a very good tour and a lot of fun and very interesting. From Denali we took a train to Anchorage where we caught a plane back to Portland. We did it all, ship, train, plane, and coach. We had a great time, great company, and a lot of fun. Burt Young PATTY & CINDY IN COSTUMES ROSS & PATTY PLAYING THE PART WILLY VINTON MUSEUM MGR. FOUNTAINHEAD ANTIQUE AUTO MUSEUM 4
FROM THE BACK SEAT The gals page Do any of you have a favorite poem you remember as a child, I certainly do! I was reminded of it when we were all in Crescent City last year for the car show. We girls went shopping while the guys were sharing stories about their cars. In our shopping adventure, two of the gals purchased some fairy figurines, that s when my favorite poem came to mind. I know it by heart, but when put to the test in front of several people I couldn t finish it, so I am going to share it with you now. There are fairies at the bottom of our garden! It s not so very, very far away; You pass the Gardner s shed and you just keep straight ahead- I do so hope they ve really come to stay. There s a little wood, with moss in it and beetles, and a little stream that quietly runs through; You wouldn t think they d dare to come merry-making there- Well, they do. There are fairies at the bottom of our garden! They often have a dance on summer nights; The butterflies and bees make a lovely little breeze, And the rabbits stand about and hold the lights. Did you know that they could sit upon the moonbeams? And pick a little star to make a fan, And dance away up there in the middle of the air? Well, they can. There are fairies at the bottom of our garden! You cannot think how beautiful they are; They all stand up and sing when the Fairy Queen and King Come gently floating down upon their car. The King is very proud and very handsome; The Queen- now can you guess who that could be? (She s a little girl all day, but at night she steals away ;) Well--- It s ME --- Author Rose Fyleman Let me know if this is a poem you remember, it came from The Childs World book (Stories of Childhood). The Childs World Inc. was copyrighted in1947. 5
Ramblin `Round With Steve The M.E.R.T.S. annual open house went off without a hitch on the 12th of May, with something on the order of ten cars from Lower Columbia Classic s cars in attendance. Thanks guys, for bringing out your cars in support. In last months article I mistakenly typed in May for the Planters Day show on June 22nd and for the Clatskanie Heritage Days car show on June 28th. I wanted to correct that, in case some of you didn t pick up on it. Lets have a good turnout for the Clatskanie show. I ll e-mail all of you later this month, with a departure point and time, so that we can tour up together and get parked in the same vicinity. On the 4th of July, the City of Warrenton holds their Old Fashioned Fourth of July celebration. Included is a Car Show, a Motorcycle Show and a Parade. The Car Show is set for 11: a.m. to 3: p.m. and will be held in Community Park. The parade will begin at 3:00 p.m. (see the enclosed info sheets and application forms) Lets try to have a good turnout! Other car events to be giving consideration to, coming in July are, to name just a few, July 12th Toledo Cheese Days in Toledo, WA. and that same weekend, the WAAAM Traffic Jam car show and swap meet at the Hood River Air/Auto Museum, runs the 11th & 12th with a evening cruise-in, sock-hop and movie on the 11th and the car show on Saturday the 12th. Registration includes entry to the museum. Check it all out at www.waaamuseum.org for lots more info on the event. Not to be forgotten, on July 9-11th a great event is Graffiti Weekend in Roseburg, OR. and believe me it is a full weekend with lots of choices as to which shows to attend and where to go. In addition to events like those listed in the events calendars, I m looking into the Starline Drive-in, at Shelton, WA. and the 99W in Newburg, OR. and we ll talk about setting a date for going to one of them this summer, at our next meeting. For those of us with high mileage on our odometers, (us - not our cars) it'll probably be an overnighter, so I m also investigating accommodations in the area. Anyway, far too many car shows to even begin to mention, lots of them are great events to attend - you ll just have to dig out your calendars, look them all over and make your own choices. On another front, I was shopping for seat surrounds for one of my Buicks and discovered that Freeman s Auto Wrecking in White Hall, Montana has closed it s doors. Crushed about 3500 classic parts cars beginning in early May. Sure hated to see that happen - it was one of my favorite shopping malls and according to what I can find out, that leaves only about three or four such yards in all of Montana. Guess the economy has taken its toll on every sort of business. Until next month, have a great June, attend some shows, meet new car guys and above all, keep the shiny side up. 6
JULY 2014 BIRTHDAYS IN C APITAL LETTER S AND B OLD, A NNIVERSAR Y IN ITALIC S AND UN DE R- LINED, EVE NTS IN CA P S/B OLD/UN DERLIN ED/ ITAL IC S SUN MON TUE WE D THUR FRI SA T 1 2 3 POLK RILEY 4 5 6 7 8 Hogeland 9 MARIAN OLSON/ RALSTON 10 11 12 MOLLY KELTY J & J Santee 13 14 15 Don & Fay Landwehr L. PETERSON O. YACKLEY 20 21 JIM SCAR- BOROUGH 16 17LCCC MEETING Kallstrom 22 23 24 VALARIE PURDY 18 19 Fred & Ann Mestrich Marv & Sue Stunkard 25 26 27 Darryl & Barbara Niemi GLORIA WHITE 28 29 Kevin & Molly Kelty 30 31 7
LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC S CAR CLUB P.O. BOX 1259 ASTORIA, OREGON 97103 Address Correction Requested BACKFIRE LOWER COLUMBIA CLASSIC S CAR CLUB JUNE 19TH 2014 CLUB MEETING AT FRED MESTRICH S SHOP 8