The October 2014 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 24-Sep-2014 ==== Copyright (c) 2014 Corvairs of New Mexico ::
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OCTOBER 2014 / VOLUME 40 / NUMBER 10 / ISSUE #469
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Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2005
Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, Third Place, 2010
Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2012
EDITOR: Jim Pittman
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, October 3rd, 2014 at 7:00 PM
North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE
THIS MONTH:
Dues Due........................................Membership Committee
State Fair Group Photo...................................Robert Gold
Where's Dave ..........................................David Huntoon
September Meeting Minutes...................................Art Gold
September Board Meeting Minutes........................Anne Mae Gold
Three's The Charm: State Fair Car Show...................Robert Gold
Corvairs and Brand-Xs at the Fair........................Robert Gold
Birthdays & Anniversaries.........................Sunshine Committee
August Car Council Meeting...............................Robert Gold
Treasury Report..........................................Robert Gold
Make-A-Wish Car Show......................................John Wiker
Wendell Walker 1919-2014.................................Jim Pittman
My Part in the Seattle Saga Part 3............Charley Biddle CHICAGO
Calendar of Coming Events.........................Board of Directors
October Issue, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago............Club Historian
Extra Photos: Pages 13, 14, 15, 16........Various Club Photographers
COVER: ...... Wendell Walker -- February 9, 1919 - September 15, 2014
COVER: ... At Right: Wendell at one of his favorite chores: body work
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MEETINGS: First Wednesday of the Month at 7:00 PM
North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE
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President: David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com
Vice-Pres: Tarmo Sutt 505-690-2046 tarmo @ juno.com
Secretary: Anne Mae Gold 505-620-7434 beisbol30 @ msn.com
Treasurer: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com
Car Council: Mike Stickler 505-856-6993 sticorsa @ gmail.com
Merchandise: Vickie Hall 505-865-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com
Membership: Larry Yoffee 505-321-5909 corsa180 @ gmail.com
Sunshine: Heula Pittman 505-275-2195 heula @ q.com
Newsletter: Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu
Past President: Ray Trujillo 505-839-7436 ray @ bpsabq.com
Past President: Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com
Past President: John Wiker 505-899-3076 wikerj63 @ yahoo.com
DUES: CNM: 12 months $25.00 -or- 26 months $ 50.00
CORSA: 12 months $45.00 -or- 26 months $ 90.00
CNM & CORSA: 12 months $70.00 -or- 26 months $140.00
CORSA's home page: http://www.corvair.org
CNM's newsletters: http://www.unm.edu/~jimp
Steve Gongora's page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871
Larry Yoffee home page: http://www.corsaturbo180usa.com/
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On 25 September 2014 the club had 45 active family memberships.
DUES DUE DATES OCTOBER 2014
EXPIRED ============================ INACTIVE DATE
2013.10 Mary Alice & Oliver Scheflow 25-NOV-2013
2014.03 Everett (Allen) Greer 25-APR-2014
2014.04 Angela & Wesley Heiss 25-MAY-2014
2014.05 Marilyn & Richard Foster 25-JUN-2014
2014.05 Chloe Mullins 25-JUN-2014
2014.06 Melba & Tommie Anderson 25-JUL-2014
2014.06 Susanne & Larry Hickerson 25-JUL-2014
2014.08 Alan Gold 25-SEP-2014
2014.08 Nancy & Russ McDuffie 25-SEP-2014
DUE LAST MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE
2014.09 Kathryn & Douglas Gadomski 25-OCT-2014
2014.09 Brian E Rowe 25-OCT-2014
DUE THIS MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE
2014.10 Debra & Jon Anderson 25-NOV-2014
2014.10 Janet & Steve Johnson 25-NOV-2014
2014.10 Mary Lou & Mark Martinek 25-NOV-2014
2014.10 Sylvia & Ray Trujillo 25-NOV-2014
DUE NOVEMBER 2014 ================== INACTIVE DATE
2014.11 Matt & Heather Choiniere 25-DEC-2014
2014.11 Linda & Dick Cochran 25-DEC-2014
2014.11 Cheryl & Edward Halpin 25-DEC-2014
2014.11 Kay & Tarmo Sutt 25-DEC-2014
2014.11 Brenda & Hurley Wilvert 25-DEC-2014
DUE DECEMBER 2014 ================== INACTIVE DATE
2014.12 David Huntoon 25-JAN-2015
2014.12 Barbara & Gordon Johnson 25-JAN-2015
2014.12 Kelli & Mark Morgan 25-JAN-2015
2014.12 Larry Yoffee 25-JAN-2015
Send your Dues to:
CNM Treasurer c/o Robert Gold
1301 Valencia NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Past due memberships become inactive after a one-month grace period.
The Club will mail in your National Dues if you send us the renewal
form from your Communique.
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WHERE'S DAVE?
David Huntoon
As you read this, the state fair car show and the car council swap meet will
have come and gone. I am sure both were successful and we have Robert Gold to
thank for that. I am looking for some parts for my VW at the swap meet so we
will see. Since I am Corvair-less, I will not be at the state fair. Being
without a Corvair is a situation to be soon remedied. More on that later.
Our remaining upcoming events include our officer elections at our next
membership meeting. Have you considered helping by serving as a club officer?
Hope so. I have decided not to run again as president so that will be an open
position waiting for an eager, energetic warm body. October will have our last
Old Route 66 cleanup for this year. First Saturday after our meeting at 8:30am.
Lube is the lead honcho for this so let him know if you can help.
On October 9th we are having a dinner for the Martineks at Sadie's Restaurant,
6230 Fourth Street NW. They are visiting here from their Vancouver home for the
balloon fiesta. 6:00pm. I will ask for a show of hands to get an idea on how
many may attend. I am thinking 15-20.
November 8th at 5:00pm will be the bingo/potluck/silent auction at the House of
Covers. Always a good time and thanks to Steve and Rita Gongora for making this
happen.
The last piece of news is difficult. We lost our long time member, Wendell
Walker, on September 15th in San Diego. As of now we have no details about a
service in San Diego or Rio Rancho or elsewhere. A great guy. Dedicated car nut.
Friend of many. Rest in peace Wendy.
David.......
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MEETING MINUTES 9-3-2014
Art Gold
Meeting came to order at 7:07pm at North Domingo Baca Multicultural Center with
21 in attendance.
Officer Reports
Dave Huntoon (president) asked for approval of the minutes of the previous
meeting.
Tarmo Sutt (vice president) made comments later.
Robert Gold (treasurer) stated that the account has $4,535.55.
Art Gold (acting secretary) had nothing to say.
Larry Yoffee (membership) was absent .
Member Reports
Jim Pittman (editor) said the newsletter deadline is Friday, September 19th. He
received in the mail from the San Diego club tickets for the Fan Belt Toss
raffle. Tarmo led a discussion about that.
Heula Pittman (sunshine) reminded us that new members Anthony Berbig & Linda
Soukup will be moving to New Mexico from Minnesota. She will be mailing their
new member packet soon, including name tags. They should be here in early
Spring.
Vickie Hall (merchandise) has not collected any money this month. Free items are
still available. Items available: patches $2 ea. Tri-State patch $3 ea. Donation
from member Terry Price of a 25-foot measuring tape from Harbor Freight tonight.
This will be added to the Sunshine Committee inventory.
Robert Gold (car council) said that all love the website. It is very simple and
straight forward. The Los Lunas swap meet is coming up. Volunteers for the swap
meet are in good demand from the club. No progress with the NMCCC logo.
Old Business
Mike Stickler won a book on Corvettes at the car club picnic last month. Since
Mike and Brenda had to leave the picnic early, John Wiker collected the prize
for Mike. Someone gave John another door prize: a book on Chryslers. John told
us how he shared the Corvette book with Corvette owners at the Reliable
Chevrolet Make-A-Wish car show. Did this result in his 1966 Corvair getting the
second place in class prize? Maybe. He presented both books to Mike at the
meeting tonight.
New Business
State Fair. There were about 20 cars last year. All should come. Sunday
September 21st. Meet at 7am at the parking lot of the old Furrs, San Pedro and
Central, for individual and group photos, then drive in the San Pedro gate at
7:15.
Elections are next month. Nominations will be welcome! Volunteers will be
welcome!
Potluck / Bingo / Auction - Saturday November 8th at 5pm, at House of Covers.
Christmas Dinner plans need to be made. Roper's has apparently been transformed
into Vick's Vittles. There are a number of other places we may pick from, but
we are looking for 50 or fewer for the attendees of the dinner. All members are
asked for donations for a charity that is worthy of our attention. Anne Mae Gold
previously suggested the APS Clothing bank. We decided donating clothing for
school children was a good thing. A vote was had for the APS Clothing Store.
Mary Lou & Mark Martinek are coming to the Balloon fiesta this year from
Washington State and we look forward to visiting with them. Maybe they will want
to have a club dinner at Sadie's. It will be busy in Albuquerque during the
balloon fiesta so we should make plans and reservations soon.
Ed Cole's wife, Dollie Cole, passed away recently.
Those who attended this year's Zozobra (old man gloom) event in Santa Fe
discussed it. Forty thousand people? Where did they put them all? Apparently the
event went very well.
Jim Pittman gave a small tech talk on the "hackability" of modern cars due to
their electronic controls and connection to the Internet.
The 50/50 winner tonight was Hurley Wilvert at $11, $22 all together. Hurley
donated $9 to the Sunshine Committee and thereby, he said, doubled his money.
Upcoming Events - we said, no club breakfast in September, but do we want one in
October?
Meeting Adjourned at 8:13pm
Mr. Gold Reporting
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BOARD MEETING MINUTES 09-17-2014
Anne Mae Gold
Present: Dave Huntoon, Tarmo Sutt, Anne Mae Gold, Lube Lubert, Larry Yoffe,
Heula & Jim Pittman
Reports:
Treasurer: $4,611.57 and a report will be provided by Friday.
Membership: New members are Lisa & Dan Thompson from Edgewood. Information has
been forwarded to John Wiker for name tags. The Berbig family have also joined,
they attended the Chama Tri-State. Jim posed the question of how seriously we
want to persue former members after their membership expires. The membership
chair should make contact with those whose membership has lapsed to see if they
are still interested in staying with us. Just a friendly reminder type call.
Larry talked about the Concours de Soleil in the north valley. Sunday is their
sixth annual car show and Larry is showing a car. Supposedly there will be some
"million dollar" cars. Larry will be posting video and pictures to his web page.
Editor: This Friday September 19th is the newsletter deadline. Mary Lou & Mark
Martinek will be here from Washington State for the Balloon Fiesta. We will have
dinner with them at Sadie's (6230 Fourth Street NW 505-345-5339) on Thursday
October 9th at 6:00 pm. We will ask for a show of hands at the general meeting.
Jim has asked for our members' CORSA expiration dates, but has not heard back.
Sunshine: Jim and Heula phoned or emailed everyone about Wendell's passing. When
talking to Steve Goodman, he mentioned that Phyllis Neal had passed away
suddenly as well. John & Phyllis from Colorado Springs have attended Tri-States
and were members of the Pikes Peak club. Heula sent out sympathy cards to
Wendell's family. Since Wendell was a member of the Sunshine Committee, it would
be nice if we did something special for the club in his name.
Merchandise: Larry Yoffe had mentioned doing a polo-type shirt for CNM members.
He stopped by the shop that made the T-shirts for the Chama Tri-State to get
prices. Depending on what we choose, shirts would range $20-30, and CNM caps
would run $15. He will bring it up at the membership meeting to gauge interest.
He will also bring Tri-State leftovers to the next meeting.
Our October general meeting is election night. The Board recommends that current
volunteers be asked if they want to continue or if they want out, or would
rather be in a different position. After elections, the President should
appoint, and the Board approve, all committee chairs. Is there a description of
volunteer positions in the club constitution? We will ask membership for any
volunteers for any open positions.
Richard Sanchez has a 1960 Corvair coupe for sale. He contacted David and was
going to send him pictures, but none has been received so far. He may attend the
State Fair car show and may bring the car to a meeting.
SEP 21 7:00 AM State Fair show, Central & San Pedro
SEP 26 - 27 - 28 Car Council Swap Meet in Los Lunas
OCT 4 8:30 AM Last Old Route 66 Cleanup of the year
OCT 9 6:00 PM Martineks Dinner at Sadie's on 4th
NOV 8 5:00 PM Bingo / Potluck / Auction House of Covers
DEC 6 or 13 ? Christmas Party - Where?
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THREE'S THE CHARM
2014 19th Annual State Fair Car Show
Robert Gold
You know what's better than two groups of Chevys on display at the State Fair?
THREE groups of Chevys on display! After the CNM'ers entered the fairgrounds we
were informed that theVintage Chevrolet Club of America had a number of cars
parked along Main Street. Their cars included numerous antique cars we seldom
see on the road. These folks were taking their antique beauties and driving them
along Rt 66. They just so happened to be in the area and decided to show their
cars. Ain't it grand to live along the Mother Road! So adding CNM and the
Classic Chevy club, there were three sparkling groups of cars for the citizens
of New Mexico to marvel at.
Now let's get to what you've been waiting for.. a description of the 19th annual
show. We had eleven cars entered this year. The weather was great, as usual. I
decided to call this year's weather; windy, wonderful weather (WWW). Even though
the number of Corvairs was down this year, we had the distinction of having
virtually all the Corvair models on display, save the Rampside (I left mine at
home today) and the 4-door late model. Not too bad CNM. With that, let me
present this year's State Fair Car Show lineup:
1. Robert Gold 1962 Loadside (the most rare model)
2. Sara Gold (Sandia Homecoming Queen) 1974 Corvair-powered VW Bus
3. John & Anne Wiker 1966 Monza coupe
4. Pat & Vickie Hall 1965 Corsa coupe
5. Javi Gold (driven by Alan Gold) 1966 Corsa coupe
6. Robert Gold (driven by Annette Saiz) 1964 Monza convertible
7. Anne Mae Gold (driven by Javie Ortiz) 1961 Lakewood
8. Lube Lubert The Great White Hope: 1963 Corvair 4-door
9. Art Gold (driven by Anne Mae Gold) 1964 Monza convertible
10. Katie Johnson, (nameless) 1963 Monza convertible
11. Richard Sanchez 1960 Monza coupe
I now want to recognize a loyal, former member of CNM, who made an appearance at
the show. Our good friend, Jerry Goffe, was seen speeding down the length of our
Corvair display in an electric scooter. Aside from not walking under his own
power, Jerry looked to be feeling well. He said he is pain free and is looking
forward to doing more as time goes on. Alas, he had one unhappy thing to say. It
seems he sold his completely original 1962 Loadside to a raider from Texas. He
didn't refer to the person who bought the Loadside by that name, but that's what
I call a guy with lots of cash who poaches a really nice F.C. from around here.
That leaves me with being the only one in town with a 1962 Loadside, and, no, it
ain't for sale. Again all the best to Jerry on his recovery.
On to the Show... These are the folks who entered and/or drove a car to our
show:
1. Best car - early (1960-1964) 1st Katie Johnson 1963 Monza convertible
2. Best car - late (1965-1969) 1st Pat & Vickie Hall 1965 Corsa coupe
3. Best Forward Control 1st Robert Gold 1962 Loadside
4. Best Gold Family Car 1st Art Gold 1964 Monza convertible
That seems to be all that I have for you today. I want to thank all the people
who showed up for your help and support in putting on this show.
Oh yes, here is one question for you to ponder until I see you at the next
regular meeting. How do spell the Albuqueruqe High School with the Raven mascot?
Hint- it's not the anglo spelling. Enough said.
See you next year at the Fair! -- Robert Gold
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Special Happy Birthday Wishes to Five CNM'ers Celebrating in October:
* Erica Anderson
* Jon Anderson
* Dan Palmer
* Terry Price
* Bill Reider
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* * M E M B E R I N F O R M A T I O N * W H O H A S W H A T * *
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LeROY ROGERS 505-294-0623 has a 1960 Monza coupe. He has been bringing it to car
shows for years. He thinks it may be time to part with it. Should some member
of CNM be interested, let LeRoy know.
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ROBERT GOLD 505-268-6878 has a 1961 air conditioned "hot red" Lakewood. This is
the famous "Radio Flyer" show car and it has "no issues" i.e. it is perfect.
Robert will be glad to tell you all about it.
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PAT HALL 505-620-5574 in Los Lunas, NM has Corvairs in need of repair. Lots of
parts for most Corvairs.
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HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
August Car Council Meeting
Robert Gold
For those of you who have been around for a while you might remember that baby
boomers were sometimes referred to as the "me generation" and I'm a part of that
group. Last night's Car Council meeting reminded me the moniker applies to me.
There were several topics covered at the meeting, but only one item was
important, because it centered on ME. So, read on to see why I'm so
important....
The meeting was called to order at 7:35. Attendance was a bit thin, but all the
important folks, including me, were there. The owner from King Kong Customs
spoke to us about a show to be held at the Santa Ana Star Center, located, as a
fellow council member told me, somewhere between Rio Rancho and the Canadian
border. Anyway, the show is going to be a big one and will be held September 5 -
7.
Our new/old treasurer reported that there was lots of money in the checking
account and the Council's CDs. The exact amount was not available since he was
waiting for some bills to come in.
Next, we talked about the lack of progress in the logo approval process. Though
the Zia Pueblo had not given us formal approval, someone at the pueblo had said
that it was ok for us to use our logo, subject to later approval. I just hope he
has a good memory, since we got nothing in writing.
Next came the report on the All Clubs Picnic. It was a rousing success. There
were 22 clubs represented at the show. In addition, about 54 classic cars were
there and 165 people showed up. The event cost $400 and brought in $425 for a
profit over all of $25. I should note that the goal was not a profit, but for
everyone to have a good time, and indeed a good time was had by all.
Now for the most important part of the meeting, my report on the new website.
After years of controversy, I was able to report that the Council now had a
working web site: nmcarcouncil.com (NOT dot-org or dot-net). I told the
assembled crowd that I was not a computer person and I put the site together to
simply report information, leaving out many of the "bells and whistles" that
normally clutter most websites. Our site is not intended for commerce and
therefore was not constructed that way. I added that the site had been visited
almost 1,000 times in the last month. I was then told by several people that
they had seen the site and really liked it. I received applause at the end of my
report. It was a good day for me and for CNM.
The meeting wound up with Joyce Clements' report on the swap meet to be held
September 26-28. So far 244 spaces of the 444 available had been sold. The event
was drawing people from as far as Canada. As I mentioned before, it's possible
that Canada is close to where King Kong Custom's show is to be held. Anyway,
back to the swap meet report. Joyce made a plea for volunteers to work the meet.
She was quick to thank CNM for our support. I plan to send around a signup sheet
for volunteers at our September meeting. We already have four volunteers for the
swap meet, so a couple more would really really look good (hint, hint).
With that the meeting was adjourned.
-- Robert Gold
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TREASURY REPORT ............. 08-21-2014 to 09-19-2014 ............. ROBERT GOLD
DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $4,535.55
========== ==== ========== ========== ==========================================
2014.09.04 2180 -$ 29.98 H.Pittman SEP 2014 Newsletter_Printing $ 29.98
2014.09.09 +$ 106.00 Deposit Dues -- Lube Lubert $ 25.00
2014.09.09 Dues -- D.Thompson $ 70.00
2014.09.09 50/50 $ 11.00
========== ==== ========== ========== ==========================================
2014.08.20 ****************************************** ENDING BALANCE = $4,611.57
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MAKE-A-WISH CAR SHOW
John Wiker
For the third consecutive year, Reliability Chevy hosted the Make-A-Wish car
show to help raise money to send very ill children on a "Trip of a Lifetime."
This year they sent out 131 kids, a new record. I arrived in line at 0800 and
found myself next to four Corvettes. Coincidentally, 131 cars registered this
year.
I entered my 1966 Corvair in the 1960-1969 Classic category along with eight
others including; 1969 Ford Fairlane Fastback, 1968 Buick Riviera, 1967 Plymouth
Belvedere, 1965 Comet, 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1961 Chevy Impala, 1963 Chevy
Impala, 1960 Chevy BelAir.
During the show, I shared the Corvette History book I had that Mike Stickler won
at the Car Club picnic and I had not given him yet. They seemed impressed with
it. Since I was the only air-cooled car at the show, I spent a lot of time with
them and they really looked over my car like it was one of their own. In my
mind, the top three cars in my category were the Riviera and the two Impalas.
When our category was called, the Riviera got third place and -- a shock to me
-- they called out the Corvair for second place! The 1960 BelAir got first
place. I can't tell you how it happened, but making friends with the Host Club
elders probably did not hurt. Thanks, Mike for the book. I'll give it to you at
the next meeting.
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WENDELL WALKER - 9 FEB-1919 - 15-SEP-2014 (AGE 95 YEARS 7 MONTHS 6 DAYS)
September 15th, 2014 -- Wendell Walker died this morning in San Diego. He was
95. Wendell and Ilva joined CNM in January 1989. Despite owning a house in the
distant northwest corner of Rio Rancho, Wendell soon became an indispensable
member of our club. As we got to know him we learned that he had owned more
Corvairs that we could easily remember. He was fond of a lot of Brand-Xs too
including his 1963 Cadillac convertible and his "purple" Dodge Challenger R/T. I
suppose the most exotic Brand-X was his Italian-red Pantera. He was happy to
tell about how he restored it from a wrecked car and drove it for years.
When the idea came up to obtain and restore a late coupe as a raffle prize for
the 1996 CORSA convention in Albuquerque, there was Wendell, doing most of the
body work. In May 1999 one of our first newsletter covers to boast a digital
photograph showed his work on repairing and repainting Mark Domzalski's
Rampside. Most recently his prized Corvair was a red convertible with white top
and electric adjustable seats, and a white early convertible was in progress in
his garage. Wendell was directly responsible for starting our use of digital
color photos in the newsletter by lending his Sony Mavica camera to our roving
reporter to cover the 1999 Museum car show.
Wendell served as CNM Treasurer for thirteen years: 1990-1991 and 1997-2007. It
took him at least two years to stop complaining that we took the job away from
him. Wendell was a faithful member of VMCCA - Veteran Motor Car Club of America,
and enlisted in the Santa Fe car club in order to show one or another of his
cars at "Fourth of July on the Plaza" car shows.
We formally acknowledged his value to our club with our two prestigious awards
by presenting him with the Ike Meissner Award in December 1998 and the Francis
Boydston Award in May 2005.
Until her death in 2001 Ilva attended many of our club activities with Wendell,
although she made it clear she was not a car person. Your editor was delighted
that she wrote several excellent articles for the newsletter. Wendell always
claimed he couldn't write, but he nevertheless managed to provide several
reports on club activities such as the trip to the Tri-State in Grand Junction,
Colorado and a tour to Bosque del Apache. A spectacular story was the one in
which he drove his Dodge Challenger 440 R/T to Flagstaff, took the train back to
Albuquerque, then attended the Canon City 2010 Tri-State in his red early
convertible, all in the space of one week! Wendell's fascination with the Ford
GT-40 inspired one of your editor's better adventure stories. If there's any
justice in the universe, Wendell will be presented the keys to a shiny new Ford
GT-40 when he greets Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.
Wendell got old as we all must and eventually was no longer able to drive any of
his cars, not even the 2008 Honda S2000 race car he loved. He was able to stay
in his home in Rio Rancho for many months after he was no longer able to drive,
and was sorry when he finally had to leave New Mexico for San Diego as his
health further deteriorated.
Wendell Walker was a key member of CNM, a friend and an inspiration to all of us
for his many accomplishments and his easy friendship. Like Will Rogers, he
rarely met a man -- or woman -- he didn't like. We will miss him.
Wendell wrote or inspired several memorable articles for our newsletter:
June 2002 - Report on Tri-State in Grand Junction.
May 2003 - Pantera featured in Rio Rancho Observer.
June 2003 - His 1963 Cadillac Convertible Restoration.
February 2004 - Report on Trip to Bosque del Apache.
March 2004 - "My First of Eight Corvairs" article.
June 2004 - Featured in a "La Ventana" profile.
October 2005 - Report on VMCCA Tour to Gilman Tunnel.
December 2006 - "My Dream Came True" Ford GT-40 weekend.
April 2007 - Ford GT Road Test with "Windy" Walker.
July 2010 - Two Car Shows, Two States, One Week!
Ilva wrote several articles for our newsletter:
June 1997 - Albuquerque Journal/Tribune Tour
July 1998 - My Report on the Tri-State
November 1998 - Foliage Stuff: Trip to Embudo
March 1999 - CNM Highs and Lows
May 1999 - The Strippers of Rio Rancho
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My Part of the 1975 Seattle Saga, Part 3 -- Charley Biddle
Last month I related my adventures at the 1975 Seattle CORSA Convention.
The worse thing was my Corvair being stuffed in the rear by another
convention attendee (or inattentee?).
With the convention over, a group of us headed south from Seattle/Tacoma. This
included Larry Claypool and Kirk Parro in one Corvan and Skip McCue and Pat
Carroll in another. I, having a faster 140 Monza, followed up the rear. The
thought being, that they could not outrun me, and I could always catch up if I
got behind.
We took a ferry ride across Puget Sound and traveled to the shore of the Pacific
Ocean, something none of us had ever seen. In Chicago, we have Lake Michigan,
but we can drive to the other side in about three hours, depending on traffic.
We arrived at the top of a cliff overlooking an ocean beach at about sunset. Not
being content in leaving nature in its pristine form, we climbed down to the
beach and, using our feet, traced out a huge CCE logo in the beach sand.
From there, we took some good Corvair-twisty logging roads thru the forest. It
was getting dark, so all I could see were bottoms of very large trees, very
close to the road.
I followed up behind the two Corvans, easily keeping up. We were the only
vehicles on the road. It became very dark. The only thing I could see ahead was
the tail lights of a Corvan. Being that there were probably very few Corvans in
that area, I was confident I was following the correct ones. Nothing was behind
me.
I gawked at the part of the forest I could see in my headlights, and eventually
dropped behind the other Corvans. No problem, I can always catch up to them.
They must have been around a bend or two in the road.
By then, a set of headlights appeared in my rear view mirror, kinda far off, but
there, none the less. Since I had the stock inside rearview mirror, without the
optional day/night feature found on the higher GM models, I took the second
option, which was to floor the accelerator and outrun the pesky headlights.
That worked fine, and I soon saw the tail lights of the Corvans I was following.
As I was catching up to them, those headlights from behind reappeared, but this
time they had a set of flashing red lights above them. Busted!
The officer pulled me over and took my license back to his car to write me a
ticket. Great, all I need is a court appearance 2000 miles from home. But, he
came back, gave me the ticket and my license. In Illinois, they always keep the
license, as an incentive to get you to come to court. You're allowed to drive,
but you drive "on a ticket." Not good if you get busted for anything else before
your court date. However, I had both. The ticket included an envelope in which
to mail back the fine, which, as I recall, was $50.
Of course, my fellow club members kept going. I had explained to the officer
that I was just following my friends up ahead, and was simply keeping up with
them. He muttered something like, "We'll see to that," and roared off after
them.
The best place to be on the road, when you know there is also a police officer
there, is behind him. As long as you don't pass him, you won't get a ticket. At
least that was what I was counting on.
So, I gave him a few seconds to get ahead, and I followed at a good clip,
knowing that if I saw that I was catching up to him, I could slow down. I
figured he would catch up to the Corvans, at which time I would "slowly" catch
up to all of them.
However, I never saw the cop again. Figuring that the Corvans were probably half
a state away by now, I kept on going at a good clip. No cop, good; no friends,
bad. They must be even further up ahead.
Little did I know, that the trailing Corvan had seen me getting busted. They hid
in a dark parking lot in a dark restaurant (or something) in the dark forest. I
apparently passed them by while trying to go as fast as possible but not so fast
that I caught up to the cop again.
Eventually, I slowed down a bit, fearing that the cop had set up a radar spot
somewhere. And eventually, two sets of headlights came up from behind. Having
been busted once already, I slowed to the speed limit. The lights behind were my
friends in the Corvans, who apparently had seen the officer go by at high speed,
followed by me going by at almost the same high speed. They gave chase, but it
took a while to catch up to me.
The rest of the night was uneventful, and the next day I took a different path
home. I don't remember just where I went from there, but I eventually arrived
home, safe and sound. They did too, but by a different route.
(I mention in this article that I was amazed to get my license back when I got
that speeding ticket in Washington state... Back then, Illinois driver's
licenses were heavy paper, with no picture or holograms as found on the current
plastic driver's licenses. When one was stopped in Illinois, the officer would
immediately hold the license up to the light, to see how many staple holes were
in the license. One or more sets of staple holes indicated the licensee had
been issued tickets previously and their license had been stapled to the court
documents. Multiple staple holes indicated a repeat offender, who was less
likely to get out of a ticket by pleading a first time offense. --- Charley)
Reprinted from the AIRHORN, Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts, October 2014
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEVEN YEARS AGO IN OCTOBER
2007 - Vol 33 Nr 10 - # 385
Richard Finch posed with Wolfgang Meyn's sleek F1 experimental aircraft in
Moriarty and reported on an Ultra Van rally in Ruidoso. We published a tribute
to Debbie Pleau who died in August. At our September meeting 27 members were
present. Wendell said the bank account had $3,050. Art Gold took over as Car
Council representative and said we should join SEPA to keep old cars alive. Jim
had another rant about the negative consequences of growing corn to make ethanol
for auto fuel. Well, we are still doing it. Ray reported on TUNAs for his 1962
Corvair. Brenda reported on the 2008 calendar project. Jim provided a re-write
of a classic report on picking up Old Route 66 trash, originally published in
August 2000 when he was even more disgusted that people would thoughtlessly
throw litter on our highways. We had a copy of the Silicon Valley Corsa
newsletter with Larry Hickerson's Rampside on the cover. Art reported on
the Car Council picnic held at Villanueva State Park, a great event.
2000 - Vol 26 Nr 10 - # 301
Our Galles sponsor Joe Trujillo posed at a Chevrolet Show. Steve provided a
photo of a "Corvair" bicycle with mid-engine, not rear engine, unless you had
really long arms. Sylvan welcomed guests: Larry Hickerson, Dana Doyle and Glen
Gollrad. Wendell reported $6,019 in the bank. Ilva's condition was much
improved. Mark Martinek reported on the Car Council. Jerry Goffe proposed a
garage tour to a location in Santa Fe. Hurley remarked on all the neat car shows
this summer. The All-Clubs Picnic was not well attended. Mark Domzalski said
little was happening in CORSA. Tarmo said yes, he had read the article on his
way down from Santa Fe tonight. We asked whether he could drive, read, look at
the scenery and talk on his cell phone at the same time. Tarmo said that I-25
traffic gridlock let him do all these things and more. The board meeting was
held at House of Covers. Chuck was back from Alaska with a fresh Aurora Borealis
tan. We had new license plates, new T-shirts, new business cards, a new Route 66
project, and a new State Fair show. CNM's web page needed updating, but we
didn't have a new webmaster. The Santa Fe Vintage Auto club invited us to go on
their Frostbite Tour.
Anne Mae reported on doings of the CNM Ladies group. Steve reported on a very
successful campout at Ruth Boydston's cabin in the Pecos. Richard Finch told how
he and Gayle (in the middle of their move from California to Tularosa) made a
trip to Albuquerque to obtain a Monza convertible. They bought Dennis Pleau's
1964 car and towed it home behind their 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier convertible.
Tech tips this month included Dennis Pleau's rebuttal to a Click & Clack article
in which the loudmouthed duo made less-than-accurate slanders against Corvairs.
We also learned about camber change during cornering, a good substitute for a
Delco Remy coil (Accel Performance #8140) and using antiseize on your spark
plugs... you do not want to cross-thread or over-tighten a spark plug and have
to install an insert!
1993 - Vol 19 Nr 10 - # 217
On the cover, a late Corvair with a Jaguar V-12 installed in the front, yes, in
the front. Bill McClellan reported that we mailed 14 newsletters to New Mexico
addresses and 28 to out-of-state addresses. President Del ran the meeting. Will
Davis said we had $1,228 in the kitty. New members were Scott, Deann and Andrew
Kimble, owners of a 1967 Monza. Activities coming up: a tour to Red River, a car
show at the Atomic Museum, a car show at the State Fair, an Aspencade in
October, a Funkhana in November, the Great Western Fan Belt Toss and the
Christmas party. We had a great time at the Villanueva campout. Five CNMers went
to a car show at Peralta. We were about to have our first planning meeting at
the Pleaus' residence to prepare for our 1996 CORSA Convention. Kay and Tarmo
Sutt previewed our Aspencade to Embudo Station. Dennis reported on the San Jose
convention, including decisions made about the 1996 convention. Debbie provided
our first article on convention plans, including a "Vairs in the Air" logo
design by Bill Reider. LeRoy reported on the State Fair show; there were
seventeen Corvairs. Elliot Knapp's 1906 one-cylinder Cadillac was at this show.
First, Second and Third were Tarmo's 1965 Corsa, Bill Lawless' 1966 Corsa turbo
and Bill Reider's 1965 Corsa, coupes all. Kay's 1964 convertible got best
engine, Mary Lou's 1963 convertible got best paint and Jeff Newman's 1961
Rampside got best interior.
1986 - Vol 12 Nr 10 - # 133
On the cover, a Corsa dash with racing steering wheel. A scene from a John Wayne
movie reminded us it was election time. We had $856 in the bank. We planned to
have our November meeting in Santa Fe. The library van was ready to bring into
town where we could do some body work. Bill and LeRoy reported on their trip to
the CORSA convention in Grand Rapids. Jim outlined the history of our
newsletter, from Mark Morgan's first issue in December 1974. Kristin Romer
reported on the scavenger hunt, won by new members Pam & Paul Clark. Billiken
showed us his military surplus radar detector.
1979 - Vol 5 Nr 10 - # 49
On the cover, Corvairs at the State Fair (one was a Fitch Sprint) and inside
were fourteen more photos. Ruth Boydston's 1964 light blue Monza convertible won
best of show. We ordered full-color 1980 calendars from the North Texas club.
There was more discussion about CORSA's 100-percent solution. Carl Johnson
reported on the Detroit CORSA convention. Les Campbell, a former secretary,
wrote about life with a Corvair in Connecticut. Ike Meissner wrote about water
in gasoline and what to do about it.
=========================================================================
Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter is published monthly by Corvairs of New Mexico,
chartered Chapter #871 of CORSA, the Corvair Society of America. Copyright by
the Authors and by Corvairs of New Mexico. Articles may be reprinted in any
CORSA publication as a service to CORSA members, provided credit to the Author
and this Newsletter is clearly stated. All opinions are those of the Author or
Editor and are not necessarily endorsed by Corvairs of New Mexico or CORSA.
Material for publication should reach the Editor by the 15th of the month. Send
material via e-mail ( jimp @ unm.edu ) or submit a readable manuscript. I prefer
ASCII TEXT, but MS Word or RTF are fine. Photographs are welcome. Don't
photoshop your digital JPGs -- send the originals. This ecologically green
newsletter is produced in a Microsoft-free environment. I still print mailing
labels with a 1989 Apple IIgs on a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIIp. The newsletter
is composed using Apple Macintosh computers. Software includes OS-X, AppleWorks,
Photoshop CS, GraphicConverter, BBEdit and InDesign CS. If you care, ask for
details. Transportation: 1965 Corvair Monza, 1990 Honda Civic, 1996 Mazda Miata,
2013 Honda Civic. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends.
=========================================================================
=END=