Annual Fall Meet, Kerrville, Texas
by
Marilyn and John Cornfoot
“LIVE THE TEXAS LEGEND”
Traditionally
national meets begin on Thursday and end on Sunday; however, the
Texas meet was not going to be according to tradition. We wanted
city folks to have a taste of the country spirit of cowboys as well
as enjoy the scenic backroads of the beautiful Texas Hill Country.
Wednesday:
the meet officially began with a get together at the ranch on
Wednesday afternoon. We greeted our guests and took care of the
registration. Eleanor is usually in charge of registration, however
since George and Eleanor flew and arrived later in the afternoon, it
became our responsibility. A person doesn’t realize all the
work that Eleanor does until you share some of her duties. Guests
started arriving around 2:00 o’clock and did not let up until
7:00 pm. We visited, snacked, admired and photographed 300s, met
some new members and generally had a great time! Bev and Bill Spear
were kind enough to bring some delicious northern apples for us to
enjoy.
Later that
evening the crowd toured over to Bandera, the “Cowboy Capital
of the World”. Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar Saloon, with
its worn wooden stairs lead guest to an authentic Texas honkey tonk,
complete with Lone Star longnecks and a sawdust covered dance floor.
Everyone enjoyed the country and western music of Dusty Britches and
the Rhythm Ranch Hands and went boot scootin’ with their
favorite partner.
Thursday: The
agenda in the tour book guided the Brutes through Comfort with the
blue green waters of the Guadeloupe River and the old abandoned
railroad tunnel and trestle bridge, Luckenbach – the quaint
town made famous by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and the
authentically restored 1800s German town of Fredericksburg, famous
for shopping and antiquing. Most took part in the tour while others
enjoyed the usual socializing in the parking lot at the Y.O. among
the Beautiful Brutes.
Later that
afternoon, we enjoyed visiting Rich Atwell’s Classic Auto and
Wax Museum. Rich was kind enough to guide the tour, answering
questions and explaining the significance of each car and its
history. The museum featured one of the original seven Chrysler
Newport concept cars from the forties, as well as Rich’s C300s.
In the evening we attended a Tex-Mex party poolside at the Y.O.
complete with chips, salsa and unlimited margheritas.
Friday: We
began the day with a photo session at the hotel, then caravanned over
to Mooney Aircraft Manufacturing for a guide tour from drawing board
to finished product – it was nice to see that genuine
craftsmanship, still exists! From then on, it was get out the tour
book to follow the hilly backroads that include Camp Verde General
Store, lunch in Bandera, climbing the Texas Alps and stopping at
Stonehenge II. In the evening the club conducted the business
meeting with George turning over the presidency to Tom, information
on new club projects and the introduction of new club officers. John
presented George Riehl with an award from Bob Lutz, President of the
new Chrysler Corporation, commemorating his efforts in serving the
members of our club with his knowledge and dedication. Later on, we
retired to the hospitality suites for more good talk and videos.
Saturday: The
parking lot was filled with buckets of water and polishing rags as
the 300s were prepared for the car show and concours judging. One by
one 300s headed north for Fredericksburg – destination: Lady
Bird Johnson Park. Between 300’s concours and otherwise local
enthusiasts and a visit from the San Antonio Mopar Muscle Club, we
displayed over 50 cars that sunny afternoon. The barbeque was great
as over 85 people enjoyed delicious Texas brisket and sausage.
There’s something to be said for having ram induced 413’s,
HEMIS, even a 440 SIX PACK, tasty food and good friends all together
in a beautiful park; we should do this more often!
When the sun
set, the party began. The Alpine Lodge across the street from the
Y.O. served as our banquet headquarters with more great food and
awards. There were plenty of great door prizes with everyone’s
favorite being the Chrysler 300 teddy bears. Elsewhere in this
issue, you will read the report on judging, but its fair to say that
Bob and Lavonne Linnenburger had the trunk and back seat full of
winnings in their gorgeous ’55. Afterwards, it was back to the
hospitality suites for more videos and chatter.
Sunday: Plans
were for a farewell breakfast in the Sam Huston dining room, then we
were going home to rest after the months of preparations. The first
two went as planned, breakfast and going home; however, the party
continued as about two dozen folks came back to the ranch for a
little more visiting, pencil tracing some 300 V.I.N. numbers, buying
and selling parts and lessons on the club’s new word processor.
One thing led to another, most of us headed back to Bandera to check
on a certain turquoise D and eat dinner at the Old Spanish Trail
restaurant. I guess its fair to say that it cost Dave and Carolyn
Schwandt a lot more then the rest of us that weekend. They’ve
got a story to share with you about a find too good to turn down.
After diner, we said our goodbyes and headed home.
Monday
through Wednesday: Fortunately, today was a holiday as Dave had a car
to get. We loaded up our pickup and trailer and headed back to
Bandera again. Despite some faulty coil problems (on the pickup), we
made it over and back, with Dave unloading the D a couple of miles
from our home so he could exercise it on the backroads. What a smile
on that man’s face!
It was now
Tuesday and John had to go to work. He headed for Houston, leaving
Marilyn to continue the hosting. The Schwandts continued to work
from sun up to sun down for the next two days to get their new baby
ready for the long drive back to Iowa. Their hard work paid off as
Dave wrote to say they made it home without a hitch.
Observations:
Rene and Donene Kroeger were the first to arrive in their Cummins 300
+ 50D pickup on Monday with president elect, Tom Turner, not too far
behind. We all attended the Veteran Motor Car Club of America
(V.M.C.C.A.) local chapter meeting in Kerrville Tuesday evening and
saw a demonstration on a new oil additive product. Guests attended
from as far away as California and Florida as well as north of the
border. There were four 999 (special order paint) as well as three G
convertibles parked together at the show; we can’t remember
seeing any G convertibles at the meets for the last 6 years, except
ours. The 300Fs and Gs were by far the most popular letter cars in
attendance, with nine. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of
members who drove 300s from Michigan – that’s a testament
to their dedication of the members and 30-year-old Mopar engineering!
Also, surprising was the large Texas contingent of fans and Mopars
who showed up for the Saturday show; it pays to use the free listings
in the many magazines dedicated to us antique automobile enthusiasts.
The weather was fine all week, with just a few sprinkles on
Wednesday evening and a few clouds on Thursday morning, otherwise
sunny and warm, just as we promised! Thanks again to George and
Eleanor Riehl, Allan and Gloria Moon, Cowboys Brian Jewhurst, Bud
Jones and Jim and Jennifer Lehman – for their assistance –
we appreciate it! Thanks also to the folks who mailed us videos of
the meet.
We had a
great time and learned a lot playing hosts. Maybe we will do it
again sometime, but not for a few years, we’re still resting up
from this one.
Concours
d’Elegance
Junior
Division
Class
I 1st Place Lavonne Linnenburger C300 cpe 816 points
Class
II 3rd Place Chuck Mathews 300C cpe 735 points
Ribbon Jim
Lehman 300E cpe 499 points
Class
III 3rd Place Len Astroth 300F cpe 681.5 points
Ribbon Bud
jones 300G cpe 580.5 points
Class
IV Ribbon Mike Craw 300L cvt 574 points
Hurst 3rd
Place Jim Lehman 300 Hurst 684.5 points
People’s
Choice: Lavonne Linnenburger – C300
Hard
Luck: Andy Mikonis – 300G – overheating problems
Long
Distance: Ken Mack, Birmingham, Michigan – 300C cvt –
1729 miles
Thanks to Bill Elder for typing this article for the web