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Chrysler 300 Club International
Spring Meet in Altoona, Iowa
May 4 - 6, 1989
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Don Rook, Rene Kroeger
Don Rook seeing if 66 wheel covers will fit on Bill Elder's 57
300D of Jim Golden
Patti Golden, Larry Jett, Jim Golden
Mike Burke (convert), Spencer Siracusano (green), Frank Hatch, Monte Gillespie
Tom Dorry, Jeff Welch, John Cornfoot (G convert), Adam Carter, Dave Schwandt,
Robert Linnenburger.
Hursts of Rod Kroeger, Ray Jones, Roman Robazewski. Galen Wollbrink L, Ken Quick L
C300 Rick Seppi and 300B Charles Fabian
Parade green 300C of Spencer Siracusano
300J, George Riehl
300L, Ken Quick
Hurst, Ray Jones
Rene Kroeger and Don Rook
Mike Burke and Ray Jones
Mike Burke and Jim Golden
Mike Burke and Spencer Siracusano
Mike Burke and Dave Schwandt
Mike Burke and Roman Robaszewski
Photos by Bill Elder
19th
Annual Spring Meet, Altoona, Iowa
by
Rene, Donene and Rod Kroeger
Our Spring
Meet ’89 has come and gone. It seemed like the first week in
May would never get here and then the meet was over way too soon. It
also seems like there is never enough time to talk in person to our
“300” friends.
Our first
arrivals were Bill and Louise Elder from Canada in their ’64
300K convertible. Bob and Jackie Gingrich, also from Canada, arrived
shortly thereafter with Don and Kathy Rook from Pennsylvania not far
behind. We met many members that have not been at the meets that we
attended in the past and saw quite a few 300s that had not been at
any previous meet. Our weather was a bit cooler and windier than
usual for the first week in May, but that didn’t seem to bother
the 300 enthusiasts. The Country Inn was very accommodating to all
of our members; limousine service ($2.00 per person), free coffee 24
hours a day and a nice hospitality room furnished free of charge
among other things, were a real plus and we heard that everyone was
pleased with their rooms which were new. The staff tried really hard
to keep us all in one block of rooms too.
Thursday was
a wonderful day for watching the cars come in, relaxing or getting
registered. A lot of the ladies went shopping thanks to that
limousine, or were found in the pool or hospitality room getting
acquainted. We noticed that almost everyone wore their name tags all
weekend which helped us all identify one another.
On Friday
morning, we went to LIVING HISTORY FARMS, a planned stop on our
agenda for the weekend. After viewing the diverse farming community
of the past, present and future, we made a stop at a nearby town
restored as an early American Main Street with antique shops and a
‘50s ice cream parlor, in which many of us indulged. Friday
evening, most members attending, cruised to Porky’s ‘50s
style drive-in for our business meeting. The nostalgic meeting room
in the basement was overfilled with 300 enthusiasts filling up on
Porky’s famous tenderloins and onion rings. Somewhere around
85 were in attendance at the business meeting. We also had a brief
appearance and skit by “Vince and Larry”, the National
Seat belt Dummies, and they were quite a success.
Saturday
morning, with a brisk breeze blowing and everyone scrambling to find
warmer clothes to wear to ward off the cold, we lined up all of the
300’s on the grassy lot adjacent to the motel with them
arranged by year. What a beautiful sight it was too! After all the
picture taking was over, it was time to vote for the people’s
choice awards. Decisions! Decisions! Then, with the ballots safely
in the ballot box, we all left in caravan for our scheduled high
trestle train ride near Boone, Iowa, about 45 minutes north of the
motel. At the depot, Ken and Shirley Quick had quite a good
conversation with the train conductor and were invited back to the
Boone Scenic Railroad at least once a year to do an inspection on the
railroad as Ken is an inspector for a railroad back in his home state
of North Dakota!
After the
train ride, some of us stopped at the childhood home of Mamie Dowd
Eisenhower, which is very well preserved and houses memorabilia from
the Eisenhower years.
Arriving back
at the motel, we just had time to change and leave again for the
Award’s Banquet at Elwell’s Restaurant, about 8 miles
away. The banquet was enjoyed by all and the food was excellent.
After the winners of the People’s Choice judging was announced,
it was time for the door prizes with every family or member receiving
some memento of the meet. There was everything from hats to tires
given away as prizes. It was great fun!
UNUSUAL
TIDBITS THROUGOUT THE MEET
Two couples from Finland
stopped for the night at the motel on their way from the west coast
to the east coast. Surprisingly, they were driving a 1957 New
Yorker and what a surprise they must have gotten when they pulled
into the parking lot and saw all the finned cars! We invited them
to our hospitality room and in the course of the conversation, they
told us that they had some other old Chrysler cars back home and one
of them was a member of the WPC Club. As a result of this surprise,
one of them joined our club and was looking for a 300C to ship back
to Finland.
There was an auto swap meet
going on in Des Moines and some of the members went on Saturday
morning and found some items that they really needed. Others went
Sunday morning and we noticed shop manuals and a few rare items
sifting back through the group.
The whirlpool was quite
popular, especially those from a long distance away who were
suffering from “sititis”. They seemed to be happy to
just sit in the whirlpool and just talk cars.
Watching Charlie Fabian drive
by with his beautiful 300B with their dog sitting beside him and
Sandy, his gracious wife stretched out in the back seat because she
says at 100 MPH or over, she feels more comfortable in the back
seat, which is where she usually rides, letting their “baby”
ride beside Charlie in the front seat.
Pat Golden’s ponytail
was subject to “Is it real?” at Porky’s ‘50s
night. Pat, I’ll let you tell that one.
Vince and Larry, our seatbelt
dummies, were really Marilyn Cornfoot and Andrea Novak (Jim
Krausmann’s girlfriend). Thank you both for doing such a
great job. We’ve seen you both on tv, many times.
Sherrie Seppi and friends
waving out the limousine window as once again there was another
shopping trip underway.
Bev Gillespie doing quite a
needle-point of a 1960 300F. It was great to see such enthusiasm.
Monte and Bev brought their 300C to the meet.
Jim Krausmann won the NAPA tool
set (all his cars look brand new), but we are sure they will come to
good use though, right Jim?
We knew the meet had begun,
when we saw Mike, Linda, Jennifer and three friends, (making 6 in
all) drive in from Michigan in their 300C convert. This car has not
been to a meet in many years.
Finding Don and Kathy Rook
coming back from a shopping trip in their 300C coupe, with packages
and more packages.
… and the saying, ($2.00
please) will never leave our minds as well as, who went to the Mamie
Dowd Eisenhower home, know too well. You just had to be there, to
know what we mean!
Ray Jones just happened to win
the meal he was eating at the banquet and it just happened to be his
Birthday, that day. So, he got a free Birthday dinner. Amazing!
One of the larger prizes was
from Coker Tire and guess who won? One of our members who drove an
antique (brand X) T Bird to the meet, but he says he is looking for
one of the “right” makes.
Rod Kroeger started the bidding
for the Long-Distance Award with 8 miles, after we have won the
Long-Distance award at four other meets.
Larry Jett, California, had
been looking for something to take his wife as she was unable to
attend and won the wreath that all the ladies would have liked to
win.
Well, this is
all for now, so thank you all for your support, your friendship and
for the dedication to the Letter Cars and Hursts. UNTIL WE MEET
AGAIN!
People’s
Choice Awards
Group
I: 1955 C300 – 1958D
1st
Place: 300D owned by Jim Golden, Topeka, Kansas
2nd
Place: 300C owned by Spencer Siracusano, Des Moines, Iowa
Group
II: 1955 300E – 300H
1st
Place: 300F owned by Dave Schwandt, Earlville, Iowa
2nd
Place: 300H owned by Tom Dorry, Ortonville, Minnesota
Group
III: 1963 300J – Hurst
1st
Place: 300K convert owned by Bill Elder, Windsor Ontario
2nd
Place: 300 Hurst owned by Roman Robaszewski, Chicago, Illinois
Long
Distance: 300 Hurst owned by Ray Jones, 1,137 miles from Edgewater,
MD
Hard
Luck: 300 Hurst owned by Ray Jones, heater vacuum control valve
Letter
Series 300s Attending the Meet
C300:
Richard Seppi; 300B: Charlie Fabian; 300C: Spencer Siracusano, Monte
Gillespie, Mike Burke, Frank Hatch, Don Rook, Dave Schwandt; 300D:
Jim Golden; 300E: (none); 300F: Dave Schwandt, Robert Linnenburger;
300G: John Cornfoot, Adam Carter, Jeff Welch; 300H: Tom Dorry; 300J:
George Riehl; 300K: Rene Kroeger, Bill Elder; 300L: Galen Wollbrink,
Ken Quick; 300 Hurst: Rod Kroeger, Ray Jones, Roman Robaszewski
Thanks to Bill Elder for typing this article for the web
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