Howard - meadowlarks.omahaneb.orgmeadowlarks.omahaneb.org/news/September_2020_newsletter.pdf · Howard President's Message 1 Rick Kirkpatrick has been “mopping up” at the ouncil

September 2020 Omaha, Nebraska Volume 52, Issue 9

Hi Meadowlarks! September, another month be-hind us living with the Corona virus restrictions! Although it has curtailed a lot of the Club activities, it has not halted eve-rything. On the 16th of August, Don and Janet Graves led 10 Model “A”s on a tour through Iowas and southern Nebraska. We were treated to some unu-sual sites including a Castle, peo-ple falling out of the sky, a used car lot where nothing was for sale, and lots of beautiful Model “A” roads. Two other Model “A”s participated in a portion of

the tour. More details on the tour and two additional tours in September are included in the following pages of the news-letter. I would like to congratulate

Gayle and Nancy Hanshaw on

the marriages of their two sons.

One on August 29 and the sec-

ond on September 19th (Model A

Day). This should give them a

couple of opportunities for

some good Model “A” pictures.

Howard

President's Message

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Rick Kirkpatrick has been “mopping up” at the Council Bluffs Car Shows

Rick attended the Veterans Memorial Care Show in Council Bluffs on August 1 and won the trophy for his class (smaller trophy pictured below). Steve Zikmund and Don Graves also showed their Model As at this show.

Rick also showed his red Roadster at the Humane Society Show in Council Bluffs on August 30. The Wags and Wheels Car Show is a ben-efit for the Humane Society. He won first place in the Ford class (larger trophy at right. Congratulations to Rick!

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Volume 52, Issue 9

Upcoming Events

September 12 Regular Meeting at the Elks Lodge (cancelled) September 19 International Model A Day Tour

(see details below ) September 26 Touring with the Ts (see details below)

Past Event: Small Town Tour on August 15 Ten Meadowlarks and their Model As were blessed with a beautiful day to get out on the road and enjoy a few interesting spots and each other. We started in southern Council Bluffs and took the “old road” down to Glenwood, where we toured the town square and swung through the Glenwood Resource Center, which was formerly known as the Glenwood State Hospital. We then went over the “old bridge” to Plattsmouth where we viewed a wonderful collection of old “rust buckets” at Sharp’s Welding and Repair Shop. After that rest, we tootled on down to Murray and then over to Weeping Water, where we watched sky divers making jumps. The Lincoln Sport Parachute Club has a new facility at Brown’s Airport east of Weeping Wa-ter. Of course, we ended the tour with eating. We stopped in Louisville, picked up lunch, and headed for their park to spread out and eat it. A few of us stopped to get ice cream at the newly reopened Dari Crème on the way out of town. Those attending the tour were Ed & Susan Dellinger, Howard & Mary Denker, El Gertner, Don & Janet Graves, Jeff & Tami Graves with Skye & her friend, Neena, Lee Hendrix, Bob & Mary McKinney, Dave & Es-ther Miller, Don & Karen Noodell, and Steve Zikmund with his brother, Dave Zikmund. We were joined in Plattsmouth by Greg Bowden and crew. See photos from the tour on the next two pages.

International Model A Day Tour The first driving tour in September is planned for September 19, Interna-tional Model A Day. We will visit our sister city’s unique sites. Some of our members have visited these sites before, but they are always enjoya-ble. We plan on visiting the Lewis and Clark Monument and scenic over-look, the Bob Kerry Bridge, the Historic Dodge House, the Golden Spike Monument (which was a publicity stunt for a Cecil B. DeMille Movie), the Union Pacific R.R. Museum, and other sites in and around Council Bluffs. We will meet at the west end of the Bob Kerry Bridge at 9:00 a.m. and proceed from there. If you are interested in attending this drive, please call Howard Denker at 402-333-1393.

Touring with the “T”s On the 26th of September, the Model “T” club has invited us to tour with them through the hills of Washington County. They will start at the North Omaha Air-port (12001 N 72nd St ) at 10 a.m. and will end up in Blair where they will have a picnic lunch in the City Park. Participants are encouraged to bring their own pic-nic lunch or buy something from one of the drive-through restaurants. If you have an interest in participating, please call Steve Zikmund at 402-334-2205.

Volume 52, Issue 9

August 15 Small Town Tour

Past Events

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Volume 52, Issue 9

Thanks to Karen Noodell, Greg Bowden, and Jeff Graves

for sharing their photos.

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Small Town Tour

(continued)

Volume 52, Issue 9

From Dick Knapp in Arkansas—a report about his progress on his speedster: Really hot in the Ozarks, so progress is kind of slow. The engine is in and has been run a few times, but only for a couple minutes each time. Once I get the gas tank, coil and battery in I can give the engine a real test. All Model A speed enthusiasts know that a red engine will go 10 miles per hour faster and red radiator hoses will give you another five.

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Hanshaws and the Lincoln Model A Club at the Goat Rescue

Nancy and Gayle Hanshaw trekked with "Ole Rudy" down to Pickrell, NE on Sunday, August 16 and attended a "Goats, Music and Model A''s" fund rais-ing event at a goat rescue farm. Gayle said “By golly, an article about the event, including a picture of Ole Rudy, was on the front page of the Hickman, NE newspaper ‘The Voice News.’”

The photo above is from the front page of the Hickman newspaper. The story said: “Shepherd's Rest Goat and Sheep Rescue hosted the first "Goats, Music and Model A's" fundraiser near Pickrell on Saturday, Aug. 15, where families enjoyed a relaxing summer evening in the countryside while supporting a local nonprofit. The celebration began at Four Generations Barn where visitors could check out the Model A cars and have dinner from Back Alley Barbeque on the back patio of the barn. Visitors then took a hayrack ride through the fields to the Sheperd's Rest Goat and Sheep Rescue farm, where families could pet some of the goats and listen to live music from local performers on the lawn.” But, alas, the Hanshaws did not rescue a goat!

Volume 52, Issue 9

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The Story of Mike Tritsch’s Roadster I started my Model A experience with a 49 Mercury I bought from Dwight Bond. I had it for sometime and realized what it was going to cost to finish it so I put an ad looking to trade it for a 33 or 34 pickup. I struck a deal with a guy in Oklahoma and we ended up trading straight across. We traded vehicles at the first rest area in Oklahoma on I-35. I stored it away and one day I saw a guy who had this 29 road-ster for sale or trade for a 34 pickup. He was in Oklahoma too and we worked out a trade. My son and I went back to the same rest area and traded vehicles again.

That's where my Model A came from. I always wanted a roadster. We took it apart to the bare frame, stripped the body and had the motor rebuilt. We powder-coated everything we could and put it back to-

gether like it is today, although several motors later. Mike

Here is another opportunity to get your “A” out—Assisted Living Week Sunday, September 20th at 3 PM

We have been invited to participate in a “Drive-By” Parade at the Richmont Village facility in Bellevue. The address is 702 Fort Crook Road South, but the line up will be at the strip mall across Cornhusker—Richmont Pointe (555 Cornhusker RD). If you plan to attend, please contact Don or Janet Graves ([email protected]/ 402-453-7166) by September 12 so we can let the planners know.

Nancy Hanshaw noticed that we got our name in the Nebraska Life Magazine. The story was about the Western Meadowlark be-ing the state bird of Nebraska. It was officially named the state bird in 1929 based on a vote by the state’s schoolchildren. The runners-up were the robin, bobwhite quail, brown thrasher, and house wren. Not such good names for a car club, except maybe Quail. The story stated that several Nebraska entities, including schools, golf courses, and music festivals refer to the Meadowark in their name. It stated “An Omaha group of car collectors call them-selves the Meadowlark Model A Ford Club.”

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Volume 52, Issue 9

Members can put For Sale or Wanted ads for Model A items in our newsletter. Send to [email protected]. Non-member ads are sometimes included in case a Meadowlark might be interested.

A Tour Story from Greg Bowden Five Model As departed Gretna on an impromptu "scenic tour", or 100-mile trip through the beautiful countryside on Sunday, August 2. Stops included Ashland, where we were joined by a sixth Model A The next stop was Ceres-co, where we stopped to look at a bunch of old cars in "restorable" condi-tion. There were no Model As, but there were several older cars and trucks that could use a little work. We then proceeded to Valparaiso, and then to Mead, where we looked at the Model A (and other) cars and parts collection of former Meadowlark Goodie Goodman. The group then proceeded back to their home stations. Participants included Charlie Earnest (1930 Pickup), Dar-ren Earnest (1931 Slant Window - accompanied by his daughter Gracey), John Leddy (1930 Coupe - accompanied by his son Danny and daughter Emily), Greg Bowden (1929 Station Wagon - accompanied by Julia Bowden and Kelly Bid-dle), Steve Zikmund (1928 Tudor), and Former Meadowlark Dale Jergensen.

1929 Roadster Low miles on

Skokie Short Block Nice Sheet Metal, upholstery,

paint, etc. Asking $16,000

Contact Carl Falk 402-670-0139

[email protected]

4 Ws of Keeping yourself

and others safe during the Covid-19 pandemic:

Wear a mask Wash your hands

frequently Watch your dis-

tance—stay greater than 6 feet away

Windows—open or stay outside

Dr. John Torres

Volume 52, Issue 9

Bruce Rima sent out this invitation: To all club members, if you have not seen what your car looks like stripped out, I have projects going on in my dirty , unorganized garage and am willing to host any member who would like to see. There is a 2 dr sedan that is gutted out, you can see the inside of the metal body. The frame for that is sitting to the side and all parts are easy to see on it. I just put window glass in the pickup. Rear fenders are ready to be put on the coupe. Feel free to call me , or e-mail (but I am slow on getting to my e-mail) if anyone is interested in anything. Bruce Rima (402)533-8198

Mike Cahalane responded to the invitation and wrote this: Rodney and I went to Bruce's and learned what the frame looked like without a body on it. And what you need to work on and replace worn out parts.

Be sure to get your Model A out and keep it run-ning right. Otherwise, it might become yard art! This photo is from the Omaha World-Herald, August 22, 2020.

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A senior citizen said to his 80-year-old buddy: ‘So, I hear you are getting married?’ ‘Yep!’ ‘Do I know her?’ ‘Nope!’ ‘This woman, is she good looking?’ ‘Not really.’ ‘Is she a good cook?’ ‘Naw, she can’t cook too well.’ ‘Does she have lots of money?’ ‘Nope! Poor as a church mouse.’ ‘Well, then, is she good in bed?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Why in the world do you want to marry her then?’ ‘Because she can still drive!’ (A Model A?)

A BIG THANK YOU to all who contributed to this newsletter!

Water Pump Clinic

Henry really designed a pretty simple and dependable car in the Model A. All it needs is a little gas, some oil, electricity provided by a battery, and some water for cool-ing. Gas & oil are usually not a problem, electrical power usually isn’t either because if you have a fully charged battery it will run the Model A for a minimum of 4 hours even if the generator isn’t working at all. But lose cooling and, if it not freezing out-side, you are going to have problems.

The Model A water pump is quite simple and will function as designed for several years, but they are not like mod-ern iron where pumps go over a 100 thousand miles without a problem. Model A pumps, however, are small and it’s easy to store an extra rebuilt one in your trunk or under the seat of the car. Plus, if you make a simple modifica-tion to your engine head, the pumps are easy to change in minutes.

With all this said I will get to point. I have been approached by a couple of members about how to rebuild their water pumps. So, Don Graves and myself are planning on conducting a water pump clinic for interested mem-bers. With Covid-19 still being a problem, we are going to limit participation to 5 members at a time and request that masks be worn at all times.

If you’re interested and have a pump to rebuild or want one, plus need guidance on parts to order, please contact me. Each participant will need a bead blasted water pump body, a water pump kit (Don Graves recom-mends the leakless water pump rebuild kit, A-8591-SB for all 28/29 Model A’s, & A-8591-SSZ for all 30/31’s.) This kit contains good parts and is sold by Snyders and Birdhaven. If you have an extra water pump in your vehicle, you should also carry a Fan Knock Off Tool A-8600-KO for $1.95. It will allow you to remove your fan blade and, if you can not remove the fan blade, having a good extra pump won’t do you any good. If the responses exceed 5, we will schedule additional clinics. Howard Denker

Volume 52, Issue 9

Miranda Hanson, the McKinney’s Grand-daughter, earned her Associate De-gree in Applied Science—Summa Cum Laude from the Fashion Insti-tute at NYU. She will go back for two years for a Bachelor Degree. She made and sold over 1,000 masks this summer and will make a wedding dress this fall. Also, she will make three pieces for a Miss Nebraska

competition girl. The dress above is the one Miranda made for her final exam.

Karen Wickey reports: “Mike Tritsch met with his

surgeon on Friday, August 21 . He threw the brace in the trash and told Mike he could walk and put weight on that leg as much as tolerable. He will start PT. We hope on the way to recovery and soon driving the Model A.”

Good News

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You can review the reason for

Labor Day on History.com

Jason Suggs is home from his deploy-

ment! He is still quarantined for 2 weeks, but then we should see him whenever we can have some get-togethers!

Welcome home, Jason!!

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Volume 52, Issue 9 Member News

by Jodie Gernandt

Please send your news, good or bad, to Jodie at [email protected] or call her at 402-619-0700.

Members’ Birthdays and Anniversaries

September Day Name Event

1 Jeff & Tami Graves Anniversary

3 Judy Zikmund Birthday

6 Ken & Melody Grigsby Anniversary

8 John & Kristy Leddy Anniversary

10 Verl Chase Birthday

15 Rick Kirkpatrick Birthday

17 Don Graves Birthday

25 John Leddy Birthday

26 Tami Graves Birthday

29 Jeff Graves Birthday

October Day Name Event

6 Bruce Rima Birthday

7 Brian & Jodie Gernandt Anniversary

9 Tony & Jan Hartenhoff Anniversary

10 Rick Klutts Birthday

11 Larry Blecha Birthday

11 Dave Beckman Birthday

14 Bill Black Birthday

17 Elaine Blecha Birthday

18 Randall Vance Birthday

19 Gavin Ellsworth Birthday

20 Jean Rima Birthday

21 Lloyd Burke Birthday

24 Steve Zikmund Birthday

26 Mike & Marilyn Cahalane Anniversary

Eunice North passed away in August from Covid-

19. Eunice and her husband, Clay, lived in Boone, Iowa, but they were Meadowlark members from 1984 to 1998. They joined us on several tours to Regional Meets.

Joan White passed away on August 17. Joan and

her husband, Dick, were members from 1975 to 2004. Joan served as club treasurer in 1986.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to: Mike Cahalane Mike had shoulder surgery in August. Marilyn reported “We will be knocked out of commission for about four months. Mike is not to lift anything over 2 pounds for 2 months and then two more months before he is back to ‘normal’."

Tony Hartenhoff had a series of surgeries on his eye cavity to

remove some cancerous tissue.

Barney Deden says he has had a “sore eye and impaired vision

since before we left Maui in early July. I finally got in to see a reti-nal specialist today and he is now treating me for a fairly severe retinal venial occlusion. The doctor expects it may take 4 to 6 months of treatments to get it cleared up. Needless to say I won't be driving for some time.”

Jill Musel's mother, Janice Lambrecht, was recently released

from the hospital and is recovering at home.

Susan Dellinger has been busy helping to care for her brother.

She said that he was having a fish fry with a few friends and an un-invited guy had too much to drink and kicked him in the ankle breaking both bones. He had surgery Friday and is doing well with all of the family helping.

In Memoriam—Former Meadowlarks

Birthdays are good for you! The more birthdays you have

the longer you live.

Please see the Good News on page 9.

Please patronize our advertisers and tell them you saw their ad in our newsletter.

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Wanted: 3 more ads for this page. Business card size ads cost $24/year

($12/year for members) The ads are displayed here and on our

Newsletter web page. Let the Newsletter Editor know if you

have a good lead.

This is the official publication of the Meadowlark Chapter.

Members may publish at no cost, ads for items wanted, for

sale, or trade. They are also invited to submit technical

Model A information and other interesting tidbits. Material

should reach the editor by the last Saturday of the month.

The Newsletter Editor is Janet Graves

([email protected], 402-453-7166)

Monthly meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month (except January)

at 6:30PM

Club Address: PO Box 6011, Omaha, NE 68106

The Meadowlark Club is a chapter of both national clubs.

MAFCA http://www.mafca.com/

MARC http://www.modelaford.org/

Membership dues for the Meadowlark Club are $24.00 per year. Membership

in one of the national clubs is required. You may join both national clubs if

you wish. MAFCA dues are $50.00 per year and MARC dues are $45.00 per

year.

Prospective Members: Please call Membership Chairman,

Don Graves, (402-453-7166) for more information. Club web address: http://meadowlarks.omahaneb.org

Club web master: Janet Graves ([email protected]) Newsletter editor: Janet Graves ([email protected])

2020 Officers

President Howard Denker 402-333-1393 [email protected]

VP/Pres-Elect Bruce Rima 402-533-8198 [email protected]

Secretary Nancy Hanshaw 402-423-4448 [email protected]

Treasurer Janet Graves 402-453-7166 [email protected]

2020 Board of Directors

Brian Gernandt 402-253-1885 [email protected]

Jeff Graves 402-332-9218 [email protected]

Jim Musel 402-995-1005 [email protected]

Jason Suggs 402-801-2738 [email protected]

Steve Zikmund 402-334-2205 [email protected]

Board Members are always open to new ideas for events, new resources for meeting places, and new tech-talk ideas, and new eat-out ideas. Please let them know if you have ideas to share.