Fountain Valley Car Show June 9, 2012
By
Fountain Valley Car Show
Fountain Valley, CA
6-9-12
Story by Richard Parks
Photographs by Margie Drilling and Paul Licata,
Photographic consultant Roger Rohrdanz
The Fountain Valley Car Show was held on June 9, 2012 at Miles Square Park in Fountain Valley, California. Over two hundred car owners showed up to exhibit a wide range of pre-1970 automobiles and race cars. The car show is held in conjunction with the city’s Summerfest carnival on the second weekend of June. It is held on the lawns of the park and the grass was so nice to walk on for a change. Around the cars were the vendors and sponsor tents, and then just beyond was a modern playground for children. I like this car show because it brings out families and people of all ages. It is one thing to promote a car show that only attracts hot rodders and car fans. It is altogether different when you mix in the community members who wouldn’t necessarily attend a car show. Not only does this promote car shows to a new audience, but it also increases the excitement. The carnival rides and games brought in a lot of people, who would walk through the car show from the parking lots surrounding the cars. First class restrooms were also abundantly available and not those rather disagreeable porta-potties that some car shows have. Food stands were readily available in and around the carnival; each operated by a local school, athletic league, band or other parent supported high school program. The prices were more than reasonable and the food was delicious. Water fountains were available in the park and also places to buy beer and other treats.
Pete Haak was in charge of this year’s car show. His assistant, Roger Jensen was out with an illness and we hope he will return for next year’s show. Pete had plenty of helpers though, including Steve Pavich, who was everywhere solving problems. Dennis McGillis was the emcee and played ‘50’s rock & roll music. Yolanda Markey is the city’s Recreation Coordinator and she was very busy making sure that everyone was having a great time. I stopped to speak to Brad Gaston, who brought his ’40 Studebaker. This was his third year exhibiting at the car show and he told me that there were fewer cars being shown this year than last, but it gave everyone a bit more room to move around. It did seem more comfortable and I could tell that a lot of people were friends who came to this and other shows in the area each year. One of the pop-up tents belonged to Von Hot Rod and the Pinstriper’s Circus. With Von was Kong, Chilin’ and Big Chris. The pinstripers come out every year to this show and donate their work to raise funds for charities. The Pinstriper’s Circus also attends other car shows around Southern California and if you have a favorite car show that you think would benefit by their presence, please let me know and I will give you their contact information.
Next to the Pinstriper’s Circus was the Hospitality Tent and the volunteers were Larry and Margie Drilling, Ken Hillberg and Ron Walker. Ron and Margie are on the city’s planning commission. Ron told me that the city of Fountain Valley is very well run and has no bond debt and only builds something new when they have raised the money for it. Looking at the magnificent park we were in with the many softball and soccer fields showed me just how well the city is managed and run. Margie mentioned the many sponsors who support the car show including Izzy’s Bagels, Peete’s Coffee and Fresh and Easy. Ken Hillberg is an old friend and owns a large number of midget and sprint cars. His sons, Dan and Darren Hillberg, drives in the mini-sprint races. “The categories are TQ’s, mini-sprints, midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown cars,” he told me. I remember the Silver Crown cars were once called Champ or Indy cars. The organization that oversees racing is USAC and they have USAC Midgets and USAC sprint cars in their league. Ken also races in the WRA Vintage racing series and goes to about 15 races a year at tracks in Ventura and Perris. There is talk of opening up Irwindale Speedway again. Ken brought five race cars to the show. The first car was the #45 H&H Special driven by Mike Mosely sprint car. Mosely was the 1962 CRA Rookie of the Year driver. The #90 midget that raced in the 1930’s in the URA. The #99 K&M Motorsports sprint car, the #17 midget (The Tramp), and the #19 midget (Jack’s Garage) K&M Motorsports. Owner Bill Gerard brought the #777 “Jackpot Special that raced in the 1930’s and was originally built by R. Kuns Magazine Prints. This car was restored by Dennis Webb, a well-known race car restorer.
The sponsors support this car show with generous donations and prizes. The ability to find and keep sponsors over the years is one reason the car show in Miles Square Park is able to continue. Businesses in Fountain Valley are very supportive of the local events in their city and especially for this car show. The sponsors and vendors are; Len Nordmann Art, Riteway Auto Body, Fiber Technology and Design, South Coast Powder coating, McJack’s Corvettes, Colleen Erickson Hats, John’s Hawaiian Shirts, Larry the Toy Man, Tuff Skin, Andial Porsche, Crevier Classic Cars, D&J Auto, Silky Sullivan Irish Pub, Scenty by Kathryn Skinner, Chiropractor Dr B. Basil, OSH Hardware, Valley West Services, Bartwood Construction, Sam’s Club, Los Cab Sports Club, Fresch Bikes, County of Orange Oil Reclamation, Marriott Courtyard, Palm Island Living, Dr Harris Orthodontics, Fountain Valley Bodyworks, Lucas Oil Products, Meguiar’s Wax, Star Realtor Susan Saurastri, Perris Speedway, Auto Club of Southern California, Applebee’s Restaurant, Beach City Auto Body, Connell Chevrolet, Independence Bank, FV Tire Pros, Huntington Beach Auto Dealers, and D&P Classic Chevy. The city of Fountain Valley provides support and leadership, although the car show is independently run by Pete Haak and his assistants.
Also supporting the car show was the Fountain Valley Police and Fire Departments and their Explorer scouting programs. Not only was their presence helpful in case of an emergency, but these men and women were enjoying the car show too. I met Tom Reardon, Bill McQuaid and Craig Ritter as they were out patrolling. They were with the Fire Department and certified paramedics. “We do inspections of the premises so that we know where to go if called. We have a booth at the car show and we can perform CPR and other medical procedures. We also check the exiting to make sure that traffic flows freely and safely and that we can get the fire truck into the grounds if necessary,” the men told me. Explorer scouts Tom Vezina and Ana Perez guided traffic into and out of the car show. Helping them were volunteers Kenny Ngo and Kevin Bui, from La Quinta High School. Jerry Jamison and Gene Rhoads represented the Police Department as Retired Senior Volunteers. These men and women are volunteers who help the Police Department with patrols. “We are the eyes and ears for the police and call in any suspicious activity. We are not allowed to carry weapons or make arrests, but we are there to help the community,” the two men told me. The retired seniors give twenty hours a month to the city and there are forty volunteers in their group. It takes a lot of dedicated volunteers to put on a car show and run it safely.
I can always expect to see the crew of the Yeakel Plymouth Special at this and other car shows. They are very proud of their car which has been in the family for nearly fifty years and show the car off wherever they can. The original owners were Lou Baney and Vince Rossi. Their children are now owners of this vintage drag car, including Frank Baney, Chuck Goebel and the Rossi family. The restored car is often driven by legendary drag racer Tom ‘Mongoose’ McEwen. The chassis and body were restored by Huntington Beach restorer and car builder Steve Davis. Mike Kuhl rebuilt the engine. Mike is known for his engines that power many drag boats and cars. The paint job was done by Brian Ferre and Brico. The lettering and pinstriping was done by Bob Iverson. The H&H trailer was completed by Craig Hull. Other sponsors and supporters included; Tom Prock at Venolia Pistons, BRC rods by Jerry Sweeney, D&S polishing by Doug Bush, performance exhaust by Mike Leach, Donovan Engineering and Drag Racer magazine. The original Yeakel Plymouth Special match raced against Adams & Stewart, Donovan & Peregrine, Mooneyham/Ferguson/Jackson/Faust, Stellings & Hampshire, Broussard/Davis/Ongais, Gotelli & Melani, The Greek, Stellings & Tapia and the Hawaiian driven by Don ‘the Snake’ Prudhomme (owned by Roland Leong). The dragster set a world record at Lions drag strip going through the lights at 214.76 mph. The original 1964 chassis was built by Woody Gilmore. Doug Kruse built the body. The engine was built by Jim Ward and John Garrison. The custom paint job was by Cerny and Tom Kelly did the lettering and pinstriping. The crew gave special recognition to Ronalle Baney for all the meals she cooked for them over the years as they were racing.
Dale Beverley brought his Ford pickup to the car show. He is also a member of the Ford pickup Ltd car club, Orange County chapter that has 45 members and holds their club meetings in Anaheim. The club was founded in 1968 and now has 140 members in six chapters. The club is limited to 1953 through 1956 Ford pickups and there are chapters in Ventura, Pomona, San Gabriel, San Diego, Orange County and Desert Pass (Riverside/San Bernardino). The Orange County chapter organizes and runs the Western Nationals in June of each year in the Yorba Linda area. The club also does a Poker Run in January that begins at Ken Grody’s Ford dealership and ends at Bob’s Big Boy restaurant in Downey. Two local guys that brought their car to the show were Ron Bell and J. D. Tone. They are also regulars at the Donut Derelict car show in Huntington Beach and at Jack’s Garage in Fountain Valley. Jack’s Garage is actually just that; a garage belonging to Jack Underwood. This is one of those “don’t miss events” if you are a hot rodder or land speed racer. Jack is a member of the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame, located in Buellton, California and operated by the Gold Coast Roadster and Racing club. If you want to learn about the history of early drag racing and land speed racing then you have to visit Jack’s Garage and talk to all the old-timers that show up there. Steve Pavich told me that Roger Jensen, the co-organizer of the FV Car Show is ill and couldn’t attend this year’s event. We all wish Roger a speedy recovery. Steve mentioned that the car show was divided into 18 classes and the participants get to vote on the class winners.
I spoke briefly to Pete Haak who was the coordinator of the car show and he outlined how the judging would go and how the cars would line up and drive past the awards stand. Haak talked about the number of cars at the show and said, “The car count was over 200 and considering that there were 19 other shows that day within a 50 mile radius, we were happy with the turnout.” The class winners received their plaques from the Queen, Andrea Licata, Miss Fountain Valley 2012 and her attendant, Sophia Lam, 3rd runner up in the pageant. Volunteers in the Raffle Booth were Mary Tully, Ruth Rosewitz and Frances McGillis. Ruth is also a volunteer with the community foundation for the city’s recreation activities. The mayor of Fountain Valley, John Collins was on hand to see how the car show was going and to shake hands. Collins is a big man with a huge personality and a ready smile. He looks like a mayor and he easily joked and quipped with each and everyone there. Since the volunteers had everything well in hand the mayor looked very calm and happy. Andrea and Sophia were excited to represent the city and to see all the cars. “We love looking at all these great cars,” the lovely young ladies remarked. Miss Fountain Valley then chose her personal favorites. “I loved the Chrysler Windsor, it reminded me of the All-American car where you would dress up and go for a grand ride drinking a 7-up!” responded Andrea. Miss Licata's other favorite was the Ford Roadster; “It just had the great old-time look, and the front grill was awesome.” Both of the young ladies showed a great deal of energy and enjoyed posing for the cameras and handing out the plaques. They told me that they are looking forward to representing the city in future events like the car show.
Collins introduced me to Sue Taylor who is the public relations director for the Miss Fountain Valley Scholarship Pageant. Sue introduced me to Keeli Scott Lisack. Keeli is the new Executive Director for the Miss Fountain Valley Scholarship Program and Pageant, which is affiliated with the Miss America Pageant. In March the new program held the Pageant and awarded $13,500 in scholarships among the 12 young ladies participating in the first beauty pageant in twenty years in the city. The main sponsor is Hyundai and there are twenty other sponsors of this program. To be eligible for the pageant a young woman must be between the ages of 18 and 24 and live, work or study in the city of Fountain Valley. The next pageant will be held on March 3, 2013 at the Saigon Performance Art Center. To apply go to www.MissFV.com. The Queen and her attendants will go to about three events a month throughout the year representing the city of Fountain Valley and also participate in the Miss California Pageant. This year's winner, Andrea Licata, is a freshman at UC Irvine and will participate in the Miss California Pageant, June 26-30 in Fresno, California. Keeli is the daughter of George Scott, who was a former mayor of the city. She was Miss Fountain Valley in 1977. For about twenty years there was no contest held in the city. Larry Crandall and Dave Garofalo (editor and owner of The Local News in Huntington Beach) approached Keeli and asked her to start up this program once again. “They took me out to a restaurant and twisted my arm and before I realized it I had agreed to direct the Pageant again,” Keeli beamed. “We are very proud of the scholarship program that is a big part of the Pageant,” she said.
It was now time to award the plaques for the winners in each of the 18 categories and Steve Pavich lined up the drivers. The exhibiters followed the Queen and her Princess as they led a procession around the grounds to the podium. Then Pete Haak announced each winner, who rolled down his car window and took the plaque from the Queen of the car show, Andrea Licata as the photographers captured the scene. The class winners were; Bob Currier, Steve Pavich, Brad Gaston, M. McNulty, Bob Light, Chuck Korfanta, Matt Cowell, Robert Loomis, Al Paer, David Knapp, Gary Bunker, Jim Breitenbach, Phil Tuttobene, Gary Dye, Ron Bell, Robert Miner, Dave Burkhart, Ms Malechikos, Joe Sellers, Don Hober, Clinton Davis, and Bud Guyer. As the car show ended the Grand Prize raffle winner was announced and Cheryl Van Der Sloot won a BMW pedal car model with pinstriping by Big Chris. “I won the prize and I’m so happy,” she told me. Yes, it had indeed been a pleasant and happy day for all those who came out to the 2012 Fountain Valley Car Show.
Gone Racin’ is at [email protected].