July 2005.pub

Wood Vibrations
Occasionally Published by San Diego Woodies, a Chapter of the National Woodie Club
July
2005
Robert & Doug Quinn and
their original 1937 Ford
Woodie
Featured in this issue
Members Robert and Doug Quinn
Members Lee and Patty Kidwell
Outings: Doheny, Woodies on the Wharf, others
Wavecrest 2005 update
San Diego Woodies Leadership
Just For Grins
Don’t you love summer! Just take your car on a drive down a
coastal highway like Historic 101 in Encinitas and watch the faces of
people beside the road as they give you the thumbs up and flash a
smile. Did any of us ever expect that these wooden vehicles would
have such a profound effect on other people’s happiness? Our cars
are truly rolling ambassadors of good vibes and good cheer.
2005 Club Officers
San Diego Woodies
President
Jim Esposito
[email protected]
Vice President
Mike Merkt
[email protected]
Treasurer
Pat Dirkschneider
[email protected]
Web Master
Luann Esposito
This year San Diego Woodies members have participated in a
variety of activities from hosting Collin Peck of the UK Woodie club,
to a great day in Jamul with gracious hosts Lee and Cathy Smith at
their Simpson’s Nursery auto museum. Two days after that visit while
watching television, I saw “My Classic Car” featuring Lee and Cathy
showing off their extensive collection of classic vehicles. The episode
concluded with a cruise in their awesome Buick Roadmaster woodie. It
was impressive that with all those cars at their disposal, the producers of the show chose the woodie to drive. The Roadmaster surely
must have made someone smile!
[email protected]
Membership/Secretary
Maggie
Dirkschneider
[email protected]
Technical Advisor
Ron Heiden
[email protected]
Art Director
Dave Doherty
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Charles Furman
[email protected]
Merchandising
Barry Marassi
[email protected]
Social Director
Meg Merket
[email protected]
San Diego Woodies
PO Box 130686
Carlsbad, CA 92013
[email protected]
The organized woodie events this year, from Doheny to Good
Guys, LA Wood and Santa Cruz, have all been blessed with sundrenched weather. I tip my hat to all of the chapters and clubs and
their volunteers for continuing to work so hard to make each one of
these events memorable and special. With this in mind, I am reminded
that Wavecrest is quickly approaching. I must admit that half the fun
is working together in advance of the event with all of our members.
Henry Trulson, our Wavecrest Chairman, has things well under control
with all of the committees up and running. Everyone invited to Wavecrest is encouraged to take part as a volunteer. Please call Henry 760
476-9706 or drop him an email at [email protected] to let him
know where you’d like to help. On the day of the event we can always
use some extra hands, so just jump on in. To stay up to date on the
latest developments check the website www.sandiegowoodies.com and
if for some reason you are not receiving member emails, please contact us through the website.
Keep On Cruzin’ and Keep Smiling!
Jim Esposito
President, San Diego Woodies
Page 2
Wood Vibrations
SDW supports out troops
At the San Diego Woodies
annual Christmas Party, SDW
member, Jim Harris, announced that he had learned
that many wounded Marines
recuperating in our area
could use many small items to
brighten their days. He explained that while their basic
needs were met, the extras
were lacking for many of
these young people.
Jim Harris with Camp Pendleton Marines
Without hesitation, SDW
members stepped up to the plate. Rocky Brown practically ran over to hand Jim the
first donation, and he was followed closely by almost every SDW member in attendance. When all the greenbacks finished flying, Jim announced that we had just raised
$600 to buy gifts for these wounded Marines.
Shopping at Big Lots, 99 Cents stores and Costco to maximize their buying power, Jim
and his friends purchased the following items: DVD’s, CDs, games, batteries, disposable
cameras, candy, packaged food, phone cards, razors, shaving cream, soap, towels, wash
clothes, ladies makeup, lotions, perfume, nail kits, and tissues.
The gifts were delivered to Camp Pendleton, and they were distributed to the wounded
Marines and their families. Good job Jim and San Diego Woodies.
Membership News - DATA UPDATES NEEDED
Over the years, some of the membership information that San Diego Woodies maintains
on its membership has gotten out dated. Telephone numbers, email addresses, mailing
addresses, spouse/partner names, etc. Because of this, San Diego Woodies can not effectively keep in contact with all of our members with updates on events, activities, and
other things of general woodie interest. Please review your information on the included
membership roster, and forward corrections to San Diego Woodies, PO Box
130686,Carlsbad, CA 92013, or [email protected]
Page 3
5th Annual Good Guys Nationals at Del Mar
Once again San Diego Woodies took over the Plaza de Mexico at the San Diego County
fairgrounds in Del Mar to add the flavor of “madera” to the 5th Annual Good Guys Nationals. The Plaza de Mexico is the perfect setting for our old wooden vehicles. It’s quaint
old world look creates a feeling of actually being back in the 40’ or 50’s, even
though there are hundreds of fire
breathing hotrods throughout the rest
of the grounds. And, as always, the
woodies are a special treat for the attendees. In addition to the great atmosphere, the were musical groups playing
continuously in the center of the plaza,
which was very entertaining while sitting
around.
There were more than 30 woodies in attendance, and many club members brought their
non-woodie guests. Everyone had a wonderful time, and Frank Delaney even found a pair
of elusive halogen headlights for his 1941 Ford woodie. Jim Hill won the San Diego
Woodies Award for his black 1949 Mercury woodie.
Here Jim Hill (center) receives his award
Page 4
Wood Vibrations
the Huntington beach beachcruisers Meet
By Lamont Cranston
The sun did not shine on the Beach Cruisers, but it did not dampen the festive events
of this fifth meeting of those cars and trucks that you brought your board to the
beach in. There were all sorts of Cruisers demonstrating just what a variety of vehicles you would see back when you were a gnarly dude lookin’ for that perfect wave
or a wahine to go surfing or cruising with. Woodies, VW busses, Minis, Nomads, you
name it and it was there all dressed up and looking better than they ever did back in
the days 50 years ago. There was even a line of ’48 Chevy Fastbacks the likes of
which we never noticed much back then, but today they were one of the hits of this
event.
The San Diego Woodies was well represented with about fourteen members bringing
their cars. While there was no caravan, everyone showed up at about the same time
and parked close to one another. Of particular note was the first showing of the
beautifully done ’51 Ford shoebox woodie of Rich and Carolyn Cravens of Vista. Nice
job Rich! Gary Young was seen riding around on his vintage bicycle, and it looks like
the one he had when he was a worry to his mother.
Besides the line up of woodies near the pier there were vintage surfboards for sale,
all sorts of surfing memorabilia, fine art prints, the ever-present T-shirts, and even
ceramic tiles.
One of the nicest aspects of the Beach Cruiser meet is that it takes place on the
closed off village streets in Surf City, so there are many, many places to have breakfast, lunch, or enjoy your favorite beverages. Outside dining, a la fresco, let you be
near the cars and the people walking up and down the closed-off streets. Car watching & people watching; what could be better?
Besides the attention being paid to the many, minty
cars, there was this boxer doggie that was pretty good
at riding a skateboard around the lower parking lot. It
actually was amazing, and attracted a large crowd
wherever he went. Word has it that he has made a
few commercials so watch for him on TV in the future.
Page 5
Woodies reach across “the Pond”
Earlier this year, members of San Diego Woodies gathered at the home of Charles &
Tamara Furman to welcome Colin Peck, the President of the Woodie Car Club of the
United Kingdom, to San Diego. When Colin posted on the woodie chatroom that he
would be visiting Southern California soon, some SDW members decided that a great
way to welcome him would be to invite him to meet us and see our cars.
Even though it was an overcast
morning with a little bit of rain,
we still had a few woodies and
about 20 SDW members show up
for coffee, pastry, and woodie
conversation. The weather made
Colin feel right at home. Colin
brought some Woodie Car Club
decals, which were given to the
SDW members, and the SDW
members presented Colin with
some SDW logo things and a 25th Anniversary Wavecrest poster.
Now that we have led the way with our hospitality, any of our members traveling to
the United Kingdom should feel comfortable contacting Colin if you are interested in
meeting UK woodie people. Colin did point out that wooden bodied cars are not as
concentrated in the UK as they are in Southern California.
Colin gets Wavecrest poster from SDW members
Page 6
Presidents, Jim Esposito & Colin Peck comparing notes
Wood Vibrations
MEMBER PROFILE: Robert & Doug Quinn
Robert and Doug Quinn are a
San Diego Woodies father and
son team. They participate in
almost all club events in their
original 1937 Ford woodie.
Robert, the father, began the
family’s interest in old cars like
many of us did when he bought
his first car as a teenager back
in Texas. It was a Model T Ford
that he purchased for $5.
When Bob entered the Navy he
drove a 1939 Mercury convertible from Texas to San Diego to
Bob Quinn and his woodie model outside his front door
report for duty. After his military service, Robert completed college in Texas, and then drove a 1940 Ford convertible back to California to start his career.
Over the years, Robert has had a variety of cars. He owned a few old American
cars, but his early passion was European cars. As Doug was growing up in Newport
Beach, CA, his dad had a 1930 Rolls Royce, a 1938 Bentley, and many other makes,
including MG, Austin Healy, Lotus, Morgan and Porsche. Robert actually had many
Porsches, including the 1959 Convertible D that he still owns.
The jump into the woodie world was almost by accident. A friend wanted Robert’s
1933 Ford Phaeton so bad that he bugged him to sell or trade it to him until one
day Robert finally agreed to trade for his friends original 1937 Ford woodie plus
some cash. Given the price of woodies these days, it looks like Robert made a
good trade.
After moving from Newport Beach to North San Diego County in 2000, Robert
and Doug’s interest in woodies led them to Moonlight Beach and Wavecrest. From
that experience they joined the newly formed San Diego Woodies, and became active members.
(Cont’d on next page)
Page 7
Wood Vibrations
Quinns (cont’d)
Doug’s interest in cars was natural. Like his dad, he had many cars over the years, including Volkswagens, a 1955 Chevy, and a 1964 Ford station wagon that he would use as a
beach cruiser with his buddies. The old station wagon carried boards and acted as a hotel
at night.
Doug was an avid surfer whose passion led him to become a surfboard shaper. Doug surfed and shaped all
over Southern California, and in 1971, he took the
surfer’s dream trip. Doug spent a year on the North
shore of Hawaii. He would work shaping boards just
enough to pay cheap rent and eat, and surfed all of the
rest of the time.
Doug in his Cardiff shaping room
In addition to Hawaii, Doug has
surfed in Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia, Indonesia, Fiji, and Samoa.
Doug’s most recent surf adventure
was a two week trip to Samoa earlier this year.
Doug now shapes boards for his own
company, Islander Surfboards. His
other passion is offshore fishing,
but that’s another story.
Next time you see Robert and Doug
Doug teaching apprentice shaper, Frank Delaney, the finer points
at one of our events, ask them
about their adventures. You won’t be sorry.
Too many boards?
Page 8
Just another day in Tiavea, Samoa
Doug relaxing in Samoa
Wood Vibrations
Member Profile: Lee & Patty Kidwell
Lee and Patty Kidwell have been active in woodie club activities for many years at many levels, but like many of us they didn’t start with woodies. Lee’s first involvement with old cars
was with non-woodies, especially MG’s and Jaguars. His first MG was a 1947 Model that he
still has today.
Lee and Patty at SDW Christmas Party
If it hadn’t been for Patty insisting that the small British sports cars were not large enough
for a “family car”, the Kidwells may never have entered the woodie world, but they did.
When Lee and Patty bought their first “family car” it was a 1937 Plymouth woodie. Just
like their first MG, Lee and Patty still have their first woodie.
Today, Lee and Patty have two MG’s and two woodies, their 1937 Plymouth and a 1941 International woodie.
(Cont’d on next page)
Page 9
Wood Vibrations
Kidwell (cont’d)
In the mid 1980’s, Lee and Patty’s interest in woodies led them to a small gathering of
woodies called Wavecrest. That was all it took. They were hooked. Lee became very active with the small group of people who were running Wavecrest back then. Lee and Patty
saw Wavecrest grow and move, from Del Mar, to Cardiff, to Oceanside, to Encinitas. Lee
continued to work with the Wavecrest committee into the mid 1990’s, acting as chairman
of the event numerous times during those years. Lee’s connection to a printer enabled the
Wavecrest Meet to begin offering posters to attendees in 1989, an addition that has become key element of every Wavecrest.
Around 1990, another turn of events drove Lee and Patty deeper into the woodie world.
Lee became a Western Region Director of the National Woodie Club. Back in those days
the National Woodie Club had a much stronger focus on the New England area, and Lee
worked hard to assure that the West Coast got its share of attention.
Lee then became the Vice President and President of the National Woodie Club, and continued his efforts to make the national club work for all members and all areas of the
country. He worked closely with a small group of woodie enthusiasts in Northern California to form the first West Coast Chapter of the National Woodie Club, Santa Cruz
Woodies.
Even though Lee and
Patty have given up
many of their leadership responsibilities in
recent years, they remain regulars at woodie
gatherings. They are
both interesting and
knowledgeable members
of our woodie community. Say hello next
time you see them.
What are the chances of winning the only two matching shirts in separate drawings?
Page 10
Wood Vibrations
Back to the Future Tour
Several San Diego Woodie members joined hundreds of other old automobiles on the
2005 “Back to the Future Tour”, which covered most of southeast San Diego County.
Great fun was had by all. It was especially cool to see the woodies mixed in with so
many other types of cars from that era.
Reggie Keyohara (left) & Steve Seebold at Simpsons
One of the stops on the tour was Simpson’s
Nursery in Jamul where we ate ice cream
and toured their antique car collection.
Major upcoming events
2005
(Click "Calendar" at www.sandiegowoodies.com for more details of all upcoming events)
Chapter Meetings are held at 8:00 am
Second Saturday of the Month, locations vary.
See sandiegowoodies.com for details
September 17, Encinitas, CA
August 20, Santa Barbara, CA
October 1, Cambria, CA
Wavecrest. Info at sandiegowoodies.com
Santa Barbara Woodies Club’s Woodies at the Beach. For
Woodies at the Castle. Info contact George Benson at
Info Contact: Jim Beatty 805-641-3237, Daniel Albert 805- [email protected]
896-9652 or Dave Steele 805-967-7595
November 5, Scottsdale, AZ
September 10, Oceanside, CA
Desert Gathering. Info contact JD de Voss at
Wavecrest goodie bag stuffing party and volunteer appreciation 602-407-6446
event. All SDW members welcome.
Info contact: Charles Furman 760-213-9313 or
[email protected]
Page 11
Wood Vibrations
Doheny Wood 2005
Rain, Rain, go away. The threat of rain didn’t slow down the
Southern California Woodie Club. They pushed full speed
ahead, and in the end, the weather cooperated and Doheny
Wood 2005 was a blast.
It all started with the hosted dinner at Doheny State Park on
Friday evening. Woodie owners from all over came together
Doheny Wood really is a “beach party”
for an evening of checking out cars in the parking lot, listening to music around the fire pit,
and savoring Mick’s “liquid lightning”.
On Saturday morning the weather cleared up, and Doheny Wood 2005 was awash in sunshine. What a great day. A lot full of old wood bodied cars, hula dancers, and a large crowd
of people enjoying the cars.
One woodie in particular drew a lot of attention.
It was a 1949 Dodge Power Wagon that started its
life as a pick up. Yes, a phantom woodie was getting all of the attention. The owner built the entire wood body from scratch and did a great job,
but the real eye catcher was the theme of this
unique truck woodie. It was painted fire engine
red with black fenders and was outfitted with authentic fire fighting equipment, including red light
and siren, and a functional water pump on the massive front bumper. The finishing touch is “Fire and
Phantom Woodie?
Rescue” on the hood and “NYFD no.1” lettering on
the sides.
A surfboard was raffled for woodie exhibitors only.
What a great concept. Our Wavecrest Meet will expand on this idea, and we hope all events add this feature.
Finally, at the end of the day, all attendees were
treated to a Hawaiian style barbeque complete with
Page 12
Southern California Woodies is a “Class Act”
Wood Vibrations
Woodies on the Wharf 2005
As told by Mike Merkt:
Once again, the Santa Cruz Woodie Club put on a spectacular show on the Wharf in Santa
Cruz, California. The eleventh Annual Woodies on the Wharf broke the record for the
number of woodies at this event. In addition, the was huge crowd enjoying marvelous variety of old wooden bodied vehicles.
The Santa Cruz club members were great hosts, making everyone feel welcome. They
even arranged for especially warm weather where everyone was sitting around telling tall
tales in t-shirts well into the evening. Friday night the beer and good friendship flowed
at the host hotel, while everyone stocked up on the event shirts, posters and other goodies.
There were a lot of cars that appeared to be on display at Woodies on the Wharf for the
first time. That is always the high point of any woodie get together when cars show up
for the first time.
The Boardwalk on the beach in Santa Cruz was a fun excursion for many of the visiting
woodie club folks. All the
typical things like rides,
junk food, etc., but this
year there was a special
attraction; a stuffed
woodie. This little stuffed
woodie which was a prize to
be won at one of the
boardwalk game booths was
a big hit. A $3 item that
could easily be won with the
investment of a mere $30
or $40 dollars. Rumor has
it that Jay Nordgren won
so many of them that he
was giving them away.
Page 13
Woodies on the Wharf 2005— Photo courtesy of Tom Parsons
Wood Vibrations
Wavecrest 2005
Wavecrest is the granddaddy of all woodie meets. While this year’s Wavecrest may not
have the pageantry of last year’s 25th anniversary meet, it will still be spectacular. San
Diego Woodies plans to do more this year to focus the event on the woodies and the
members of the woodie community. For example, there will be special Karl Strauss
awards given in the garage of the host hotel on Friday evening during the annual tire
kicking and bull slinging sessions. Be sure your woodie is down there for the judging. In
addition, there will be a number special, high end raffle prizes which can only be won by
people who exhibit their woodies at Wavecrest. These will be things you will be glad to
win. SDW member Doug Quinn will be presenting an exhibit on the history of surfing
and surfboards, with many examples of early boards on display.
As you can imagine, Wavecrest requires the support of many volunteers. Whether you
can help on the day of the event or sometime before, there is something you can do to
help. We need help before the event, on Friday evening, Saturday during the event, and
on Sunday morning during the cruise. Check out the committee list below and contact
the chairperson of the area that interests you, or contact Wavecrest Chair Henry Trulson, if you will help where needed. Don’t miss the stuffing party (see next page).
Committee
City Liaison
Poster Design
Poster & T-shirt Procurement
Poster Distribution
Printing
Program
Booths & Cabanas
Advertising
Goodie Bag
Thursday Night Rods & Woodies
Friday Get-Together
Friday Karl Strauss Award
T-Shirt & Poster Booth
Booth & Cabana Set-Up
Trophies
Stage/Entertainment
Raffle Drawing
Raffle Ticket Sales
Registration
Parking
Street Signs
Food
Clean-Up
Saturday Night Dinner
Sunday Breakfast Cruz
Page 14
Chairperson
Jim Esposito
Dave Doherty
Barry Marassi
Pat Dirkschneider
Rocco Emma
Toby Westbrook
Shannon Hartley
Marv Miles
Marty Topper
Henry Trulson
Meg Merkt
Jim Miller
Karen Trulson
Mike Merkt
Ron Heiden
Jim Esposito
Candi Brown
Rocky Brown
Charles Furman
Jack Rabell
Ed Wright
Reggie Keyohara
Ruben Cerecedes
Luann Esposito
Jim Esposito
Telephone #
760-436-2082
760-468-3646
760-942-1397
760-207-7556
760-753-1600
858-385-0102
760-942-2026
619-993-8401
760-940-0900
760-476-9750
760-438-4584
619-224-7961
760-822-6151
760-438-4584
760-753-8054
760-436-2082
760-942-9458
760-942-9458
760-213-9313
619-445-3152
760-753-7072
760-944-7039
760-729-4382
760-436-2082
760-436-2082
Wood Vibrations
Wavecrest 2005 (cont’d)
ONLY YOU CAN WIN
Win a surfboard like this Wavecrest 25th Anniversary Hansen Surfboard or other
great gifts which will be given in the “woodie exhibitors only” raffle. Beginning this
year, San Diego Woodies is going to do more to benefit those who bring their woodies
to Wavecrest. One raffle ticket will be given to each woodie exhibitor when they turn
in their registration. Our way of saying “THANK YOU.”
DON”T MISS THE FUN
The Wavecrest Goodie Bag
Stuffing Party will be held September 10th this year at the
home of Charles & Tamara
Furman in Oceanside.
Last year 40 volunteers made
short work of filling goodie bags
and stuffing event posters,
which left plenty of time for
food, conversation and fun.
This year, after the work is
Volunteers hard at work at last years stuffing party
completed, SDW will treat all of the volunteers to a poolside barbeque. Guests will be
invited to cool off in the pool or the spa, and there is even a rumor that there may be
some live entertainment. Another way of saying “THANK YOU.”
Page 15
Wood Vibrations
Surf legend Frank “Goofy Foot” Delaney (right), shares surfing tips with SDW
member Reggie Keyohara who has expressed interest in taking up the sport.
Somehow we keep doing this. Obviously, Jack Rabell and Tip Briney didn’t
communicate, or maybe they did.
Wood Vibrations
Occasionally Published by San Diego Woodies, a Chapter of the National Woodie Club