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If you enjoy old cars as much as I do, then downtown Denison was the place to be on Saturday. It was all dedicated to the memory of Jamie Geesling, who died earlier this year. Jamie was a car and motorcycle freak and went out of his way to assist anyone else who needed a little help.
The trophy going to the overall car show winner will be receiving a guitar shaped award that was designed after Jamie's personal instrument.
This is a 1941 Ford 'Woodie' Station Wagon... and it was as clean as a pin. The surfer crowd made these vehicles popular and you can see this one has a surf board on top. Original flathead V8 engine made this truly a super car.
1936 Ford Pick-Up truck with a nice paint job. You know how much I love Harley-Davidson motorcycles, so it was a natural attraction for me. The truck has a flathead V8, but also Offenhauser finned heads and 2 two-barrel carburetors. Ford made this very engine from 1932 thru 1953.
1933 Ford 3-window coupe... The paint job and flamed front end demands your attention and the Chevrolet V8 looks like it was installed with a shoe spoon as it was an extremely tight fit.
This is an extremely rare car... A 1937 Studebaker Coupe/Truck. From the driver's seat forward it is exactly like a car, while from the seat back it was a pick-up truck. This particular model preceded the Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino by twenty years and was a real trent setter. The interior is a work in progress, but I loved the exterior of the vehicle.
1941 Buick Roadmaster... Great paint job and colorful flames on the front. Those small port-holes in the front fender would be a Roadmaster feature for years to come. The interior is all custom made and a console between the bucket seats really sets it off.
The sign says 1939 Ford Coupe,...but I would swear that is a 1937 front end on this car. The sign listed all the custom additions to the car BUT no mention of the front end. I remember the 1939 as looking more like a 1940, and the tear drop headlights were not on a 1939 model. Maybe it was such a major change that the owner decided he didn't need to mention it,...BUT it sure jumped out at me when looking at it.
1941 Oldsmobile Coupe... Chevy, Olds, Buick, and Pontiac all shared this shape in the 1940's and I loved all of them. If you are going to paint a car black, you better have all imperfections corrected since black makes them stand out for all to see. This coupe was outstanding inside and out...and thanks for the bumper stick for Daddy-O. We all miss him.
1941 Buick Coupe... This outstanding model features a straight 8-cylinder engine. Before General Motors went to V8's the straight 8 was the power engine to have, but the long crankshaft in those engines created 'wobble' at high speeds and that led to its doom. This model is painted a 'root beer' color and looks great. The interior is almost complete but still lacks carpeting in the car.
The 1932 Ford Coupe is always the iconic year for hot rodding, but I have always preferred the 1933. This 1933 3-window was really clean, inside and out. The dash is custom made and it also has air conditioning added.
I saw this car from across the street and thought it was a 1928 Ford.. but when I got closer I was surprised to find out...
it was a Erskine. I never even heard of that model car. It was clean as a pin inside and out..
It was a great car show and we appreciate all of the owners bringing out their cars for the crowd to drool over. I am sure Jamie would have gotten as big a kick out of it as I did..
This past Monday I was one of many volunteers to assist in the 'Spaghetti for Susan' benefit in the Sherman/Denison area. For some background information, Susan Hooper is one of the friendly faces to greet you upon entering Reba's Ranch House. Located behind Texoma Medical Center Hospital in Denison, Reba's Ranch House caters to the plight of women who are in a bad relationship or the after effects of breast cancer. They have one room that is filled with various wigs, hair pieces, and make-up for women who have lost their hair to chemo treatments.
My wife does a lot of volunteer work locally, but the efforts for the women of Reba's Ranch House is one close to her heart. She and I have both felt the heartache of losing a loved one from our families to cancer.
Susan Hooper herself fought the successful battle with breast cancer some years ago, and she has been cancer free since. A couple of months ago she got the news that cancer had returned, this time to her neck and spine. She immediately underwent new chemo treatments to combat the disease. Her company insurance covered the treatments, but the co-pay totals were astronomical. Friends and colleagues came up with the money-making idea of making spaghetti dinners and allowing cars to drive-by the Ranch House for pick-up.
Over forty volunteers showed up at eight o'clock Monday, ready to face what we hoped would be a constant demand for spaghetti all day long. Some companies and schools called in orders early to be picked up closer to lunch time.
Most of the ingredients for the salads, pasta, and meat sauce were all donated, so just the actual labor of preparing and delivering the final product was the volunteers goal. Here we were packing salads.. Romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, raisins, croutons, and a couple of different salad dressings in each Styrofoam container. We also packed a couple of cookies in a plastic baggie as a dessert. I am the one in the Dallas Cowboy cap... and obviously, the one who did NOT get the word on black tee-shirts..
Jim Hawthorne, Horace Groff, and Harry Lemming did most of the cooking of the 'secret sauce' while the rest of us did the serving.
Former Grayson County Judge Horace Groff takes a break from the heat, along with Michelle, a member of the staff at Reba's Ranch House. Before I forget, Reba herself heard about the fund- raiser and sent a check for Susan despite not getting any spaghetti.
Back inside,...The pasta arrived in the kitchen already buttered and seasoned. All we had to do was heat it up and apply the sauce, along with a piece of garlic bread donated by Panera's.
The sauce arrived in three gallon buckets and we heated it in four large cookers like the one above.. When the cooker got low it was simply a matter of adding another bucket of sauce...NOT an easy chore as the delicious concoction was intent on spattering over the entire counter-top.
Susan was adamant on helping out somewhere...but we assigned her son Matthew the job of keeping her in this recliner where she could just oversee the job we were doing. My wife sprayed some pink hair paint on Susan,..she is not sunburned as much as it looks.
The gang outside along the curb performed super. They took money and delivered the meals to each car as they stopped to pick up their orders. Some called in advance and some ordered right on the spot, but the volunteers made good on every car coming by.
Chris and Nicole had the answer of how to transfer the completed meals from the kitchen to the curb. This allowed us to transit about 25 meals at a time and kept the flow going so we could avoid a bottleneck.
We got good publicity from the event as both KXII-TV and KTEN-TV came by to do video stories on the activity....and the newspaper also came by to cover the hubbub..
And look who else came by to get some spaghetti...Denison Mayor Jared Johnson showed up during his lunch hour to make good on his promise to be there. Thanks your Honor!
Speaking of lunch,...we did get to take a break between the lunch and dinner rushes.. Guess what was on the menu?? Spaghetti of course...and despite handling it all day, it was still delicious. This is Susan digging in to sample the product. The day was a big success, and while I am not at liberty to disclose any financial figures, you can see by the smile on Susan's face that we far exceeded any projected goals. All told we delivered just over one thousand meals. Thanks to all who participated;... May the Lord Bless You and your families.
Texoma Harley-Davidson had the national demo truck in town last Friday and Saturday, along with other activities like patch sewing, stunt riders, live entertainment, and bar-b-que sandwiches from Ringtail (always great) Bar-B-Que.
The national truck travels from dealership to dealership to allow potential buyers the opportunity to 'try it before you buy it', or in my case, to ride as many new models as possible.
The driver of this rig has a pretty nice gig...He sleeps in a motel each night, and the employees of each dealership handle all the physical labor chores. He straps and unstraps each of the different models and store employees roll the bikes into and out of the trailer. Needless to say, there is a long list of truck drivers wanting this position.
The small orange stickers indicate what models were available for demonstration rides. I have owned over half-a-dozen Harleys over the years, but currently have a Honda Shadow in my garage. (Don't tell my doctor!) In 2009 I had a stroke and my doctor told me to give up riding. Easier said than done.
To ride one of the demo bikes you had to show a motorcycle license and sign a waiver for insurance purposes. The route selected for riders was a combination of highway and small roads over a ten mile stretch to allow riders to get a good feel for the bike.
I have owned a Nightrain and a Softail Custom in the past, so I requested a Softail model for my first ride of the day. This one is a 2015 Softail Slim, and the six-speed transmission combined with the 103 cubic inch engine really gives you an impressive ride. If it were my bike I would remove the floorboards as soon as I got home. I have small feet but had trouble getting to the shifting peg with my left foot because of the floorboards. Others complained about scratching the floorboards on corners, but I had no problem and I lean into corners pretty deep.
The safety riders were pretty adamant about bunching up or stretching out the line, and we didn't have a single accident either day.
I also rode this dyna Low Rider and didn't care for it at all. Seemed like the wind blast was funneled right into my face and I had the mid-bike controls. It definitely needed forward controls to get riders feet out in front. I am five foot eight and I can't see a taller rider on this bike. When you are seated in the saddle it is extremely hard to get to the kickstand when it is in the 'up' position. Small problems though.. the bike ran like a scalded dog.
I rode a Softail Deluxe and really liked the way it handled.. I could see myself taking a long trip on that bike without too much trouble. It had a windshield and saddlebags already installed and that may have influenced my impression of it.
Thanks to Harley-Davidson for providing the demo bikes. They continue to field a quality product and if I were to be in the market for another bike it would have the HD brand on it.
The weather cooperated with us for a change. The forecast was for a sixty per cent chance of rain, but it turned out to be just an overcast day with tolerable temperatures. We had a good crowd turn out for the live music, food, stunt riders, and other activities. Thanks to you also.
