First Annual NIRG Poker Run

By Ken Bounds

The Lake Geneva Classic Car Rally ran 30 years, from 1978 through 2007.  The Northern Illinois Regional Group officially participated in the rally nearly every year beginning in 1984 after some members had attended the event in prior years.  But even before our formal tours there, the NIRG had held fall events in Wisconsin for several years.  With the passing of the Classic Car Rally we decided to keep the tradition going by establishing the First Annual NIRG Poker Run to the Geneva Lakes area.

On a beautiful early fall day, part of our group left Arlington Heights for a back-roads tour to the Lake Geneva area.  This included Dick & Dot Alfini in their Cadillac convertible, Ken & Carolyn Bounds – ‘50 Ford Convertible, Joey Novak – ‘40 Ford Pickup, Dan & Diane Pudelek – ‘53 Ford Victoria, and Stan Stack – ‘53 Ford Tudor.  Each participant was given a commemorative button, a surprise provided by Joey Novak.  Along the way we picked up George Cech in his ‘36 Ford Phaeton.  When we stopped for lunch at Mad Dan’s in Twin Lakes we were met by Tom & Judy Buscaglia in their ‘50 Ford Tudor and Marty & Leah Duling, all the way from Springfield, in modern iron.  As we parked, one of Dick’s tires went flat, adding a little extra work to the stop.  At lunch we went over our tour folders, including a discussion of our itinerary for the weekend and the rules for the poker run.  Cards would be drawn by each participant at seven stops with the best five being used at the end for prizes for highest and lowest hands.  Other prizes would be awarded along the way for drawing certain cards. 

After enjoying a terrific lunch and drawing our first card, we resumed our tour, finding a detour when our route was blocked by emergency vehicles.  We continued northwest, meandering up country roads to Lake Geneva, where we had been invited to make an appearance with our V-8 Fords at the joint Lincoln Zephyr Owners Club/Lincoln Owners Club Central Meet.  While we were impressed with the beautiful collection of Lincolns displayed there, many of the meet participants walked over to admire our cars and asked a lot of questions.  Meanwhile, most of the ladies went for the traditional shopping in downtown Lake Geneva.  Hard to believe, but the temperature was in the 80’s on this September 26, so we had to find some shade to get out of the hot sun.

After saying goodbye to George and Stan who were returning home, it was time to continue our tour to the hotel.  We proceeded along the south shore of Geneva Lake, then cross country and up the east shore of Lake Delavan to our home base for the weekend, the Delavan Comfort Suites.  We should include a mention here of the hospitality this hotel has shown us for the past several years.  The accommodations are first rate and the staff always takes good care of our group.  Before leaving for dinner, we drew our second card.  Then it was back in the cars for a short trip to the Village Supper Club where we drew our third card, had a nice meal overlooking the lake, and wrapped up day one.

It was nice on Saturday to sleep in for a while before beginning our driving tour.  At 9:45 we gathered to take a scenic drive to the Apple Barn Orchard and Winery near Elkhorn.  Lots of food, crafts and activities were available for the entire family.  The place was packed!  We had a good time there wine-tasting, shopping for local products, and checking out all the arts and crafts.  I think our group added quite a bit to their bottom line.  We even had time for a little tailgating as we drew our fourth card.  Again we toured across country roads, through ethanol fields, through Elkhorn, and on to our lunch stop at the Moose Creek Bar & Grill.  We had been told that a certain Vice-Presidential candidate might be present there hunting moose, but our sources were evidently wrong.  We had a great meal with great service, then drew card #5.  After lunch we headed south to Fontana where we viewed the Geneva Lake Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show.  As usual, the wood boats there were fabulous, proving again that some people just have too much money.  The warm afternoon sent us across the street to Chuck’s Lakeshore Inn where we drew card #6 while enjoying a cool beverage.

Again we took back roads to the hotel and enjoyed some more tailgating before getting ready for dinner.  We drove to Greenie’s Clubhouse at nearby Delbrook Golf Course where it was steak cookout night.  During the course of a great dinner we brought our poker run to a conclusion with the drawing of our final card.  Judy Buscaglia was the inaugural winner with a full house, sixes over fives.  Her prize was dinner and drinks for the evening.  Your author took home a $10 gas card for the lowest hand: two, three, four, six, eight.  Other prizes awarded along the way included a Lake Geneva t-shirt to Dick Alfini, Apple Barn wine and a flathead keychain to Dot Alfini, Apple Barn wine and jam to Ken Bounds, an Illinois bear to Diane Pudelek, local maple syrup to Tom Buscaglia, and local cashew brittle to Marty Duling.

In the morning we checked out of the hotel and drove along the north shore of Lake Delavan to Millie’s Pancake House.  We had our usual great breakfast there, but were startled when Marty ordered an omelet instead of his traditional pecan waffle.  Talk about shaking things up!  After taking an hour or so browsing the shops at Millie’s, we set out for home.  Everyone present appeared to have a great weekend and we have already begun making plans for the Second Poker Run next year.  It was lots of fun driving our V-8’s on a terrific fall weekend.  In addition to great V-8 fellowship, fun, food, and drinks, the generosity of participants resulted in a nice donation to the Corinne Kreissl Memorial Foundation.