2nd Annual NIRG Poker Rally

September 25-27

By Ken Bounds

We had such a good time on our Inaugural Poker Run last year we decided to make it an annual event.  The sky was gray, but the temperature was mild as a group of V-8ers met at the Town & Country Mall for our back-roads tour to Wisconsin.  Leaving Arlington Heights at 10:00 a.m. were Dick & Dotty Alfini, Caddy Convertible; Ron Blum, ’40 Fordor; Ken & Carolyn Bounds, ’50 Crestliner; Joe & Nell Kozmic, ’37 Coupe; Joey Novak, ’40 Pickup; Tom & Madeleine O’Donnell, ’40 Mercury; Bob & Angie Paladino, ’69 Cougar; Dan & Diane Pudelek, ’53 Victoria; and Len & Irene Vinyard, ’57 T-Bird.  We continued Northwest on our scenic, twisting route to our first stop in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.  As we arrived just after 11:30 at Mad Dan’s for lunch, we were joined by Larry & Jerry Webb in modern iron.  Our group filled two large tables and we went over the procedure for our poker run over the weekend.  The plan was for each participant to draw a card at seven stops along the way, with prizes awarded at each stop and the grand prizes to be awarded at dinner Saturday evening.  The first laugh came quickly as our waitress presented Dick Alfini with two cans of Fix-A-Flat.  The Mad Dan’s staff had remembered Dick’s adventure with a flat tire last year and was prepared for our visit.

After our drinks arrived and we waited for our food, we drew our first card.  The prizes went quickly as Madeleine O’Donnell won Red Raspberry spread for the first lady to draw a Queen.  Larry Webb followed as the first man to draw a King, winning a bottle of Westley’s Bleche-Wite.  While we were ordering we received a call from Marty Duling.  He and Leah were running late and said they would meet us before we hit the road again.  So we went ahead with lunch and also drew cards for Marty and Leah.  Sure enough, Marty drew the high Spade by proxy – the Ace, winning a Mad Dan’s t-shirt, generously donated by the restaurant.  As we were finishing lunch, Marty and Leah arrived in modern iron and claimed Marty’s prize.  After a delicious and very filling meal served by the super staff at Mad Dan’s, we said goodbye to Ron, who was just along for lunch, and were on the road again.  We continued over scenic roads (most people think the route is intended to confuse them) through Fontana and on into Delavan to our hotel.  We had braved some sprinkles along the way, but the heavy rain held off until we were all safely in the hotel.

After everyone was checked in, we enjoyed an afternoon of great conversation and friendship – and maybe a cocktail.  As we drew our second cards, we noted the downpour outside.  Hopefully Mother Nature would get this out of her system before our caravan to dinner!

As several present cried “fix,” yours truly won a bottle of New Glarus Primrose Winery wine for drawing the highest Diamond.  With most of the world’s problems solved, we broke up our relaxing afternoon to get ready for dinner.  As we walked outside to get into our faithful V-8’s, it was nice to see that the skies had dried for us.  We toured again over a nice secondary route to the outskirts of Elkhorn where a huge table awaited us at the packed Moose Creek Bar & Grill.  While many enjoyed one of the fish fry selections, others ordered from the menu.  The food and drinks were great and the conversation lively.  We drew card number three.  As the participants’ hands began to take shape, Jerry Webb was awarded a tin of Wisconsin Maple Syrup for drawing the high Club.

We drove our flatheads back to the hotel under darkened skies with the gentle rumble of glasspacks and dual exhausts contrasting with the quiet purr of the more stock vehicles.  After a few hours of camaraderie in the lobby, day one came to an end.

After a good night’s sleep, most of the guys were up early to wipe down and spritz the cars for our driving tour to New Glarus.  As everyone gathered for breakfast we drew card number four.  Larry Webb had the highest Heart, winning a New Glarus Brewery t-shirt.  Now it was time to begin our driving tour, starting through downtown Delavan.  As we neared the business district, a squad car with lights flashing jumped ahead of us and led us through the main streets to the outskirts of town.  Over the C-B radio came some compliments about arranging the escort, but alas it was just a coincidence.  We went west over a really nice back-roads route for our 63-mile tour to New Glarus.  It is always nice to look back and see that long line of Early V-8’s as they climbed over the gentle hills of Southern Wisconsin.

As we arrived in the quaint village we could see that much of the downtown was already parked up because of the Oktoberfest celebration.  Fortunately, we knew of a nearby parking area by the old train depot.  From this vantage point we were able to map out our day’s activities and draw card #5.  Nell Kozmic won a package of New Glarus bread mix by drawing the high Spade.  We descended onto the closed-off streets where we enjoyed the Oktoberfest tent, the Swiss-style architecture of the village, and many other attractions.  New Glarus Brewery had several of their beer varieties available in the tent.  There was also wine tasting in the tent and in the nearby Primrose Winery.  Music was everywhere, from the Bavarian Brass Band in the tent, to the man playing the huge Alphorn (like in the Ricola commercials), to the lady playing an accordion accompanied by her granddaughter singing.  We did some shopping in the various stores, cheese shops, sausage shops, and candy shops.  Most of our group enjoyed a hearty lunch at the crowded Glarner Stube restaurant where the service was great and the food was plentiful and tasty.

After about four hours of Oktoberfest fun, we began to gather again at the cars for our drive over to the Swiss Historical Village Museum.  Before going in, we drew card #6.  Joe Kozmic took a pair of New Glarus Brewery pint glasses with the high Diamond.  The museum is basically a collection of 14 original or re-created buildings depicting the early lives of the settlers who arrived in 1845 from the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland.  We had a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, Steve Gmur, who detailed how the settlers found the land, their long, hard journey to the “new world”, and many details about early life.  We spent over an hour touring the 14 buildings, including an early settler’s cabin, a bee house, a church, a school, a firehouse, a cheese factory (this IS in Wisconsin – in 1905 New Glarus had 22 cheese factories), a smoke house, a blacksmith shop, a print shop, and more.  At each building, Steve gave an interesting presentation about the uses of the building and how it fit into community life.  Of the three “modern” fire trucks in the firehouse, one was a 1928 Model A, another was a 1941 Ford.  Both seemed to be in great shape.  The museum tour was a great time and well worth the price of admission.

Now it was time to load up the cars and begin our journey back to Delavan.  We took a different route back, but it was as rural and scenic as the trip over.  With our reliable V-8’s making the trip without incident, we arrived back at the hotel with plenty of time to recount the day’s events before gathering for dinner.  While some of the group elected to seize the breakfast area for a carry-in dinner from the nearby KFC, others went out to restaurants of their choice.  The highlight of the evening was the drawing of card #7.  Marty Duling took the final minor prize – a New Glarus Brewery tote bag by drawing the high club.  Now it was time for everyone to go over their hands to see how they fared.  Yours truly, for the second year in a row, won a prize for the lowest hand – a 3,4,5,6,8 – fetching $20.  Irene Vinyard, married to the luckiest man alive, won $75 for the highest hand – an Ace-high diamond flush.  The Corrine Kreissl fund of the American Cancer Society was also a winner as our generous group donated $250.

On Sunday morning the time had come to check out of the hotel, pack the cars, and begin the trip home.  We drove to our traditional Sunday breakfast location, Millie’s Restaurant and Shopping Village, where we were joined by Roger Hunz, who had driven his ’51 Tudor up with his son Bill.  We all had a great breakfast and some of the ladies hit the shops.  After saying our goodbyes, we headed home in groups with memories of a great weekend.  Everyone made it home safely and, as usual, our Early Ford V-8’s made the trip flawlessly.  Many of us have already made our hotel reservations for next year’s Poker Run.  Happy V-8ing!