2012 Spring Fling

By Ken Bounds

This month we finally have found a little space to bring you a brief story about the 38th Annual Spring Fling, hosted this year by the Tulsa Regional Group in Bartlesville, OK.  Our own Rick & Marissa Claybaugh co-chaired the event.  The Spring Fling is always held on Memorial Day weekend; about a half-dozen Midwest regional groups rotate the hosting duties.

Early Thursday morning, May 24, Dan Pudelek - ‘53 Victoria, Joe Kozmic - ‘53 Mercury, and Ken Bounds - ‘50 Convertible headed southwest on I-55 to begin our 675-mile trip.  We made a stop at Country Classic Cars in Stanton, IL.  Wow!  They have a lot of cars.  If anyone is looking for a driver or a project, that may be a place to consider.  The weather was sunny and hot, but very windy.  We decided to spend the night in Rolla, MO.  We spent a few hours sitting in chairs behind our cars; this would be excellent training for the Spring Fling.

On Friday we completed our trip into Bartlesville.  We spent the rest of the day renewing old friendships with about 90 V-8ers.  After the welcome dinner, we spent the evening kicking tires in the parking lot and checking out everyone’s ride.  A highlight was Rick’s gasoline-powered blender which served up many margaritas.  We recovered from a near disaster when a breakdown of the machine was repaired by V-8 teamwork and ingenuity.

Our driving tour on Saturday included a trip to the Tom Mix museum in Dewey and the fantastic Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve near Bartlesville.  Woolaroc (woods, lakes, and rocks) was founded in 1925 as the ranch retreat for Phillips 66 founder Frank Phillips.  The grounds are filled with exotic wildlife; the museum has an outstanding collection of western art and artifacts, Native American material, firearms, and Phillips 66 memorabilia.  The evening was again spent in the parking lot with plenty of lively discussion, not all of it about the flathead engine design.

Sunday brought the infamous car games and people games.  We had a great time with all of them and the weather was perfect.  The car games provide a lot of laughs and very few people are killed. 

The awards banquet provided time to recognize our host group, our hosts, winners of the car and people games, and all participants.  The three of us in the NIRG group tied for the long distance award.  Believe it or not, we still had time for another evening in the parking lot enjoying V-8 friends.

After saying our goodbyes, we hit the road Monday morning and didn’t stop until we were home.  The 2013 Spring Fling will be much closer to home - Lee’s Summit, MO, hosted by the Kansas City group and chaired by John & Judy McBurney.  It is a lot of fun and a great drive in our Early V-8s.  We hope several NIRG members will consider participating.