41^st Annual Spring Fling

May 22-25 • Newton, Kansas

By Ken Bounds

The center of the USA has been the home to the Spring Fling on Memorial Day weekend since 1974.  This year the fling was sponsored by the Wichita Regional Group in Newton, Kansas.  Because of the distance, about 700 miles one way, only Ken & Carolyn Bounds decided to make the trip.  This would be the first long trip for our ’50 Convertible since our accident last year and the engine rebuild in January.

We decided to start our trip on Thursday, spending the first night in Overland Park, KS.  This 548-mile leg of the journey was uneventful; it was really nice to have to car on the road again and it ran great.  After cleaning the blanket of bugs off the front end, we enjoyed some KC barbeque and turned in to rest for the remaining part of the trip.  We completed the remaining 179 miles with the only inconvenience being a few hours of rain.  Carolyn was busy sopping up the water seeping in through the header.

In Newton we had a great time renewing old friendships.  There were V-8 Club members from all over the Midwest along with a large contingent from Texas.  It was great to see our good friend Jimmy Gibson.  He has a super attitude after his cancer surgery and will be undergoing facial surgery in June.  Jimmy and Connie drove their ’53 Mercury and participated in all the fun Spring Fling events. 

We were also happy to visit again with our long-distance Tulsa members Rick & Marisa Claybaugh with their daughter Kim and her boyfriend Chase.  Rick’s brother Earl and his wife Marguerite also participated for the first time, driving their ‘35 Coupe.

After a hot dog roast Friday night and lots of visiting, we were treated to a fantastic tour on Saturday.  The large group was split in half; our group visited a very nice collection in the morning, including some of the huge gasoline tractors from the turn of the century, similar to those we are familiar with in George Schaff’s collection.  Our host told us that he knows George very well.  His informative presentation told us how these gasoline-powered behemoths ruled the plains only a few short years until Henry Ford revolutionized farming with his much smaller, less expensive, easily repairable Fordson tractor.

Both touring groups met for a delicious buffet lunch in McPherson, KS, before we split again and headed to our second stop.  We were treated to an incredible tour of the Automotive Restoration Program at McPherson College.  This is the only known 4-year bachelor’s program in auto restoration technology.  I could fill an entire Road Chatter with what we saw and learned on this tour, but will need to keep it brief.  One of the instructors showed and explained to us the various “shops” in the program, including the paint shop, the engine shop, the interior and top shop, the metal fabrication shop, the wood shop, a foundry, and much more.  If you are ever in this part of the country, arranging a tour is a must.

Our final stop was the fully restored McPherson Opera House built 1888-1889.  What a terrific old building.  Our tour guide was knowledgeable and interesting.  The building is being used for many events and meetings and looks better than ever.

Although we had a lot of rain Saturday, Sunday morning gave us a welcome respite and we were able to get in the car games and people games without a drop of rain.  The big hit was the new balance ramp brought by the Wichita group.  Although balancing a big V-8 is tricky, most drivers were able to do it and the winner had to be chosen by a random draw.

Carolyn and I tried out all the games, and like all the participants had a great time.  Although we did not bring games this year, we were happy that Marissa and Rick Claybaugh adopted our “blind tollbooth” game and had a lot of fun with it.  Kim Claybaugh’s people game, flipping a cup onto a root beer bottle, was also a big hit.

We had a good time at the banquet Sunday evening.  Past National Director Doug Keener’s son Michael said a few words about his dad who is in the hospital, but was moved that day out of intensive care and into a regular room.  Our prayers and best wishes go out to Doug and Carolyn.  When all the trophies were presented, Carolyn and I were surprised 2^nd place winners in the “Oklahoma Toll Booth.”  The evening ended with many goodbyes and wishes to meet again next year in Oklahoma City.

Our trip back home was again uneventful.  Although many of our friends heading south into Oklahoma and Texas had terrible storms and flooding, we were treated to sunny skies all the way home.  We made the trip in one day, arriving just after 6:30 pm.  It was a wonderful weekend.