11^th Annual Lake Geneva Poker Rally

By Ken Bounds

On the chilly but sunny morning of September 28th, sixteen of our rally group met at the Town & Country mall in Arlington Heights to begin our 11th Annual Poker Rally.  Driving early V-8s were Ken & Carolyn Bounds – 1951 Mercury Sport Coupe, Ed & Diane Crane – 1941 Ford Super DeLuxe Convertible, Pat & Dee Maroney – 1936 Ford DeLuxe Fordor, Joey & Millie Novak, 1953 Mercury Monterey, Dan & Diane Pudelek –1950 Ford Crestliner, John & Este Scheve – 1947 Super DeLuxe Ford Coupe, and Ron & Colleen Steck – 1941 Ford Station Wagon.  Gary & Dawn Osborne joined us in modern.  Everyone donned their rally pins, donated once again by Joey & Millie Novak.

When it was time to leave, Ed’s Convertible did not want to run.  An ignition problem was diagnosed, but the car was deemed unreliable for the weekend.  Fortunately, Ed & Diane were able to drive it home and joined us later in a modern car.

We had a leisurely drive up scenic back roads to our lunch destination, Herner’s Hideaway in Genoa City, Wisconsin – our first time to this restaurant.  There we were met by Tom & Judy Buscaglia – 1951 Ford Custom Tudor, John & Robin Emmering – 1949 Ford Custom Fordor, John & Barb Slobodnik with son John in modern and Larry Webb & Virgie Burnquist in modern.  We were not surprised to see Dick & Linda Livingston all the way from Springfield, but we were surprised to see they were driving their 1938 Ford Standard Coupe.  Terry & Kitty Freihage were able to have lunch with us, driving their 1935 Ford Coupe.

After a terrific (and filling) lunch, and the drawing of our 1st poker card, our caravan continued on through Lake Geneva, along Lake Como, and to our weekend destination in Delavan.  After checking in, we set up for car games in the Comfort Suites parking lot.  Because of the brisk weather, the people games were set up inside.  It was hard to believe that it was nearly too cold for the car games.  Last year the temperature was abnormally high, in the mid-90s.  This year it was fully 40 degrees colder with the daily high in the mid-50s!  Regardless, we had a great time playing the car games and only egos were injured.  Millie Novak was the winner of back-in parking while Linda Livingston (driver) and Ken Bounds (passenger) won blind toll booth.

Meanwhile, in the warm breakfast area, we played the Ford buzzer game, lug nut stacking, and Mercury assembly.  Why are those Livingstons so steady-handed?  They won about everything.  Gary Osborne earned honorable mention for “most improved” in Mercury assembly.  Somewhere during the games we also drew our 2nd poker card.

Before dinner, we were joined by Ron Dopke and Bernice Short, along with Ed & Diane Crane who had driven up after taking their Convertible home.  We all drove to the Duck Inn northwest of Delavan.  After an unexpected wait, we all made it into the restaurant for a special and delicious  meal of chicken and fish, served homestyle.  The 3rd card was drawn.

Bright and early Saturday morning our group gathered for our driving tour.  Our Mercury did not want to start – the battery appeared to be dead.  Ron Steck parked by us for a jump, which did not work.  Fortunately we were able to start the car by rolling it in reverse.  However, when Ron moved his Station Wagon, an oil leak was apparent.  Ron and Gary, along with friends of Ron, stayed behind to fix the leak, which was just a fitting on the oil filter – they would catch up with us later.  The rest of us proceeded on a scenic 65-mile drive over some very rural roads to New Glarus.  Along the way we were treated to a fun scavenger hunt.

Arriving in New Glarus we drew our 4th poker card and enjoyed Oktoberfest in a huge tent on the main street, featuring New Glarus beers, a German band, and street food.  There was plenty of time for shopping in the many quaint shops.  Some got together for lunch and others even went on a tour of the Swiss Village.  Our drive back to Delavan was once again over secondary roads, but this time a different route.

Our weekend festivities came to an end with dinner and presentation of awards.  This year we tried something new.  We took over the hotel breakfast area for a dinner catered by Greenie’s from the local golf course.  Not only was the food fantastic and plentiful, but just as the catering truck arrived, a relentless downpour began.  How fortunate we were to be staying at the hotel instead of driving antique cars in the dark and the rain.

After dinner awards were presented to the winners of the car and people games.  Prizes were also grabbed by participants who had drawn Jokers during the rally – we thank Dan Pudelek for donating the prizes.  When the 5th poker card was drawn it was apparent who the winner was.  The winner of our 1st Rally, Judy Buscaglia, was also the winner of the 11th.  Judy’s four deuces easily beat everyone else’s hand as well as her full house from 2008.  She was awarded $100 and the Dick Alfini Memorial Winning Hand Award.  The $20 prize for low hand went to John Slobodnik with a 10 high.

Our final award, the Jerry Webb Memorial Stop and Smell the Roses award, is presented to a person who embodies the spirit Jerry always brought to our rallies, sometimes under adverse circumstances.  This year we were proud to present the award to John Slobodnik.

Sunday morning our fun weekend drew to a close.  Some participants went to the Geneva Lakes Antique & Classic Boat Show in Fontana, others went shopping in Lake Geneva, and some headed home.  We thank everyone for their participation and look forward to our rally next year.