12th Annual NIRG Poker Rally

By Ken Bounds

On Friday, September 27, a group of NIRG members gathered in Arlington Heights for our first driving tour of the fall – our 12^th Annual Lake Geneva Poker Rally.  The group consisted of Ken & Carolyn Bounds, 1951 Mercury Sport Coupe; Ed & Diane Crane, 1941 Ford Convertible; Joey & Millie Novak, 1953 Mercury Monterey; Tom & Madeleine O’Donnell, 1953 Lincoln Sport Coupe; Dan & Diane Pudelek, 1950 Ford Crestliner; John & Este Scheve, 1947 Ford Coupe.  Arriving in modern vehicles were Ron Steck with his son Chris and grandson Bennett, and Larry Webb & Virgie Burnquist.  Joey Novak once again presented everyone with their rally buttons.

The weather started out cool and dry, but we knew we would run into rain.  The dark clouds had already descended on Dan & Diane when one of their rare Crestliner wheel covers flew off on the trip to the meeting place, taking a fender skirt with it.  The fender skirt can be repaired; the wheel cover was a total loss. 

As our group drove northwest over secondary roads, the dry skies gave way to sprinkles, then rain.  Regardless, we had a pleasant drive over some old roads and some new ones – we try to never repeat our route. By the time we reached our lunch destination, our first-ever stop at the Sand Bar & Island Grill in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, the skies had opened up.  We were met for lunch by Ron Dopke & Bernice Short, and Dick & Linda Livingston.  Although Dick & Linda traveled all the way from Springfield, they were spending a few days at their family home on nearby Geneva Lake.

The lunch location had a pleasant nautical motif and would have been even more scenic if we had sunny skies to enjoy the view over the lake.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch with great service and began our Poker Rally by drawing the first card.

As we continued our drive toward our hotel in Delavan, Ed unfortunately experienced coil failure on his Convertible.  After much discussion, it was decided that Diane would continue on with our group and Ed would get the ’41 towed back home.  Showing that he is a trouper, Ed then got into his modern car and joined us in Delavan during the wee hours of the morning.

While we had worked on Ed’s car, Ron led part of the group on to Delavan and the rest of us joined a little later, along with Gary & Dawn Osborne.  We were anxious to play our traditional car games, but the weather had turned cold and rainy.  We determined that a better plan was to assemble a large group in the hotel lobby where we proceeded to solve several of the world’s most pressing problems and to draw our second card.  Friday evening we drove to a traditional location on Delavan Lake, the Village Supper Club, for dinner.  The third poker card was drawn as well.

Saturday morning, after we drew our forth poker card, we were joined by Terry Elliott who had driven up from Chicago in his 280-Z to join us for our traditional Saturday driving tour.  This year we had the incredible fortune to be invited by 1979-1981 National V-8 Club Director Al Egelseer and his wife Carol to see their fabulous collection near Hustisford.  We had perfect weather as we drove an interesting 60-mile route up backroads through the Kettle Moraine forest.  The Early V-8s, and some modern cars, hummed along perfectly while we enjoyed the country scenery and arrived right on schedule at 10:30. 

We were greeted by our hosts Al & Carol Egelseer and their son-in-law Brian Ninneman.  Also present were a number of members of Al’s Badger State Regional group and several of Al’s friends.  After introductions and chatting, we dove right into Al’s incredible collection of Early V-8s and a handful of other brands spanning two large buildings.  Many of the Early V-8s were Dearborn winners and all vehicles were meticulously restored to the highest standards.  It would be nearly impossible to find a flaw on any of them.  To assist in our enjoyment, Al had placed a brief story about each vehicle on the windshield: how he had found it, details of the restoration, unique features, etc.  To be sure, many vehicles were not restored to original specifications – they were done the way Al envisioned them.  In summary - “spectacular.”  We saw dozens of beautiful vehicles - see the pictures of just a few of them at the end of this article.

Al & Carol had even arranged for a catering truck to be present with a delicious meal of pulled pork sandwiches, barbequed ribs, cole slaw, beans, and chips.  Soft drinks were furnished, but a few of us provided our own choice of beverage.

After several hours of V-8 viewing, lunching, chatting and otherwise enjoying V-8 camaraderie, it was time to begin the drive back to our hotel.  Tom & Madeleine returned home in their Lincoln, as did Terry in his 280-Z.  The rest of us went over a different 65-mile route over scenic secondary roads back to Delavan.  The good news was that the weather had been dry all day and we had time to play the games we had missed on Friday.  Clouds had darkened the sunny skies, but it was warm enough to have a good time.

There were a lot of laughs as we played blindfolded driving, blind toll booth, and back-in parking.  There were no injuries, but there was plenty of embarrassment and the orange cone used in two of the events was nearly killed.  We were happy to greet John Slobodnik who arrived with wife Barb and son John during the games.  John had a recent knee replacement and it was great to see him getting around.

After the car games we all gathered in the hotel for a round of people games.  We played the Ford V-8 buzzer game, stacking lug nuts, and Mercury Assembly – a puzzle.  Everyone had a fun time.  Afterwards there was time for visiting before participants went to their rooms to get ready for dinner.

For the second year, we were treated to a catered dinner prepared by Chef George of Greenie’s Clubhouse at Delbrook Golf Course.  The hotel had graciously set us up in their private meeting room where Alison from Greenie’s laid out a beautiful spread of tossed salad, crab salad, green beans, chicken, and tenderloin of beef.  The food was fantastic and far more than we could eat.  Alison also brought along a selection of desserts to complement the cookies that Carolyn made for each person.

Just before dinner the final poker card was drawn and everyone examined their hands.  Ken made the announcements of all the winners.  Prizes were awarded for each player who drew a joker and for winners of the car and people games.  Some took a second “Carolyn Cookie” as their prize.  Dan won the blindfolded driving game while Carolyn took second; Carolyn & Ken won blind toll booth and Dawn & Gary were second; Millie was closest in backing into the cone with Gary second.  For the people games, Gary took first in the V-8 buzzer and Dawn was second; Dick won lugnut stacking with Dawn second; and Dick took first in Mercury assembly with Dawn second.  There was tension in the air as the winners were announced in the poker rally.  Ron Dopke won $20 for the low hand (a Jack low!) and John Slobodnik came out of nowhere to win $100 and the Dick Alfini Memorial Hand Award with three queens.

Before we knew it, the fun weekend was coming to an end.  Sunday morning everyone headed for home as rain put a damper on any more events.  Everyone who participated already has a hotel reservation for next year – we can’t wait!