By
John Emmering
The weather could not have been
any better as members, family and friends of our Northern Illinois Regional
Group gathered for the annual picnic. The scene of the picnic once again this
year was the Culver’s Restaurant on Route 64 in St. Charles, where we held last
year’s event. Staking claim to the
east side of the Culver’s parking lot, our president, Ron Steck arrived early in
his 1941 Ford Woody along with John Emmering in his 1949 Ford Custom Fordor.
The pair placed chairs between their parked Ford V-8s to save spots for
club members cars which would arrive shortly.
Soon the pair were joined by Ken
Bounds in his 1951 Mercury Sport Coupe, Tom Buscaglia in his 1951 Ford Custom
Tudor, Jay Hinshaw in his 1937 Ford Tudor, John Judge in his 1948 Lincoln
Continental Convertible, Pat Maroney driving his 1953 Ford Crestline Victoria,
Roger Obecny in his 1940 Ford Deluxe Tudor, Tom & Madeleine O’Donnell in their
1940 Mercury Sedan Coupe, and Joe & Delice Serritella in their 1941 Ford Super
Deluxe Coupe. Joe and Delice enjoyed their final outing with their 1941 Ford
Coupe, since they recently sold it to their neighbor Vicky Beck. Vicky let them
take it out one more time. Vicky
attended the picnic also and as a new Ford V-8 owner was encouraged by the
members present to join the EFV8CA and our regional group.
Among the arriving cars there was
quite a bit of interest in Pat Maroney’s 1953 Ford which has not been displayed
at too many events. John Judge's “resto-mod”
1948 Lincoln Continental Convertible made its debut at this year’s picnic and
drew attention of the members. As the event began to unfold Ron & Arlene Blum,
John & Este Scheve, and John Slobodnik with son John Jr., arrived in modern
vehicles. Robin Emmering and Dee Maroney also joined the event in their modern
cars.
When lunchtime rolled around
picnic goers filed into Culver’s Restaurant to order their favorite items from
the Culver’s menu generally topped off by an ice-cream sundae. Most picnic goers
choose to remain inside the airconditioned confines of the restaurant to enjoy
their meals. Our regional group
picked up the tab for the meals and desert.
After lunch most attendees
gathered their chairs out onto the grassy area next to the parking lot had a
chance to converse. Terry Elliott with his friend Amy drove up in his 1950 Ford
Custom Fordor. Members enjoyed looking over Terry’s ongoing restoration and
viewing his progress he has made. While the picnic was less elaborate than what
the group has traditionally conducted in years past, those in attendance had an
enjoyable time.
