Twenty-First Annual Car Show

These are just a few of the beautiful cars and trucks from our twenty-first annual car show. Twin Bridges State Park at this time of the year makes a spectacular setting for the show. The park rangers do a great job of maintaining the restrooms. They get to look at the cars and choose one for a trophy. I think that's the part that they like.

We had 177 cars and trucks registered. There were street rods, stock, custom and modified. The day started out a bit on the cool side with temps in the mid 30's, but the afternoon turned out to be warm and sunny. We were all draggin' in our tracks by the end of the day since most of us were at the park about five A.M. and earlier

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This is Dave and Janie with their '65 Mustang fastback. I don't know the engine size but I can tell you it sounds really healthy.

We have Jim with his '27 T. Jim trades and often. He also has a '27 roadster but who knows for how long.

This is Everett with his '41 Plymouth. He has had the car for several years. It has a slant-6 mopar engine. Everette is our DJ at all of our events. He does a good job of entertaining the participants and spectators with music and good fun.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

In September a group of us Rebels venture over to Eureka Springs, Arkansas in the Ozark Mountains for a three day and night stay. Eureka Springs is an old mountain town with a somewhat checkered history. Almost every weekend you can find something happening in Eureka Springs. We go for the annual Antique Automobile Festival. On Saturday at 11:00 A.M. the parade of antique cars start from Pine Mountain parking lot. Above are some of the parade entries. This year a group of special interest vehicles was also in the parade. Ferrari!!!

We have stayed at the same motel now for about 7 years and have become friends with the owners. Last summer they took us over to see the property where they were planning to build a new home. This summer we visited the home. BEAUTIFUL VIEW!!! As they said they "bought a view and built a house." The view of the valley is from their back deck. It is ground level at the front of the house but about three storie to the ground from the deck.

A Little Adventure

On Saturday, August 15, several members and friends drove over to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The main reason was to just get away and drive our old cars and, of course, to eat.

We left Miami at about 8:00 A. M. First stop was for breakfast in Vinita. Then on the road again. We ran into some rain before we got to Nowata. A quick stop to put the tops up on the two convertibles. They took some teasing from the people in the three open roadsters. By this time, most of us were needing to make a pit stop anyway. We found a place to get chicken in Bartlesville. The ladies had brought the side dishes and desserts. Well, I said, we like to eat.

We toured Woolaroc museum. If you can't go there in person, go by web at http://www.woolaroc.org/.

It is located on 3,700 beautiful acres in the Osage Hills of Oklahoma about twelve miles southwest of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Woolaroc was the ranch retreat and wildlife preserve of oilman Frank Phillips. The displays include art and other items belonging to the oilman as well as Indian relics. Above are a few pictures from Woolaroc.

Gone Home. . .

. . . To be with the Lord. On Wednesday, July 15, 2009, Darlene Wilson went home. She has traded her crippled body for a new body. When I heard the news that Darlene had passed, I thought, "She is jogging on streets of purest gold and singing God's praises in a clear, strong voice." I count it as a blessing and privilege to have had the honor of knowing Darlene.

Darlene had always been very active and competitive. She trained and ran in a marathon. She played tennis and racquetball, demolishing her competitors without mercy. She was involved with local organizations and Churches. She served as president of the Pilots Club. She worked with Hearts and Hammers, sang in the church choir and was a member of the square dance team. She loved life and lived it to the fullest.

Two days before her first husband passed away from a rare liver disease, she was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS. It is also know as Lou Gehrig's Disease. To anyone else this diagnosis would be a tragedy. Darlene viewed it as a challenge. She fought it bravely with a smile, never complaining or whining.

Even ALS could not keep her down. With the help of modern technology, she was able to send email, play bridge with people all over the world and communicate with her loved ones and friends. She attended church every Sunday, went to her grand children's ball games. She took a trip to Hawaii with her daughters and Jim. She married Jim Wilson, another member of our club, on September 15, 2002. She loved NASCAR, especially Jimmie Johnson. On June 15, 2007, she got to ride in a race car. Three laps around the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City topping out at 180 mph. Her comment was she was, "Exhilarated, thrilled and happy - never scared. Yes, indeed, I would have gone faster." She did everything at full-throttle.

It was painful for me to see her from time to time and witness the changes. She would still smile and ask about everyone else. I will always remember the smile and laughter that she brought into my life. Seeing her in her '67 Impala convertible with the wind blowing her hair all over always made me smile because I knew how much fun she was having.

Now I know she is free from the pain and confines of a body that she no longer could control. God waved the checkered flag for Darlene, her race complete.

Meet Our Sponsor...

Gene Waylan has owned and operated the Ku-Ku Burger since August 22, 1973. He and the Ku-Ku have been featured in the Oklahoma Route 66 Association Trip Guide and the Northeast Oklahoma's Guide to Green Country 2009. They have also been on the Public Broadcast Station network. What started as an interview with a local PBS affiliate in Oklahoma City, became a nationally viewed program. People from all over the world come to the United States to travel "the Mother Road". As their journey brings them through Miami, the Ku-Ku is usually a point of interest. Therefore, Gene enjoys his visits with people from all over the world.

Gene supplies free sodas each cruise night. During the summer he provides some special meals and desserts. In June for a special treat, he furnishes ice cold watermelon for us. In July for our Super Cruise, he always serves free hot dogs and chips. For Ladies Night in August, it is strawberry shortcake. At the end of the season in September, we have Chili. The Ku-Ku was once part of a franchise with about 200 restaurants. Now we are fortunate to have the one and only. Rosie, Gayle and Gene are shown in the photo above with the original neon sign from 1965 and his pair of Fairlanes.

He has owned his beloved 1967 powder blue Fairlane since May 19, 1967. It has survived his three children learning to drive with a few parts replaced with each new driver. (A couple of doors, fender and hood.) It only has about 110,000 miles on it.

Daughter Gayle works at the Ku-Ku. Son Daryl is a computer programmer in Little Rock. Byron works for Shell Oil in Houston.

Gene supplies the food for a "tailgate party" for the NEO A&M football team after the spring scrimmage. He participates in the "Feed the Players" program the local restaurants do for the high school team. He provides the refreshments for the Paralyzed Veterans turkey hunt. He sponsors two baseball teams, a softball team and soccer team. He provided the food for the Boy Scouts working on their God & Country badge.

Of course Gene couldn't do all that he does without great help. His daughter, Gayle, has taken over some of the responsibility of running the restaurant. She has worked for her dad for a long time starting while she was in school. She has raised her three children and now has a granddaughter that will soon be a year old. She worked her senior year of high school in the B. F. Goodrich office on a work study program.

Rosie has worked for Gene for twenty-four years. She does, but not limited to, the "office work". (Accounting, correspondence, payroll.) She also fills- in at the Ku-Ku when Gene is short-handed. Rosie is also involved in inventory control for Gene. She does the food prep for our cruise nights.

She and her husband, Jack, are also involved in the community. The turkey hunt for the Paralyzed Veterans is on their property. The "Vets" enjoy a day of hunting and usually come back with a wild turkey.

All of us Rebels pitch in and help her on the cruise nights when we have special refreshments.

We are very appreciative of Gene and all that he does for the Rebel Car Club. We are also grateful for Gayle, Rosie and his whole crew. With his employees he couldn't do all that he does. A great big "THANK-YOU" to Gene, Gayle and Rosie and the crew.

Dealing with a Tragedy

When we started this blog, its primary purpose was to be a fun project. Life sometimes throws a tragedy at us that must be handled. We are still reeling from the tragic car accident that claimed the life of Delmer and Annette's fourteen year old granddaughter, Jessica Davis, on March 18. No drugs or alcohol involved. Just two girls coming home from church on a gravel road.

As friends and fellow club members, we can be there to offer our support, friendship, sympathy, love and prayers as we minister to their needs at this time. We do that without reservation. "I'm so sorry," seems so inadequate at such a time. They are both in such a state of shock they can barely function. I think they are on auto-pilot. We can not even begin to know how we would cope under the circumstances.

As I was taught in my college English Comp. class, I'm handling the shock by trying to write through the emotions. Please forgive this post if it seems to be a bit rambling.

My mother lost two sons in infancy. I know that she grieved long after their passing. When I asked her how she dealt with their deaths, she told me, "God needs buds in His bouquet as well as full-bloomed flowers." God chose Jessica to be in His bouquet at this time. We pray for God's angels to hold not only the family but all of us who are grieving for Jessica, in their arms and give us peace in our hearts.

We can not begin to comprehend God's plan in this tragic event. We can only trust that He is the Master and we are the servants. We trust that in His infinite wisdom that the passing of this young person will be to His glory.

"We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose", Romans 8:28 KJV

What is in a Name?

Many people might be offended by the name "Rebel" Car Club. Don't get "all shook up". We have no dark, sinister political agenda. We are rebelling against is growing old quietly. We refuse to sit at home in our rocking chairs and recliners waiting for the kids or grandchildren to call or stop by. Not us! We are going to car shows and cruise nights almost every weekend from March through October. Sometimes to indoor shows in the winter.

We do charity events. Last fall we went on a toy run to collect toys for sick children. About eighty cars was involved. We left Claremore at about eight o'clock. Stopped in Pryor for a little while then on to Vinita. After lunch at Cowboy's, the run completed the circle back to Claremore. By the time it was finished, a large enclosed trailer was stuffed full of toys and games.

The pictures in this post are from that event. As you can see, even Elvis came.

We are rebelling against good cars and trucks being thrown away just because they have a few years and miles on them! Those "old cars" are a part of history and need to be seen and appreciated by everyone. Almost every child that comes to spectate at our cruise nights walks around in awe. When my grandson was about three years old, he would say, "Pick me up, Papa. I want to see. Wow! Cool!" Now that he is almost eleven, he is saying, "I wonder what kind of car Papa is going to build for me. I hope it's a Mustang". Oh, well. We love him anyway.

Beginning of Spring

On a beautiful March Sunday afternoon, a group of us Rebels met some other members of the club for lunch. With our tummies full (maybe a little too full) we drove to John and Mary's for a picture taking session and dessert. Getting the rides into the backyard, between the trees and out of the lake, was a bit challenging. But our Rebel guys was up to the task. No scrapes! No bruises! Just a cut, but Carroll's hand will heal without surgery this time.

The beautiful '69 Plymouth Fury III convertible is a black cherry color that goes deep down. The fabulous gold '70 Torino convertible is original unrestored. It has a glass rear windshield and a big trunk that holds all kinds of goodies when we go cruisin'.

The blue truck is a 1953 Mercury m100 that was built in Canada. A rare ride for this part of the country. The gray truck street rod is a 1948 Willys Overland. Used for several years to feed livestock, it had no fuel pump, just a tank on top and gravity flow.

Our '38 Chevy 2-door Sedan has a Mustang II front-end and a Pontiac Bonneville rear-end. Also, a 350 engine with a 350 turbo tranny. It is politically correct with paint colors from Lincoln and Chrysler on a Chevy. And last but not least is the sharp little golden rod yellow '55 T-bird. A real eye catcher in any environment.

Who are we?

We are the Rebel Car Club. We have members in the three states of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. In general we are a bunch of empty-nesters that can now do what we enjoy. That is riding around in our old cars and enjoying the company and friendship of others. We host "cruise nights" on the fourth Saturday of each month from April through September. Other car enthusiast from the area come to enjoy being out of the house, music from the past and company of others. In October we have our annual car show. Last October we had over 200 entries. We were founded in 1988. Our "rides" will be posted when the pictures are taken. They range from original unrestored, restored, custom and street rods.