Posted February 26th- Ash Wednesday: First, an update on the collection of magazines for the Veterans Center. When I took the second large batch of magazines to them this past Sunday, it appeared that we have overwhelmed the staff with our project, and while they said they appreciated us, they probably had enough magazines to do them for a while. So....we can call this project complete and plan to bring some more in on the weekend of our car show there.


Congratulations to the following, who received recognition from the transcript as "BEST OF NORMAN as voted by readers of the Transcript."

FOOD AND SHELTER - Best Community Service

RAY'S BBQ = Best BBQ

MIDWAY DELI - Best Deli

MIDWAY DELI - Best Lunch

MASTERTECH - Best auto repair

HOOPER PRINTING - Best printer

All of these Norman businesses the club works with in one area or another. If I missed any of our members or friends, please accept apologies.

COFFEE GROUNDS, BOOMERANG DINER, February 22nd- 

HAPPY MARDI GRAS DAY!


Over the 12 years the club has been alive and well in Norman, coffee call has morphed into an early session and a late session...and they have different personalities.  The early group arrives with the sun, often sitting in their cars and trucks about 10 minutes BEFORE the door is unlocked. When the restaurant lights flicker to life, the early-birds rush the door and arrive as if they had not eaten in days. No time is wasted on scanning the menu, these  members know exactly what they want. No hesitation.

About 8:30, a more "sedate hour" by those who come then, the other half of the coffee call group arrives, but spend some time visiting. The early birds have finished feeding and are ready to visit. It all works well. 

A number of members, are swithc-hitters arriving early and staying late. 

It is always fun to see what classics are in the lot, who is considering another car "Like OREO cookies, you can't just stop with one."

And now the news:

Good luck Abigail, as the Harris family were heading down enmass to Dallas to look at a sweet 1959 Chevy Apache pickup with a 235 6-pack in it. Abigail will get her lisc in April or May and won't that make a fun addition to the club. Light blue. Let's pull for Aligail on this one.

We have decided to hold the club Christmas party in 2020 on a FRIDAY EVENING in December, likely December 4th but we will let you know, specifically to NOT COINCIDE with the norman Christmas Parade which is on the 5th. Everyone arrives together for the concert and food. This year the CLYDESDALES will lead the parade program.

The club continued cRc community service project #5 for 2020 with collection of various magazines for the Veteran Center. I will take them over on Monday. Keep 'em coming gang!

 And last but not least, our weekly video is above.
Posted February 19th - you saw it here on cRc news......On February 14th, in Dubai, a "Jetman" takes flight. This is a project that is trying to develop routine personal flight. Watch the video about half way through as jetman leaves the pier and flies towards the city. I figured his pants would catch fire! He went as high as 6000 feet on this test.

cRc VETERANS PROJECT - 

cRc community service project 5

This project was begun by Steve Rudy and is going to continue for the next several weeks. We are collecting recent magazine in excellent condition, and donating them to the Norman Veterans Center for the residents to enjoy. You know who lives there, you know what they might like. Bring them to coffee call this next weekend and we will collect them and get them to our Vets. Only magazines in good quality with covers are accepted. Dave Saunders will collect and get the magazines over to the center.

cRc COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT # 4

The club recently completed community service project #4 for the year. Some of us donated time and parts ,fluids, wax, and other car related items to significantly improve the safety and reliability of a 2008 Volvo sedan which as being donated to a family of young adults living at BRIDGES. The vehicle is being purchase locally and gifted to the young adults through a collective effort of four area churches. They will use the car to commute back and forth to their jobs.


Rumor has it that Harlan's little red van, which was his favorite vehicle other than the hippy bus, is in OKC and will soon be converted to a MIDWAY DELIVERY VAN, following a bit of new paint and some cool graphics. We can't wait to see the remake of the old van.

Dan, cRc member of Swap meet fame, tells us a little about the Mitsubishi that he built, complete with smart car engine. You will see this little 3 wheeler driving around and hauling parts at the swap meet. Before you ask, it is finished as it sits.


cRc hats on the move........Posted February 18th - this cRc hat was photographed by Wayne Saunders in Ogallah, Nebraska.... are you going on a trip?  Take your cRc hat and send us a photo...

POSTED Sunday, February 16th- COFFEE GROUNDS - Rudy's BBQ


It was the cRc chapter of Valentine's Day and our girly gEarheds in attendance all received roses from Gentleman Roy, a complimentary breakfast , and a piece of candy. Shown to the right are Jennifer, Abigale, and Amanda with their cRc roses:


Austilene, sporting her roses and a smile.  --------------------------->>>>>


And then there was Wayne.....


Oklahoma being, well Oklahoma...had a number of kind people stopping to offer help, including cRc members. Next week we will crack into the engine to see if the camshaft has stripped the phenolic cam timing gear, which is highly suspect.

Gentleman Roy, to the left, with small red hearts adorning his club hat, was jolly on the spot whenever a lady arrived, wishing them a happy Valentine's day, presenting the rose and candy, and explaining about breakfast.


The morning had an inglorious ending for some of us, as a major breakdown occured on my way down to the shop in Noble requiring a tow......the Papparazzi are everywhere!

cRc COMMUNITY PROJECT #3

Posted February 14th - first, let me wish everyone a Happy Valentine's day. The club successfully completed Community Service Project #3 for 2020 by providing a "James Bond" style Austin-Healey 3000 for the norman Regional Health Foundation's Gala at the Embassy Suites Hotel.  Shown in the photo are cRc members Chuck and Dana Anderson. Thanks for helping make this a special event for this important local and regional charity.




Posted Feb 10th -  Norman Mardi Gras parade:
The cRc will not sponsor entries in the Norman Mardi Gras parade in 2020, but IF YOU WANT TO BE IN THE Feb 22nd evening parade, please contact SUSAN MILLER at 703-609-9812 and let Susan sign you up. The parade needs one convertible for the King and Queen, and several other classics for the parade. It starts at 7PM on Saturday evening Feb 22nd.

Coffee grounds - Hanger 1948, Norman Oklahoma Feb 8
The background for this message (white fades to blue) is supposed to represent the wild blue yonder. Special thanks to Terry O'Dea who set this morning up, brought donuts, and to Lani who through extreme dedication, dragged herself out of a warm bed and worked the coffee table. For those of you slugs who missed it, we had one heck of a time this morning, touring and enjoying the several antique aircraft that are stored, maintained, and flown regularly from Hanger 1948. Let's take a look through photos and youtube.....


We could not tell if this was Snoopy or the Red Baron, but it sort of looks like Ray Waldron, who, appears to have a change of clothes for every occasion. We are interested to see how he dresses next week for Valentine's day at Rudys BBQ.


We interviewed Jeremy Moore, one of the owners of Hanger 1948 about the beautiful 1941 Steerman, and here is what Jeremy told us -------------->>


Ino on the Jeep appears below, click the photo 
to enlarge.
The 3 big recipocating engine aircraft in the hanger were all T-6 Texan trainers. Info on them is below:

Naturally we had a good turnout for this event and we managed to drink slightly less than 100 cups of Maxwell House and eat about 45 donuts. A good morning's effort by the club. Around 42,000 calories, but when looking at antique aircraft, one must keep their strength up. 


We watched them move one a T-6 out of the hanger, prep it, start it, and up, up, and away it went. The video speed makes the prop look like it is just idling, but I assure you it is not.



Below, Pilot Jay tells us about his unique Czech-Russian jet and exactly how he came to own it. Enjoy the video below and also the walk-around video around to the right.

These folks were super-nice to share their hobby with us this morning. One final video shows some of the specialized equipment they have, a TOW-BOT which is a remote controlled tug, which can move their planes in and out of the hanger.

Posted Thursday February 6 - 

Check out the new and improved Gene Paulus 1956 Chevrolet. The classic recently was sidelined after having body work done and a spiffy two tone paint job, same copper and cream colors as previously. 

It looks show-ready for the spring and certainly will be a benefit to the Chevys in the upcoming annual battle of :
CHEVY vs FORD, 2020 Edition, currently scheduled for Saturday March 6th at Rudy's, weather permitting. In 2019, the Chevy team ran away with the trophy and the Ford team was forced to regroup. Will the Fords make a strong comeback this year? Be there at Rudy's on the 6th of March and participate. the count will be made in the parking lot at 9:00 AM. The car must be a Chevrolet or a Ford classic car or pickup to be counted. Corvette and Mustang, Fairlane and Chevelle or Chevy II, Falcon or Corvair do not count, these are full sized irons only. Any year before 1995.
Coffee grounds and other exciting news:
We had a great turnout at  last Saturday at Midway Deli and enjoyed 4 orphan cars. Here's the video:

Below are photos of "most" of our orphans, as one of my pix didn't turn out:



The first shot is of Gary's Pontiac, which is a nifty made-over Pontiac body with all new goodies everywhere else.







Second up is Chuck Anderson's restored Austin-Healey 3000 Mark II, which is going to be featured in this week's Norman Regional Foundation Gala.





Next up we have Michael Fain's Classic 1956 Mercury Monterrey, a beautiful example of a lovingly restored original. This car has been in the Fain family for decades.






And Roy Sherry drove his mammoth Pontiac Parisienne, which has completed in the part of our longest car in the club award.

In other club news, we are pleased to report that Harlan's spirited 1969 427 Corvette sold this week and NEWS FLASH: STAYED IN THE CLUB! The proud new owner is Marshall Mays. When interviewed about the purchase Marshall said "Well I have always wanted a blue one!" Below are a couple of pix that Kelley gave to me to give to Marshall, very cool indeed. The one on the left is Harlan decorating his car for some event, and the one on the right is as he tests it out at Thunder Valley.

JOB WELL DONE - we collected 51 backpacks for Food and Shelter, completing community service project #2 for the year. 

Community service project #3 will be completed this week when cRc member Chuck Anderson attends the Norman Regional foundation Gala with his Austin-Healey 3000. They have a 'James Bond" theme going and Chuck's Healey is perfect for their event. 

PROJECT # 4:  Identify  4 Veterans who are in need of 2 free used hospital beds and two free used electric mobility chairs. These come to a Veteran in need, courtesy of the Dale Graham Foundation. If you have a possible match for these items, please let Terry O'Dea know. The recipient must be a Veteran.

PART NEEDED: Amanda Harris needs a 1966  window crank for her little blue VW. If you have one, please bring it to Midway next week......if Amanda is not there, give it to Dave Saunders and he will get it to her.
COFFEE GROUNDS: Boomerang Diner, January 25th - it is Pony-day and we enjoyed 4 Mustangs. From top to bottom: Lawrence Terry and Steve Rudy, and bottom row Walt Gage and Juan Villareale. Thanks everyone for participating in PONY-DAY.  Next week at MIDWAY we are enjoying ORPHAN DAY. If you have a car that is no longer a marque that is in production, (Think Hudson, Packard, Studebaker, and many others) this is your special day to drive it.



Today was sell 'em-cheap-day and any remaining hats, t-shirts, and 10th anniversary posters were on sale for $5 - until they sold out. Next week at Midway, all of this will be on sale for $4 each. This is called a "Dutch sale" and the price will continue to creep down until all remaining items are sold. You decide how long to wait until you make your purchase. If you wait too long, it may not be there.

To the right, Ray Waldron and Dan Haggerty enjoy their coffee as our fun coffee call continues. Thanks to Nicole and her BOOMERANG staff for their great service.
To the left: Anatomy of a meal in the cRc......everyone loves the food and the service at BOOMERANG DINER.....we always have a great turnout and we wish their parking lot were twice the size. To the left is a photo of Ron Borum who looks VERY PROTECTIVE of his 2 plates of breakfast (seriously, it would not fit on one plate.) Ron seems to have barked at Ken Dewbre, on his left, (perhaps for asking for a slice of bacon) who appears not to want to talk with Ron about cars while he is feeding. 

Photo to the left are Ron's two plates. He was willing to show us the plates, as long as nobody tried to take a slice of the remaining bacon. One of the plates was licked clean. The bacon strips will be gone in 30 seconds. Interestingly, Ron never acts like this when Austilene is having breakfast with him. He is cordial and engaging! 

cRc community project #2 for 2020 - backpack donations to Food and Shelter
BACKPACKS NEEDED:                         50
DONATED BY CRC:                                  51


Food and Shelter serve more than 40 Veterans daily and weekly in the Norman area. The vets are served on a priority basis. There is currently a need for backpacks to be used in the winter months. If you have an extra or so, bring them to Midway Deli on Saturday and give them to Dave Saunders, who will get them to F&S.

Posted Tuesday, January 21 - in other major car news this week, the BULLITT Mustang was auctioned off for about $3.7 million over the weekend. A brief you-tube is below. Nice price...did I see a number of authentic scratches on the hood? This proves we don't need a $20,000 paint job to make our cars worth a lot.....just that Steve McQueen needed to have driven them like he stole them!

Posted Tuesday, January 21 - check out info on the 2020 mid-engine Corvette, where else but HARLAN'S HOTSPOT..... click the anemic little hard-to-see green icon below:
Posted January 20th -update on Rachel Scott of Little Ax. We donated about $1000 in 2019 to a teenage girl from Little Ax who was awaiting a transplant. We received this email from her parents- Rachel is recovering from her transplant with good news: "According to  "Be theMatch", ENGRAFTMENT is when the blood-forming cells you received on transplant day start to grow and make healthy blood cells. On January 13, 2020, we were told Rachel is now fully engrafted! On January 12, 2016, Rachel was diagnosed with Leukemia. " 
COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT #2 for 2020 -the backpack report - we donated 39 backpacks you collected to Food and Shelter. 
We are still collecting and we need about 11 more to achieve our January goal of 50 backpacks.....if you have one to donate, please bring it to MIDWAY on Saturday and give it to Dave Saunders.

The cRc would like to welcome new members GAYLA and JACK WieSel and their 1967 Ford Econoline and 1977 Dodge PowerWagon. We look forward to especially adding another MOPAR to the club. Please look for them at the next couple of coffee calls and introduce yourselves.
Rumor put to rest: No, we have not sold Harlan's 1942 WLA Harley-Davison world war two bike. It is shown on the "POTATO-POTATO-POTATO page. The price has been reduced to $19,500. To see this great WLD- civilian restoration in person, contact Dave Saunders at 405-406-3730 to arrange to get into the shop.The photo below is from a professional photo shoot using Harlan's bike. $19,500.......model not included.

We started off slowly but ended up with a very nice crowd of about 40 cRc members. It was too cold to congregate outside, so most everyone stayed in Rudys and just visited.


We had also sent the call out for anyone who might have some fun license tags to give to Ken Dewbre for his new shop wall. Lani responded, and is shown gifting Ken a bunch of out-of-state tags for his new shop.

Thanks everyone for a fun morning. See you at BOOMERANG next Saturday where it will be MUSTANG DAY.
Coffee Grounds: RUDY'S, Sat. January 18th - Ray Waldron's 1957 Chevy is one of several who braved the cold and the wind to bring out a classic on "CHEVY DAY". 
A Chevelle and a Corvette came in and added to Chevy day. Today was the beginning of our "collect backpacks community service project" for Food and Shelter and we are pleased to report that we are almost half way to our goal of 50 backpacks for the homeless Veterans and citizens who find comfort and help at our adopted charity, FOOD and SHELTER.
Better late than never! Posted January 17th - this photo appearsin the January-February issue of NORMAN magazine. Santa gets a ride in Charlie's really cool 1955 Chevy convertible. Photos of Charlie and his classic abound! Good work, great car. If Santa is happy, everyone is happy.
We added our first auto electric company to our recommended supplier page - C&P auto electric in Moore. click here for more information: Supplier-Index.php

Posted January 14th - the cRc would like to welcome our first new member of 2020!  Welcome to Dale Page and has 1972 Chevy C-10 pickup. We look forward to meeting Dale and his C-10 in the months to come.

Member Ken Dewbre is close to moving into his new house and shop, up near the Moore-Norman Tech center (near Wayne Saunders). Ken's new shop sports a license tag wall and he welcomes any old out of state tags you may wish to contribute.

We will be touring Ken's new shop in either the spring or the fall of 2020, the other shop tour being Lawrence Terry's shop. We will let you know when these will occur, as well as our spring cRuise and the many other club events we have planned.
 
Ken has room to spare in his new shop.
Coffee grounds - Jan 11, 2020 La Madeleine not much of a snow.....but it was cold enough to keep everyone away from Crest Market and the early winter version of cars and coffee.....BUT - we had a nice time at coffee call. We ended up with 2 tables of cRc members.


We announced a winter project to try to provide Food and Shelter with 50 backpacks, new or used. Dave Saunders will be collecting them at coffee call over the next 3 weeks. Homeless really need backpacks to carry their meager belongings and Food and Shelter can't always keep up with the demand, especially in the winter. all of us have a spare backpack or two that is hiding under the bed or in the closet....so search around the house and everyone can do a little early spring cleaning......BRING YOUR SPARE BACK PACKS TO COFFEE CALL IN JANUARY.
Dave will collect them and get them to F&S.
Posted January 10th - the first 2020 community service project belongs to Charlie....

On Friday January 10th, Charlie loaned the use of his 1955 Chevrolet to the Norman Regional Foundation to use in making their annual fundraising video for the foundation.

 Elvis was there along with a couple of ladies in poodle skirts. everyone seemed to be enjoying sitting in Charlie's great car. 

The filming of this was in an empty rental garage on the east side of Norman.

Chuck Anderson will be displaying his vintage Austin-Healey at the annual Foundation gala in February.
Posted January 8th - congratulations to cRc member Gary Emery and his hand built 1057 Arnold race-car, who was selected for this month's Doug Hill DIG MY RIDE. Gary and this car were prominent in last year's July Food and Shelter charity car show, parked just on the right as you drove into the park. Gary's is a fascinating story of racing, and his car is a one-in-the-world hand built beauty. (phot credit to Norman Transcript)

Yes it is true - cRc member Marilyn Saunders took a nasty spill on uneven sidewalk in Portland, Oregon on December 26, fell hard, and broke her left arm. She will be in a sling for the next few weeks. Thank you for your concern.

Mechanical engineering 101: If you put an adjustment knob, screw, bolt, or tolerance specs on something, some people will immediately fiddle with it. If you mark it DO NOT TOUCH everyone will mess with it.


Posted December 25th - and a very Merry Christmas throughout cRc-land! I finally got my act together and took some detailed videos of Harlan's 1969 Corvette, and have posted them on the cars for sale page, along with a price from Kelley. Take a look and pass the information around, and I have my cell phone on the site for people to call. The car is in my shop in Noble so people will have to arrange to see the car. Click the box below to go to the page.
Posted December 24th - No, that is not Lake Thunderbird with OGE windmills, it is Holland and that is a cRc hat atop the noggin' of member Jon Forman. Jon and Lani just returned home from a fall trip to the Christmas markets of Europe. If you have a photo of a crc hat in some far flung part of the world, be sure to send it to us for publication. Welcome home Jon and Lani.
Coffee grounds, RUDY'S BBQ, Saturday December 21st:
Welocme to the shortest daylight day of the year with only 9 hours, 46 minutes. That didn't stop a dedicated group of cRc members from gathering for coffee and breakfast burritos at Rudy's. 
We winner of the best Christmas grab went to Charlie Lunsford with his "JUST A FEW BUCKS FOR CHRISTMAS" tie......We wish everyone a safe and very Merry Christmas with friends and family......
HONDA HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN FOR ITS TECHNICALLY COMPLEX CAR ADS. THIS ONE, POSTED ON HARLAN'S HOTSPOT, IS TRULY A WORK OF GENIUS. CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO JUMP OVER THERE. A SHORT YOUTUBE AWAITS.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CRC CHRISTMAS PARADE TEAMS WHO WERE JUDGED BEST OVERALL PARADE ENTRY FOR 2020. A CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT TO A GREAT YEAR FOR THE CLUB. BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU DO.

In the photo below, Charlie Lunsford and his son Tom transport  a smiling Santa at the Norman Christmas Parade in Charlie's classic 1955 Chevy Bel Air.
WELL, YES INDEED THERE WAS A CHRISTMAS PARTY HELD ON DECEMBER 14TH AND COMMENTS AND PHOTOS AND VIDEOS WILL APPEAR HERE AS WE PROCESS THEM. IN ADDITION, THERE ARE MORE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ON THE CHRISTMAS PARTY PAGE. LOTS OF COUPLES PHOTOS. THEY APPEARS AS THUMBNAIL PHOTOS BUT TO VIEW THEM, JUST CLICK ON THE PHOTO AND IT WILL OPEN TO ITS FULL SIZE FOR VIEWING.
TO GO THERE, JUST CLICK THE BOX BELOW.
Posted too early on Sunday morning, December 15th - the morning after our party. We came, some paraded while others listened to our steel drum band, we conversed, we dined on turkey and brisket, we donned earplugs to hear the Dipsticks sing, we played games and some won prizes, Abilgale winning almost $400, we sang Christmas carols together, we cleaned up and we were done by 9pm. We are not a late night crowd and that's a good thing. Below, our steel drum band gives you an idea of what you might have missed if you were not able to attend. I thought the party was slightly smaller than in previous years. We had seating for about 100 in the Legion Hall's meeting room, and most seats were filled. Seems like we counted about 120 in previous years. The American Legion Post 88 in norman was a good substitute for our year off from Mastertech. Our plans are to return home to Mastertech in 2020, after giving Gene adequate time to recoup from his radiation and chemo.

Delicious is the only term to describe some of the pot luck items that are brought by the members of the club. Midway Deli (Midway Bob and Maricha Thompson) did the brisket and turkey, and we had all the trimmings. There was no lack of food.

Some of the pot lucks were absolutely outstanding, as evidenced by the sturdy plates we buy for the party.
And what cRc party could be the same without those Keystone Cops of music, the loveable cRc SINGING DIPSTICKS! Their lyrics (for those of you who couldn't figure out what they were singing, is posted along with their performance, on the Christmas Party page ===>       christmas-party.php
Saturday, December 14th - OU mascot SOONER dons a cRc hat or two to display loyalty to the canadian RIVER cruisers at the annual Kiwanis pancake breakfast. cRc supported this community event in force today. More photos below.
Posted Saturday December 14th - the last car show of the season. Really. We promine. Surely. Well, unless they find another one. Luther Pecan Festival.
Photos by Gary Miller.

POSTED FRIDAY 13th - CRC CHRISTMAS PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT! 
PLEASE COME! 
LOTS OF FUN PLANNED

On December 7th, about 10 cRc members drove down to Noble to provide decorated classic cars for the City of Noble annual Christmas parade and the lighting of their 75 year old water tower....we will post photos of this event if anyone has photos and can send them to me...mailto:dave1921saunders@gmail.com

Posted Sunday December 8th coffee grounds, Midway Deli:
We started off slowly about 7:15 with 5 of us, but then we slowly picked up speed until someone counted 35 people in there! The parking lot was full and cars were on the street. Coffee and good times were shared once again. 


BUT FIRST: A GEEZER SELFIE!!!! Now this is what happens when to old coots, who shouldn't even be allowed to own a smartphone get ahold of one (usually given to the coots by their children as a discreet way of keeping track of them)... And they decide to take a selfie. 

Well of course it is upside down! And neither geezer is ready for the shutter. Charley is better prepared than Dave and has a formed the beginnings of a smile, whereas Dave is surprised the camera actually worked....not as he had intended, it never does that, but it did make a photo this time!

It was a crisp December morning at Midway but we had a very good turnout.
An interview with cRc member Ron Beeler and his 1972 Malibu 350.......enjoy!
A short video showing a bunch of car clubbers enjoying the morning. 


A nice thank you from the Sulphur Veterans Center where part of our recent donation was used to purchase Christmas gifts for two Veterans there. Not much more to be said, EXCEPT.......this is why we do what we do. Be proud of your club and its various beneficial activities.

'Thank you all for helping make  this possible! Love, April"
So read the note I received and the photo shown below from Food and Shelter as a result of the $700 we collected and donated in Harlan's name, just in time to buy turkeys for the annual Citywide Thanksgiving dinner. These were gifts from the heart, given by our membership in honor of a great man, and given to a great cause, something which Harlan highly approved of.
Posted Thanksgiving morning. Harlan’s van sold this week. It stayed in the club and will become the new Midway Deli delivery van. Good job Midway Bob. 

Posted Tuesday, November 26th - Thanks to everyone who donated money to offer to Kelley for the sound system (she refused the money), we donated $700.00 in the name of Harlan Butler to the Food and Shelter Thanksgiving meal fund. As you probably know, Food and Shelter is responsible for the annual city of Norman Thanksgiving meal at Norman High School. April Heiple said our contribution in Harlan's name would help purchase turkey's again this year. She said that they can always use donations like these around the holidays. 

For those of you who still wish to give in Harlan's name, we will pass the hat this Saturday at Midway. Remember your coffee is free if you are wearing a Harlan UBU Hippybus bracelet.


cRc canine members Hawkeye (standing) and Trapper (resting) guard Steve’s Willy’s jeep with affection for all, but mostly for Steve. Photo taken by Lani


NEWS FLASH - 4PM SATURDAY . . HARLAN'S 1942 HARLEY SOLD TODAY. GOOD JOB EVERYONE AT THE SHOP SALES EVENT. THANKS FOR COMING DOWN.

Posted Saturday, November 23rd COFFEE GROUNDS 
A good group assembled at Harlan's shop in Noble and managed to drink 72 cups of coffee and eat 1/2 a rum cake and 3 dozen donuts..........and kick the tires on the 1969 Corvette and the 1942 Harley and the 1974 Van........oh yes, and carry away about $850.00 of garage sale items from the shop. We had about 30 members come down between 7am and 10:30am. Vinny and Ron got so excited that they drove all the way from Norman to Purcell and then back up to Noble (because they could not find my shop in Purcell)! A good time was had and everyone enjoyed seeing the 2 secret vehicles that Harlan enjoyed but did not publicly display.

Kelley may have an offer on the Corvette, so if you are interested - you better call quickly so you don't get left out. The price on the  Corvette at $45k. Kelley's number is 405-503-1551 so give her a call. If we don't sell it locally, it will going on "Bring a trailer" on December 4th. And that is my report.
Posted November 22 - TESLA unveils a very radical design in a pickup truck, one that will go 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. To see and learn, click the button below.
Posted November 22:
Hey Dave, where has my favorite page gone?
A couple of times each year, we "freshen" the website by hiding pages that are "one time events". We also bring on new pages as things seem to become important to the membership. Since it is now winter, and car shows are only a fond memory - that page is offline right now and will be back in the spring. 

Also the "meet your members"  interview page is offline, we are going to go to a different format on that process. We have two new pages under construction, a PARADE INFORMATION page where all upcoming parades will be listed, and a FOOD AND SHELTER page. food and Shelter has become such a big partnership for the CRc that I thought we would put all things Food and Shelter related (The annual car show, the crop walk), and other things like that on a dedicated page. So watch for these pages to develop over the next week or so.
Posted November 18th - update on the Harlan tool and other goodies sale.......today Jim Hoffman and I transported Harlan's beautiful 1942 Harley-Davidson motorcycle to the shop. It will be cleaned up this week (doesn't need much more than dusting) and on display for you to enjoy on Saturday. What a beautiful (and very heavy) bike. Did I mention it was VERY HEAVY? Did I mention that Philip and I got it started? See video above and also one on the potato-potato-potato page.

Ray Langley and (Mayor) Bob Thompson also came down and we discovered the third carburetor in the Corvette had a stuck float (it takes 4 cRc members to detect a flooding carb), which has been corrected and his 1969 Corvette (427) is running smoothly for being in the garage for 8 years and it will also be on display. Come and drool but not on the car. It will be for sale later, but Marshall Pierson and Ray are working on its value since it is a semi-rare vehicle. Bet you didn't even know he had it. The last time I saw it was about 9 years ago at Rivermont retirement center when he drove it. The club was 2 years old then and just beginning to do community projects. Wow have we come a long way.



 
And now about that 1942 Harley which almost no one had ever seen. I only saw it at his house one evening. I never saw him ride it. I will tell you that it is BEAUTIFUL.
It is not the military army version but the civilian sport version. Which means that instead of flat army drab green paint, it has beautiful gloss paint and instead of green olive drab panniers it has brown leather panniers and it has LOTS OF CHROME. Harley made these bikes between 1942 and 1945 and most were  classified as 1942 WLA bikes , which meant they went into military service. Not this one. It will be on display in Keith and Terry's shop (adjoins my shop) this Saturday. Come and admire it. I certainly have. About three years ago, a magazine did a feature on Harlan's bike, which is pictured below. (nice lady not included). I TOLD YOU that you had not seen this bike! (And some of you still have not noticed it......)



And that is today's report. We will have donuts and leftover coffee from the swap meet (just kidding!).....it will all be fresh and ready for you to enjoy at 7:30am this Saturday. Dress warmly, the weather will be nice but cool in the morning. Remember my shop is uninsulated. Key in on the word UNINSULATED!
See you at Harlan's cool coffee call, 
Dave Saunders, proud to be a friend of Harlan who was "That Guy".
405-406-3730

Science fiction has arrived on HARLAN'S HOTSPOT......a youtube video of the TESLA plant......click below to jump there:
Wednesday evening, 11/13
I received an email from April Heiple of Food and Shelter this afternoon, thanking the club for their more than $1,000 donated to Food and Shelter in the name of Harlan Butler. Our club continues to demonstrate generosity and kindness in the face of tragedy. The Butler family, Kelley and Casey and now little dog Maddie also thank each contributor for their kindness.


Two weeks ago at the THUNDERBIRD CASINO car show, the casino donated $1,100 of the registration money to a critically ill Little Axe high school student, Rachel Scott. Wayne Lewis donated his $400 door prize winning in the name of the club. A total of $1,500. we received this email from the Scott family this week. Make you proud to be a cRc member.

"Just wanted to thank you all for your kindness shown to our daughter, Rachel Scott, at the car show at Thunderbird Casino. You all made a young ladies day, by allowing her to buy some things that will help her for her next hospital stay of about 6 or 7 weeks. Please share with everyone our gratitude.  I am also sending Rachel’s latest newsletter in a separate email. Thank you."

Bryce and Cindy Scott 
cRc hats around the world.......(Mayor) Bob Thompson proudly displays his cRc hat while on a cRuise up the Rhine River in Germany. If you have a unique spot where you were wearing your cRc hat, email a photo to crccarclub@aol.com and we will put it on the website! We know everyone sleeps with them on!

Posted Wednesday, 11/13/19  cRc member Dan Haggerty gives Norman Mayor Breea Clark a ride in his 1962 Chevy for the Norman Veterans Parade......another "give-back" to the community by our members.

Posted Wednesday, 11/13/19 CRC gifts $1,100 to Veterans. The "gang of seven"  which earns club funds by putting on all the cars shows voted this week to gift $1,100 to the Veterans Centers for a specific purpose------to help the morale of Oklahoma Veterans who have no known family. This fund, available to Veterans throughout the state who are housed in the 7 Veterans Centers, pays for things like a birthday cake, maybe a small Christmas present, or a Valentine's day card. Little tokens to let the Vet know he or she is not alone in this world.

Another tip of our hoods to the gang of 7 who work so hard to make our car shows the best around. By the way, the club is taking over sponsorship of the 2020 Norman Veterans Center car show, a great venue and show that has lots of potential, but has slowly been neglected for a number of years. Just another reason to be proud to be a canadian RIVER cruiser!
Cars for sale:
cRc member Bill Amis has decided to sell his 1951 Riley sports car. It is posted on the cars for sale page. This IS NOT just another daily driver for sale.

Likewise, Kelley has made the decision to sell Harlan's 1969 C-3 Corvette. This is a numbers matching 1969, 427 with 3 deuces and 400 H.P. The original headers are included along with a number of parts, including the original red line tires (not currently on the car). More information to follow as we determine a price for this fine classic. If you want to see the car, call Dave Saunders 4005-406-3730 and I will arrange. Photos are on cars-and-parts-for-sale.php . Click the green link. 


Who we are:
We are a community service club: The cRc is not just another car club. No car club does more community interest projects in the area than the canadian RIVER cruisers. We are currently planning a large presence at the lub annual pancake breakfast, contributions in the name of Harlan Butler to Food and Shelter, a $400 contribution from Wayne Lewis to the very ill student at Little Axe high school, various and many contributions of club members to the City of Norman Veterans Parade, including the parade, the organizing committee (Terry and Roger) , food and refreshment donations from cRc member (Midway) Bob Thompson, and Emeritus cRc member Ed Paulus leading the group in the pledge of allegiance. This morning, for example club members (Mayor) Bob Thompson and Dave Saunders visited Adams and McKinley schools and picked up two thousand pounds of canned goods (ugh!), and delivered them to the Cleveland County Christmas Store.? Did you know that Vince Letta volunteers much of his free time to the Christmas store?
Most of these  things go unnoticed by the public as we work quietly in the background, trying to do good things for our community, sharing our cars, our time and our contributions. Together we DO make a difference. Proud to be a cRc member.
Coffee grounds: A really beautiful morning and very well attended coffee call at La Madeline French Restaurant, where we learn that someone has another little bird......

Little Axe cheerleaders did a great job on the 50/ 50 pot at THUNDERBIRD
they sold over 1000 dollars in tickets.... ThunderBird Casino donated $1000 to them in the name of the Canadian River Cruisers. cRc member Wayne Lewis donated his 400 dollar winning to the cause to go to the family of one of the cheerleaders that has Leukemia - talk about being proud of a club.......
Stepping up: Following the unexpected passing of key club member Harlan Butler, several members stepped up to insure a successful Thunderbird car show for both the Casino and the club. First, special recognition to our fantastic car show team. These guys just made everything run like a top, smooth as silk pie. Next, special thanks to Kelley Butler who has gifted Harlan's sound system and generator to the club. We will accept donations for this system (the place for donations at coffee call will be announced in the near future). The donations for the sound system will be donated to Food and Shelter in the name of Harlan Butler.

Well, we have not decoded the sound system yet, but Swap Meet Dan stepped up and provided great music and a P.A. system, and did all the work on Saturday for us - thanks Dan we really appreciate it! We did get the generator of Harlan's running and used it at Thunderbird to provide power to the system.

We had in excess of 140 cars at the show and this was a great turnout from both the club and the community for a show in late fall. Thanks to everyone who came out with a car, or worked the show.

The cRc would like to extend a big welcome to JERRY CAMP, his 1973 white Corvette and his unknown other number of completed cars and work-in-progress vehicles. He signed up this last weekend at the Thunderbird car show. WELCOME JERRY!
Now what we have here.......is a little opportunity for some fun. Which of the photos IS NOT like the others.
This is a long standing cRc club member.....a charter one at that!

We are not exactly sure what this member is trying to do, so maybe the membership can help. Send your clever ideas about what he is doing to: mailto:crccarclub@aol.com
            
       " He is hanging out until the Thunderbird Car Show this next weekend"
       " He is cutting off a limb that will result in more than a shoulder injury."
       " He is gathering nuts for the winter!"
       " Is there another person in that tree? Standing on the limb to the right?"
       " What happened to my ladder?"
       " Which of the photos is the cRc member?"
       " I know that squirrel took my bag of peanut M&M's"

Posted Sunday, October 19th a note from member John Houchin:
Hello all! 
I was wondering if anyone in the club might have some ideas for some long term storage space for multiple cars.  Probably 5-6 cars.    I’d heard of some space in Moore, but would prefer to be closer to central Norman. 
I might want to use it as an actual workshop too. 
Thanks in advance.
John Houchin
Johnhouchin123@gmail.com
cell: 405-255-4639
Posted, Sunday 10/19, Norman Oklahoma Crop Walk

It always makes me smile when we get a big turnout for one of or community events, and so it was today we had a bakers dozen new and vintage vehicles in Andrews Park on display for the citizens to enjoy as they prepared to raise money by walking 3.1 miles for Food and shelter and a national organization known as crop walk. We made a short video of the event for you to enjoy. The weather was perfect.

Thank you to all the members who made an effort to come out today!
The club would like to welcome Todd Compton and his 2019 White Corvette. We hope to see more of Todd and his ride in the near future.

A new member to the club could be a challenge to the longest car...this is a gigantic 1970 Cadillac......more information to follow.

We would like to welcome JOHN CARTER and his 1970 Cadillac convertible, a photo which is shown below. AS well as the Hoffman's buick - it will be interesting to see in 2020 how this comes out. Stay tuned.

               THIS?                                                             OR OUR CURRENT CHAMP?



Below is the article on Zac the younger.......and his cute 1941 Oldsmobile.


Photos of this past weekend "longest car contest" held at Rudy's. To see the large version, simply double-click on the thumbnail photo.
COFFEE GROUNDS, RUDY'S BBQ, Saturday August 24th.......ahhh what a difference 3 inches of rain and a drop in temperature of a dozen degrees 

makes! A very enthuiastic group of cRc members began gathering at Rudy's beginning around 0730 and the parking lot was crowded by 8:30. Today was our annual "who has the longest car in the club?" That dear reader has been a subject of warm debate ever since we launched the contest, about 4 years ago.

We had 10 entries, some of which we we recruited only for measurement practice. Cars in the 206-210 inch range probably would not win, since we knew we had cars in the 220 inch range.

Before we began, we received a number of protests........

Would a continental tire kit be allowed? Yes, if was installed on the car....

Would fender feelers be counted if they were pointed forward and backwards and lengthened the car. Yes, if you had to resort to that to win....

Would Dave be allowed to open the trunk on his Model A Ford and count the additional 16 inches? Maybe, because he couldn't win anyway.

Was Lani's ranchero a car or a truck? Yes.

Would we accomplish anything by measuring Wayne's Smartcar? No, but we measured it at 107.5". Two Smartcars end to end would still be short.

Would Bill Mcbee be disqualified with his Rivera if he showed up late? It was 8:53 and the final measurement was to take place at 0900. Maybe, depending on whether or not he brought a homemade fruitcake for the judge. (Sadly he did not but arrived within the given time)

 If I put 3-foot-long tail pipe extensions on my car will I qualify? Get serious here...

And so on and on it went and the results are below....

Big, but not quiet long enough were Kim Dewbre's 1993 Cadillac at 205.75", Billy Henry's 1966 Thunderbird at 206.75", John Peace and his 198.5" 68 Chevelle, Michael Fain in BIG M, his 1956 Merc at 206.0" and Gary Lumow's Pontiac at 208.25".......and now for the biggest or the big.....


Lawrence Terry's 1957 Chevy with fully extended continental kit was 215",

Lani's 1975 Ranchero measured 218" and she ws in the lead for a while.

However.......


A low rumbling (a stomach perhaps) was heard up on Chatauqua as Jim and Carol's 1975 Buick came gliding up to the measurement point........224-3/4" and took the lead. Shannon showed up but his Superbird was not with him so there was no rematch there. Roy Sherry had a contender with his Pariseanne but decided not to drive it, so we will not know until next year how it stacked up.



Several members tried to talk Lani into a remeasure with her tailgate down, but she would not hear of it.  And at 8:53, Bill and Joyce drove up in the biggest challenge of the day. Carpenter's right angles were brought out of nowhere and the semi-precise measurement began......223-3/4" ......later, the winner of the $25 Rudy's gas or food card was declared: 1st place again to Jim Hoffman with Bill McBee winning a $5.00 gift card for O'Reilleys. Special thanks to Philip, Van, Lawrence, and others who helped with the measurement. As always, the club proved again what a fun time we have at Rudy's.

Well of course there will be a smallest car contest a bit down the road......


The City of Norman and the cRc are in a partnership to provide the city with a first class Veterans Parade on Sunday, November 10th. One of our remaining Korean War club members who can still fit into his uniform (there are more, but they can't) will lead the visitors in the pledge of allegiance. Parade Coordinator Extraordinaire and Supreme Community Leader Terry O'Dea reports that we have a dozen Vets signed up so far. We need far more than that. Get out those pocket calendars gang and see if you can do something good for the city. On Saturday at Boomerang there will be a sign up sheet....well, what are you waiting for? We need the names in very early August because each car will have a specially prepared sign.