25th Anniversary Party
at Mancini's Char House, St. Paul, MN.
June 2003
Not
long ago, Cadillac designers and engineers developed a breakthrough engine
system they named The North Star. They
knew this system was going to be admired and envied throughout the automotive
world and they wanted a name that represented that cutting edge technology.
North Star, was that name.
Twenty
five years ago, in Minnesota, three men huddled together in the basement of
Motor Deluxe Garage dreaming up an idea which was to become the genesis of a new
region of the Cadillac- LaSalle Club. And
beating Cadillac design engineers to the punch by many, years, they named the
new region, the North Star. That
moment in history, the birth of the North Star Region, was celebrated recently
in St. Paul.
The NSR
25th Anniversary celebration was a resounding success. Seventy five percent of the region’s membership attended.
Speeches were brilliant and brief; the food was excellent and
inexpensive. And besides providing
great food, great service, and a great venue, Nick Mancini, and son Pat, of
Mancini’s Char House, in St. Paul, Minnesota, even provided secured parking
for the many fine old Caddies that brought their owners in for the occasion.
Our
region president, Jerry Steelman, did a stellar job organizing this wonderful
event. Jerry’s success lies in
his ability to find volunteers, or “draftees”, to get the job done.
Folks like Bob Campbell who did a huge amount of work setting up the
party itself. Folks like Roy Boone
who persuaded, (and badgered) so many vendors for gifts, that virtually every
attendee, won a door prize. The
value of the total booty, was estimated to have run to somewhere near eight
thousand dollars. Others having claim to the overall success of the event, were
Duane Warren, one of this region’s workhorses, and Jan Gerecke, who can do
everything, and produced a substantial volume of door prizes as well.
Dick
Moeschter, our incomparable editor, shot the excellent photos accompanying this
article, and Shirley, his wife, showing no concern for our calorie intake, made
and gift wrapped solid chocolate Cadillacs for each and every place setting at
the banquet.
The
evening festivities were punctuated by the presence of a number of dignitaries.
Chief among them was Herb Karow, Cadillac – LaSalle National Vice
President. Herb was one of the very
early members of the North Star Region, and was recognized for his many
contributions by an award and a speech in his honor.
NSR President, Jerry Steelman had invited Bill Edmunds to this event to
speak in honor of Herb, however, illness prevented his doing so.
Mr. Edmunds did, nonetheless, send a letter of high regard for Herb,
which was read at the banquet. The
names of interesting people present at Herb’s table include Cliff Anderson,
the artist who created our beautiful and original club logo, Charlie Somers, the
region’s first Director, and his wife Gay, and Dave Kotz, the club’s first
secretary. Just a footnote on
Mr. Kotz; he always was, and still is, a member of the North Star Region.
And we
have to tell you this; Alan Clark, one of our members whom we must share with
another CLC region, blessed us with his attendance coming in all the way from
Maryland just for this anniversary. Cadillac
people are just the best, aren’t they?
Sharing
the podium on this eventful evening was Craig Smith, a representative of SEMA.
(Specialty Equipment Market Association).
If we may prevail upon the reader for a political moment, SEMA is very
important to all of us inasmuch as it is instrumental in helping to defeat
legislative threats to the automotive hobby, and the SEMA Action Network (SAN),
is a nationwide partnership between vehicle clubs and the specialty auto parts
industry that wants to protect this hobby.
Please find more at www.semaactionnetwork.com
.
Who
could have imagined in 1978 that any legislative body would move to destroy the
old cars and the act of collecting them. Certainly
not Dave Kotz, who as Secretary of the NSR, opened a letter from Ron VanGelderen,
dated May 26, 1978, advising him that his region had been approved by the
National club for Provisional Regional status.
And certainly not those other two fellows huddled with Dave in that
basement garage all those many years ago. Dave
Kotz, the late Dick Gold, and Charlie Somers knew in 1978 this was going to be a
great association, and in 2003 the fabulous 25th Anniversary proved
that it is.
Locked in second,
Earl Faulkner Sr