Issue 6Spring 2013

Wheel-EEverything on Wheels!

Magazine

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Karmann GhiaRestoration2012-2013

STUDENTS' CAR CLUB ON "DEAN'S LIST"

Wheel-EMagazine

VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 6PUBLISHER

Dean Whitlow

DESIGN & LAYOUTTerri Jestus

PUBLISHED BYThe Caress of Steel

Wheel-E is printed twice a year. All

contents copyright 2013 by Wheel-E

Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents,

in whole or in part without prior written

permission of the publisher is

strictly prohibited.

FeaturesAmerican Heritage 6 Karmann Ghia 18Three Rivers Car Club 30

By Dean Whitlow

LE

T’S GO FOR A SPIN! One of the cornerstones of the design of Wheel-E Magazine is that it is to be a human interest publication first, and a “wheels” publication second. In the three years that we’ve worked to bring the publication to life, we’ve continued to put people out in front, and the vehicles in the background of our stories and features.

Recently, I was flattered by being asked to help the Three Rivers College students get a new car club off the ground. This is a student run organization, and most of the students are traditional college age. What a rewarding experience to see young people wanting to carry on the tradition of hosting a car show at their school. I’ll leave the rest of that story for later in this issue of the magazine!

Working with the students made me realize how important clubs are to people that hobby with some form of vehicle. Antique car and tractor clubs, motorcycle clubs, bicycle clubs, and others have been around since the invention of the wheel! Basically the clubs are simply people with similar interests coming together to share their passion for their vehicles.

One thing that began to stand out to me as I reflected on the car clubs that I’ve been a part of over the years, is that they all do charitable activities. Terri has a feature in this issue on the Crawling for a Cause event that brought people together to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. The Three Rivers College group raised funds to go toward a scholarship. We’ve also featured groups in this magazine such as Cars for Kids.

So, three things become apparent to me as I reflect on this. First, people want to interact with others with common interests… possibly to learn more about their vehicles, but often simply for the fellowship. Second, clubs often strive to raise funds for charitable purposes and do some great things in local communities. And third, wheels simply bring people enjoyment and bring them together.

If you are a “lone wolf” and not part of a club, I would highly encourage you to seek out a group to be a part of. You can make some new friends, learn more about your vehicle from others with similar interests, and do some great things for your local community.

It took me three years to realize that one of the biggest human interest stories is not individuals, but groups coming together to form clubs. Honestly, that is sort of funny when I think back to all of the wonderful memories I have of being a part of some car clubs over the years. I hope that if you haven’t already, that you find a group to be a part of… and share in the fun!

Dean:This issue has some

surprises that I hope you enjoy! Thanks Susan,

Dave, Cheryl and Pete for helping me with this issue!

Terri

Pictured on the cover Three Rivers Car Club members are: (L to R) Michael Cowin, Kyle Young, Lanna Shaffer, Nacole Killian, David Crites, Gabe Thompson (sponsor)

and Larry Mizell's 1950 Mercury 4-door sedan.

MURPHYSBORO CRUISE-INON APRIL 6, 2013

Outlaw Park 2013

Jill's 1927 Model T

American HeritageBy Terri Jestus

Talking to Jill and Todd about their dad, Bill Beussink was really inspiring. They had such interesting things to say about their father. From listening to them, he must have been a character with a great sense of humor and loved his family, old cars and music. In his younger years he was more interested in cars and then his passion changed to music as he got older.

Jill fondly remembered going to antique car shows when she was in grade school through high school. In fact, her dad won several trophies during this time.

Cars were a family hobby. Even Jill’s mom jumped in by sewing clothes for them to wear to the car shows. Once she made avocado green shirts that had brightly colored cars on them. The girls were "spiffed up" when they wore them with their coulettes. In fact, clothing still plays a part in their family. Jill’s son dresses up in his Grandpa’s suit for special occasion like Christmas but also wear his overalls when driving the Model T around town. As they were growing up, Mr. Beussink would take them for drives in the country and find old rusted car parts. He could visualize the potential and recycle the parts into something by sandblasting them. He was definitely interested in preserving American Heritage.

Fred Vincel painted this Model T in 1995. Fred was a child when he met Mr. Beussink and they continued

to stay in contact with each other.

Little Billy wearing the hat that Todd said that he likes to wear while driving the Model T.

William John or Little Billy (on left) as his

family called him and his brother Phillip.

Little Billy and his wife.

Little Billy playeddifferent instruments

but couldn't read a note.

Little Billy and his son,Todd sanding the

fenders of the Model T.

Todd with hisFord vehicles.

The Beussink truck at the Ford100th anniversary celebration.

CAPE GIRARDEAU ROLLERDERBY GIRLS IN FEB. 2013

MONSTER TRUCKWINTERNATIONALS 2013

Just Wheelin’ Around

muddin' out at

OUTLAW OFF-ROAD PARK CRAWLIN' FOR A CAUSE

April 2013

1960 Karmann Ghia Battery RetainerBy Calvin Whitlow

Sometimes you just can’t find want you need for a project. I was concerned that if I was to use a storage box to secure the battery in place, the temperature of the engine would be an

issue. To ensure the battery would get fresh air, I thought this handy retainer system would be a fun project and serve the purpose.

First thing I did was to set the battery in place and make a plan so not to waste time or metal. After a Mountain Dew or two, I was ready with my idea.

I started off by cutting the overall size for the top. Then I cut the center hole using a regular hole saw in a drill press (I have a slow setting on mine). You have to go slow with the cutter otherwise you can ruin the saw or work piece.

Next, it was time to bend over the sides of top plate for reinforcement strength and the end tabs for connecting them to runners. The two runners are doubled over for strength (the one to the outside of the car has a nut welded in place due to the tight access) and has a bolt screwed in from ‘the easy to get to side’. The outside runner is fastened to the car using the original stud with a tab bent into the end of the runner. The inside runner is secured in place using the original claw and a homemade hook that I fashioned out of a ‘U-Bolt’ cut in half with the end flattened to fit in the claw on the car. The inside runner is fastened to the top plate using a common bolt and nut.

Finally I used some rubber padding to protect the battery from any sharp edges and painted the retainer for detail and to hopefully beat out ‘Old Man Rust’”.

Calvin using a pneumatic powered disk to trim area to be replaced.

Pneumatic cutter makes quick work of removing damaged metal.

Using MIG welder to begin panel repair.

Restore the Dream 1960 Karmann Ghia

A project that brought some great folks together to offer a wonderful gift to a family that loves one

tiny little car.

In 1960, Will and Sandy Dietzel purchased a new Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and then took it on their honeymoon. They wanted to take it for a spin on their 50th wedding anniversary (2010)… but it didn’t happen due to the condition of the car. For the past 30 years, the little sports car has sat in a barn. My nephew (Calvin Whitlow) began working on the car (for free) and had the mechanicals in good condition. However, he needed help with the paint and interior work on the car. So, we hatched a plan to tackle the project in the way it is done on the television show Overhaulin’. That is, we would spend a few days with as many talented car nuts as we could round up to work as a team and make the little VW look just like new again! Will and Sandy’s three daughters want the couple to take the old Ghia out for one last ride, and they are helping cover the cost of the materials and supplies used in the project. The volunteers were simply to provide free labor to make this dream come true for them! The accompanying photos show some of the work on the project that was over a 6 day period in December of 2012. What you don’t see in these photos is the ice and snow that our volunteers had to overcome to make this all happen! If you would like to view some of this work in action, please visit the Wheel-E Magazine blog page at www.wheel-emag.com to view videos of sheet metal work, welding, and the final paint application! We plan to bring you much more once the little car has all of the finishing touches in place. Will and Sandy hope to replicate a photo taken outside the church where they were married whenever the car is fully ready to roll again. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of this project. What a wonderful feeling it was to see so many people come together and offer their talents to make a dream come true for someone else. One tiny little car brought out a tremendous amount of good in a bunch of folks! One last comment is that there were volunteers behind-the-scenes. They are the folks that provided us with the photos and videos. They devoted countless hours observing and recording the work that was done, and then additional hours of tedious work editing the videos and selecting the best photos to present to our readers. Thank you to Devin Winter, Daniel Rich, and Terri Jestus.

Duct tape makes an excellent guide for cutting damaged metal.

Checking initial curvature of scrap “trial” piece.

Adjusting the slip-roll former to create curvature of rocker

panel being fabricated.

Testing the fit of a fabricated patch to be welded in place

Patch clamped in place and tack-welded.

Checking curvature of fabricated rocker panel. Having a bit of fun using metal

shear to trim a repair piece.

Checking fabricated rocker repair panel for fit.

Using metal shear to trim repair patch.

Roughed in patch above head-light tack-welded in place.

Checking fit of rear section of fabricated rocker panel.

Headlight area after body filler and primer has been applied.

Body panels removed from car, and awaiting sanding.

Door after sanding with a dual-action (D/A) sander.

Using a D/A sander on a panel. Ron working on the door.

Dean at work on engine cover with D/A sander.Jake takes a quick break from

preparing inner areas of door.

Mark masking inner door to keep paint off of the glass.

Spot priming door using self-etching spray-can primer.

Chuck hard at work with a D/A sander!

Dean inspecting Chuck’s work. We’ve been doing that since our

first “paint job” in 1977!

Dean applying body filler where dent was removed.

Mark using sander on the lower nose of the car.

Inspecting lowest portions of nose for damage. The little car had

limited damage in this area considering how low to the ground the nose is!

Mandy stopped by and helped place duct tape over the stainless trim to prevent

damage from sanders.

More duct tape being applied by Chuck to prevent damage to

stainless trim. Calvin checking for rust in rocker panel areas.

Spot priming begins.

Luggage compartment cover being installed prior to final primer and paint.

Door being installed prior to final primer and paint.

Car is so tiny, that the spot-primer cover the entire body!

Final inspection of repair panel.

Another example of how the spot primer covered the entire car!

Wheel being installed so that the car can be moved to the paint booth.

Car is finally in the paint booth. Sealing primer being applied.

First coat of black acrylic enamel being applied… FINALLY!!!

Primer application continues. Two sets of eyes are much better than one!

Primer application continues in the lowest areas of the nose of the car.

Primer coat baking in heated paint booth.

Black paint shows off the curves of the little car. Medium and wet

coats were applied with baking cycles between each coat of paint.

Little car has such a low stance. Attempting to paint

lowest areas of the nose.

Door panels to beused as patterns.

Back of old door panels shows the warped condition

and water damage.

Rear interior panels to be used as patterns.

Cutting new door panel backing material.

Armrests prior to cleaning.

Cleaning of armrests prior to painting.

Using hole saw to bore holes for window cranks and interior door handles.

Armrests cleaned for painting and trim masked off.

Applying paint to armrests.

Cutting a template of the rear shelf using heavy paper.

Tight quarters to work in!

Comparing old and new door panels for dimensions.

Trial fit of interior panel backing board. White coated surface goes toward outside

of car for moisture protection.

Cutting a new interior panel backing board.

Using band saw to trim an interior panel for a perfect fit.

Cutting new rear shelf cover using pattern made of heavy paper. Low nap carpet

material being used for several interior surfaces.

Three Rivers CollegeCar Club

Odds and Ends for the Car Show

Coordinate vendor solicitations so that you don't duplicate

Assign duties for the day of the show (in advance). Who will handle directing cars? Who works the registration table? Who will count the votes for Peoples' Choice Trophies?

Will you need/use "police" barrier tape or any cones. Need to borrow, purchase in advance.

Times must be set. When will registration open? When will voting for People's Choice close and when will the trophies be presented..........

Ideas for Spring 2013 Show

Run this event as an inaugural show. Use the curise-in format.

Offer "Peoples' Choice" trophies for Best Car, Best Truck and possibly Best Motorcycle.

Solicit small free items from area merchants. Keep in mind that some of those same merchants will be on hand at the Showcase... if you do run the event that day.

Music? 1950's era music is typi-cal at the shows. Anyone know a "DJ" that would work the event?

Insurance Rider. Check with school administration regarding this....................

Three Rivers College Car Club’s 1st Annual ShowAlso known as, “You want it when?!”

Outdoor car shows depend on the weather. It is very discouraging to any group to have a rain-out of their show. Hours and hours of preparation can go down the drain with a rainy day… and a rain date typically draws a much smaller crowd as folks have not planned for the later date.

When you consider all of the additional problems that can plague a car show such as the need to receive trophies on time, having knowledgeable judges on hand, securing an appropriate location for the show, and selecting a date that does not conflict with other major events… it is amazing that car shows ever come together! The students at Three Rivers College hosted their very first show on their campus on April 20th, 2013… and it couldn’t have gone better. There were very few issues that had to be addressed. However, there’s much more to this story that makes this such a victory for the students.

To explain, I received word on February 12th that the students were organizing a new car club and had approval from the school’s administration. I was asked to provide a bit of technical support and to help encourage the students in their efforts. Initially, a date had not been set for the first ever show, but soon it was determined that the show was to be on April 20th… with no rain date available! When I learned this, I felt it was an insurmountable undertaking.

Please keep in mind that this club was in the formative stages, and had not yet developed a logo, had not yet begun to establish sponsors, and had not been able to promote their event! I felt that this would be an impossible task.

When April 20th rolled around, the weather forecast was for zero percent chance of rain, and a high of 65 degrees! What perfect weather for a show being hosted on a parking lot with no shade! The students had sponsors in place, great T-shirts printed up with an amazing logo, beautiful trophies, a sound system, food vendor, and everything else you would expect at a well-established car show. How on earth these students and their sponsor pulled this off in such short order is beyond comprehension to me!

Their first show attracted a wide variety of high quality vehicles. The participants seemed to have a great time interacting with one another (as can be seen in the accompanying photos). Personally, I can’t begin to express the fun that I had interacting with the students, the club sponsor, and the participants of the show. It was the most fun I’ve had at a car show in a very long time!

There’s talk about an adult group acting as a “booster” car club for the students. Since Three Rivers College has primarily two-year degrees, the students will come and go very quickly which means a loss of continuity over time. An adult booster club could help keep the club moving in the right direction.

Wheel-E Magazine wishes this student car club all of the luck in the world. We know that they’ll continue to do great things. And personally, I wish to thank them for allowing me to participate in their very first show. It is a memory that will be with me forever.

1965 Chevrolet Bel-Air

Affectionately known as “Green Bean” this was our family hotrod. With four doors we were able to travel and cruise with-out a lot of fuss. Originally we chose to nickname the car Mean Green but when Mandy kept referring to it as Green Bean we decided to go with it. We traveled to Branson in this car with the Poplar Bluff Rod and Custom Car Club and participated in the Branson Lights Cruise. That was a super fun experience that our family enjoyed.

1965 Impala Convertible

Dean and I bought this car to travel to cruise ins and car shows with the Poplar Bluff Rod and Custom Car Club. It was a frame off restoration so Dean didn’t have to work on it too much! It had air conditioning, power windows and roof ... which were a nice bonus (although the air conditioning didn’t work). The girls and I traveled to numerous car shows with the top down and the wind blowing our hair into a tangled up mess. We had a lot of good times in this car.

WHITLOW'S HOT RODS

THROUGH THE YEARS

By: Susan Whitlow

1996 Impala SS

This is my favorite car that we have had during our 26 years to-gether. It came with an LT-1 Corvette engine and had super wide 17 inch wheels. The inside was decked out with monogramed SS leather interior and floor mats and all of the bells and whistles available at that time. Although it was a heavy body it had more power than a grocery getter needed! The speedometer went up to 160 although I’m sure I never went over 100. We had a lot of good times in this car but as with all of our other cars we wore it out and traded it in.

1961 Chevrolet Pickup

Dean bought this truck so he would have something he could just drive around and haul stuff when needed. The truck was nicknamed, Tex Red because that is the color that the previous owner selected to paint it. We never used it as a family ride but the girls enjoyed playing in the bed while Dean worked on it.

1985 Monte Carlo SS

Dean bought this car as a total and rebuilt it for me. He amazed me when he pulled out the dash, gutted it, and rewired it. We put the stripe kit on together in the driveway to finish the job. When he fin-ished the car and left it for me to drive to work the next morning it had a Duran Duran cassette in the tape player and license plates that read 4-SUSAN. We drove this car as a daily driver for many years until we wore it out. The first picture is just after coming out of the paint booth and the second is the day we donated it to the American Lung Association.

A Mighty Bridge in Little EgyptBy: Dave Dickey

The name Little Egypt refers to the southern one third of the state of Il-linois. Stories vary as to how the area came to be known as Little Egypt. One, which may have begun as early as 1818, is that when the large area of land was purchased at the southern tip of the state at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers for a town which was named Cairo. It is said the town was given its name because early settlers thought of it much like its Egyptian counter part in the Nile Delta. Another story with refer-ence to Little Egypt is from around the 1830’s when poor harvests in the north of the state led suppliers to go down into “Egypt” and purchase their grain sup-plies in Southern Illinois, taking refer-ence from the story of Joseph’s family going down to Egypt in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Whatever its ori-gin the nickname has stuck for this geo-graphic region of Southern Illinois. One can agree the nick name seems to fit with towns like Cairo, Thebes and Karnak in the region. I have always liked the nickname Little Egypt, and one of the first stories as a child that I can remember my maternal grandmother telling me is about being a child and playing with children of the families during the construction of

the Thebes railroad bridge. Her stories fascinated me. As I got older, other hob-bies came along, but in graduate school, trying to think about a thesis topic one night, the Thebes railroad bridge came to mind. I did not know much about the old rusted bridge that spanned the Mississip-pi River at Thebes, Illinois. I asked my dad about it the next day and he said that he had seen photos of the bridge when he was younger and that I should check with the Thebes Historical Society. I did, and as they say, “the rest is history”, literally. It became the topic of my the-sis on early 20th century bridge design in the United States. It also sparked my interest in bridges again. At the time the Thebes Railroad Bridge was completed it was the largest multi span cantilever bridge in the world. There are varying estimates as to how many people lost their lives building the bridge, but the best one can come to is approximately 23 men lost their lives, 14 were from falls. One man fell off the bridge on the Missouri side and was not injured because he landed in the mud. When the Thebes Bridge held its dedica-tion ceremony on May 25, 1905 between 3,000 and 4,000 people crowded into the small town of Thebes. During the first four months of operation almost 3,000 trains crossed the bridge with an estimat-ed 1,000 cars per day traveling across the bridge on their way west. The Thebes Bridge is a massive example of the age of steel in American Bridge design. The bridge was a huge transition from pin design to rivets (over 200,000 to be exact), which by the way were all driven by hand.

At the time the Thebes Railroad Bridge was completed it was the largest multi span cantilever bridge in the world. The Thebes Bridges is a mas-sive example of the age of steel in the American Bridge design.

When the bridge was completed over 600,000 cubic feet of dirt had been re-moved on both the Illinois and Missouri sides by hand and steam shovel. The length of the bridge including the con-crete approaches is over 3,900 feet. The entire length of the project was a little over 4.5 miles. The steel superstructure weighs in at 26,903,559 pounds.The east and west concrete approaches contain 945,000 cubic feet of concrete. The total cost of the project was $2.8 million. The bridge was a huge boost to the local area. By the end of construction in 1905 the town of Thebes had a population of 1,300 people. The town had paved streets, seven saloons, two churches, approximately twenty stores, a bank, a newspaper and preparation for a munici-pal waterworks and electric light plant. The bridge gave birth to the towns of Illmo and Edna on the Missouri side, which are today Scott City. On the down side it led to the decline of Graysboro, which had been the terminal for the St. Louis Southwestern railroad on the Mis-souri side to ferry the trains across the river to Thebes. The new yards in Il-lmo had 24 sets of railroad tracks and a huge depot. Just between Edna and Illmo was a large roundhouse for working on the train engines. It is the only railroad bridge spanning the Mississippi river which can handle large loads of traf-fic and weight. In the 1905 dedication the weight bearing test was 8 million pounds. In 1932, the Prosperity Special, a group of 20 of the largest steam en-gines in the United States, crossed the bridge on their way to the west coast at

a total weight of 9 million pounds. The Thebes Bridge remains the only railroad bridge across the Mississippi river that has this ability to allow the transporta-tion of heavy loads between Chicago and the west coast. Because of this, guards have always been placed on the bridge in times of war. From World War I through 9/11, the bridge has been guarded. It has had numerous repairs over the years. The pins that connect the sections together are 24” in diameter and have been replaced. In 85 years of use one of the pins had only worn down by less than 1/2 an inch. The peer in the center part of the river has been hit several times by barges, that the Coast Guard has attribut-ed to pilot error. If one stops at the little rest stop and lookout point just off Route 3 at the north end of Thebes and a barge is coming down the river you can get a sense of how boats hit the pier. A boat coming around Gray’s Point has to know when to cut their engines. You can see the barge almost come to a standstill and then the river grabs the boat and barges whipping them around the point to continue down river. If the pilot fails to cut the engines at the correct time the barges will not be lined up in the channel to pass between the piers when the river pulls them around the point. The distance between the point and the bridge is too short for a pilot to correct the error and the barges hit one of the piers. This has led to repair work on some piers. As you can tell, the Thebes Bridge is probably my favorite bridge. I find early 20th century American History to be a fascinating time because of the techno-

logical advances, such as the telephone, moving pictures, automobiles, the air-plane, just to name a few things. There were also social and cultural changes taking place in America and around the world. To be living at the turn of the cen-tury back then would have seemed that almost anything was possible. Within ten years of the completion of the Thebes Bridge the world would be drawn into a war on the European continent that no one could have imagined in 1905.

After driving into town to view the river front, the bridge and the foundation of what used to be a large depot on the Illinois Central Railroad Route, one can look up the hill to the east and see the Thebes Courthouse. The courthouse is open during the summer months on the weekend. The courthouse was the county seat of Alexander county before it was moved to Cairo. When Abraham Lincoln was a trial lawyer it was on his circuit. It is said that Dred Scott was held in the jail on his way to St. Louis to stand trial. Take some time to drive around the his-toric town of Thebes or take the time to take a tour of Little Egypt. There is the National Cemetery at Mound City, with veterans from the Civil War to the pres-ent conflicts buried there. Historic Cairo is just down IL 3 with its historic library, US Custom House, and old Victorian homes, such as Magnolia Manor. This area of Little Egypt is also known for the Indian mounds that are associated with the mound builders of the Mississippian Indian era. Yes, I like the Thebes Bridge and the rich history of Little Egypt!

One of the reasons I find the Thebes Bridge so fascinating is that I have a personal connection to the bridge. My mother’s ancestors owned a family cem-etery on the north side of what was to be the bridge’s right-of-way on the Missouri side. Louis Houck, who owned a railroad that the bridge’s western concrete ap-proach would pass over, convinced the Stone family to sue the railroad. In the first trial, the family way, but the deci-sion was overturned in a higher court of appeal and during the retrial, both par-ties lost to the railroad company. The Thebes Bridge opened to traffic in April of 1905. My paternal grandmother was on the first passenger train to cross the Thebes Bridge. When the dedication ceremony was held in May, 24 engines were driven out to the center of the bridge and stopped to test the weight. After the center test was done, they came to the edge of the bridge on the Illinois side and came to a complete stop with all 24 engines on the bridge. My pater-nal grandfather was one of the engineers driving the test engines that day.

Jack Rabbits to Hot RodsBy Wheel-E Magazine

Wheel-E Magazine initially planned on interviewing Cheryl Sims about her 1968 Mustang that she owned from 1974 – 1982. But, then like in previous issues, we happily found that Cheryl had plenty more Wheel-E side stories that she could share with us.

Q: So Cheryl, how did you get your 1968 Mustang? A: Actually the Mustang was bought for my older sister. She drove the car until she got married and

returned it to our parents for me to use. You see, usually, our parents bought each of the kids a used car when they turned sixteen. The kids were responsible for getting a job and paying for the gas.

Q. So, did you do anything to the Mustang when you got it?A. Oh yeah, I asked my dad if we could fix the Mustang up and he agreed. It took awhile because we

were only able to work weekends on it. My dad and brother did most of the work but I was out there trying to help too.

Around that same time one of Cheryl’s cousins was racing his Mach I Mustang and rolled the car. Cheryl's family bought his car and tore it apart to use the high bucket seats and swapped the 289 en-gine for the 351 engine that was in the Mach I. Her dad worked at Ford and knew what engine would fit in her car. It fit but did not have much extra space.

Cheryl reminisced that her dad skinned his knuckles at one point while working on the car. He got upset and told Cheryl it was her fault because he was fixing the car for her. It’s one of those things that you look back on now, and laugh at the things you go through.

Even then, the Mustang parts were hard to find but of course, that was before Internet, which makes it easier to check with people from all around the world.

Q. Did you have to do a lot of work to the outside of the car?A. No, we didn't have to do much body work. The car had a few dents and we beat those out, used

Bondo, sanded it down but never actually painted it.

Q. So, what did the car look like?A. It was a pale yellow and had a green and orange neon pinstripe going down it. We kept the logo

289 on the car.

Cheryl said that she was SO excited when they were done with the car. It was her baby!

On the RoadQ. Where did you live at the time?A. Our family lived in Santa Ana, California. I was born and raised there. In fact, Dad used tocall my sister and I "prune pickers" (which is a nickname given to people that are born and raised in California).

Q. So Cheryl, I have to ask, how did you get here from California?A. Well, I married at a young age to a military guy. We brought the car here. Everyone knew that wherever the car was, that's where I was. The car had been around, it went with us from California

to Washington state when my husband was stationed there and then to Fort Leonard Wood in the eighties.

Q. What eventually happened to the car?A. The car was totaled. My husband went over an embankment and rolled it. Ironically, the high back seats are what saved him from getting really hurt. He walked away from it. Actually, broke a window and got out.

Cheryl laughingly wondered how she never got a ticket with it. When you gave it gas, it had a low rumble, “when you got on it”. (I am sure, most of us hear that in our minds and know exactly what she means.) She wistfully added that any time she sees a similar Mustang, she wishes she still had hers today.

Life after MustangQ. So did you have any other cool cars?A. Yes, my parents got me a 1964 Ford Falcon (stock car).

Q. What did it look like?A. It was a bright green and had original interior and everything. But I had to get used to it, as it had no power brakes and no power steering. I kept it for a few years but was not as attached to the Falcon as the Mustang. But she added that those older cars were little tanks._____________

The Desert was Their PlaygroundCheryl said that they were raised with motorcycles and dune buggies. When they were young each of the kids was started on a mini-bike, then as they got older went to motorcycles.

She also remembers when she was younger having something like a Studebaker and they chopped it and made it into a dune buggy. They lived near Apple Valley Desert and always had mini bikes, motorcycles, and the dune buggy to play with. Cheryl, her brothers, sisters and their cousins were always doing the trails in the desert.

Jack RabbitsCheryl laughingly said that they would go jack rabbit hunting or just chasing jack rabbits. She remem-bers hanging on for dear life. They would go find a jack rabbit and just go chase it with the dune buggy.

One time Cheryl’s sister went to go around something and ended up in the ditch. If someone was miss-ing, they would always turn around and go looking for them. This time they went back and her sister was trying to untangle herself from briars.

Cheryl humbly said, “It was nothing fancy, but we just had a ball.” Unfortunately, those were the days when most families did not take a lot of pictures, so they rely on their memories. Cheryl said they "had fun." It was definitely a time that you treasure, especially since her parents are no longer here. Cheryl said she had a great childhood.

TodayCheryl is faithful with watching NASCAR. In fact, she records all the races if she doesn't get to watch them.

Cheryl still likes faster cars but has a Tahoe now. However, she still likes anything with "a little get up and go".

Half Breed GTO/Camaro Pete Darnell has a '68 Camaro that he has been working on for the past 5 years. He scabbed a wrecked 2004 GTO firewall into it. It will be a half breed GTO/Camaro when he finishes it.

2004 GTO Donor Car

2004 GTO Firewall

Test Fit QuartersExhaust Tail Panel

Floor Pans Engine First Fit

2004 GTO Dash, Console Steering

Column in 1968 Camaro.

1968 Camaro firewall removed to fit 2004 firewall.

Firewall Sheet Metal

Rust Removal

Rust removal and new floor pan prep.

Final prep of engine and sheet metal with new 2004 firewall.

There are many hiking trails in the area to try out along with other natural sites, such as the Little Grand Canyon. Just across IL 127 to the right is Cedar Lake. A great place for fishing and kayaking. After some hiking you might want to try out one of the many wineries in the area or local cafe’s. Many of the wineries serve food. I suggest visiting the wineries after the hike and not before. For wineries and cafes in the area, check out www.shawneewinetrail.com.

Afternoon AdventuresBy: Dave Dickey

Bridges, what can I say? I love them. It doesn’t matter whether they were created by Mother Nature or a brilliant civil engineer, their design, structure, construction and materials fascinate me. I’ve been interested in bridges since I was a kid. Being a native of the Cape Girardeau region, going to St. Louis before I-55 was completed meant you had to cross the old Cape Girardeau Bridge to Southern Illinois and take Illinois Route 3 north to East St. Louis. Those of us who can remember crossing the Cape Bridge, even 30 years ago, know it was scary, but I always liked looking out the window down at the river passing by and thinking about what it took to build a bridge like this.

Maybe you also like looking at bridges and wondering who built them, who de-signed them, and asking how long did it take to build. Or maybe you just like admir-ing the aesthetics of the design, then take an afternoon drive and visit some historic, local bridges.

I would like to mention four local bridges within about 30 minutes driving time of Cape Girardeau. Two of them are in Southern Illinois and the other two are in South-east Missouri. The four bridges represent four distinct types of bridges. The oldest is stone, one is made of wood and iron, another is made of wrought iron and the largest of the four is made of steel, stone, wrought iron and cast iron.

The first and oldest of the four bridges is the Pamona Natural Bridge in the Shaw-nee Forest of Southern Illinois. It’s easy to get to anytime of the year. Just cross the Bill Emerson Bridge east on IL 146 to Illinois Route 3, turn north. At Ware turn right onto Illinois 146 East and head toward Jonesboro, Illinois. When you come to Illinois 127 North, turn left. Just about 12 miles up the road you will come to a sign point-ing to the Pamona Natural Bridge. Turn left off 127 on the Pamona road , then right on Natural Bridge Road and follow the signs until you reach the parking lot. Yes, you will have to walk to the bridge if you want to see this natural wonder of Southern Illi-nois. It’s not a long walk, but you should be in relatively good health. Wear some sort of hiking shoes or boots. There is a good wide trail to follow down to the bridge. The Pamona Bridge is approximately 90 feet long and about 8 feet wide.

The bridge is about 30 feet in the air and slopes slightly downward to around 20-25 feet at the other end. The bridge is all sandstone, so to the visitor it is obvious that it took many years of water carving out the bridge. Find a rock and sit for a while tak-ing in the beauty of the natural bridge and its surroundings.

The other bridge in Southern Illinois to visit, is just about 20 minutes away from Cape Girardeau, south on Illinois Route 3, located in Thebes, Illinois. I’m sure you guessed, this is one of my favorite bridges to visit in the area. Cross the Bill Emerson Bridge at Cape on IL 146 east to IL 3. Make a right on IL 3 south. As you travel down Route 3, approaching Thebes, the Mississippi River is on your right side and directly in front of you is an old worn, rusted bridge. You can also stop at the river look out as you enter the town and view the Mississippi River and the Thebes Bridge. Take the time to drive around historic Thebes. Visit the Court House on the hill overlooking the town. Check out its historic cemetery.

Many people I have talked to mention that when they see the Thebes bridge for the first time, they think it is abandoned until they see a train crossing it. In May of this year the bridge at Thebes will turn 107 years old. You may wonder how it has stood the test of time, but it, like many of its contemporaries was built to last. The bridge was completed in 1905 and it took another two years to paint. The en-tire process was completed by 1907. The bridge uses the natural limestone bluffs for abutments on both the Illinois and Missouri sides. The bridge was designed by Ralph Modjeski and Alfred Noble. These two men may not be familiar to most people, but Modjeski designed or worked on many famous bridges in the United States and Canada, such as the McKinley Bridge in St. Louis, the Huey P. Long Bridge in Louisiana, the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, and the Quebec Bridge in Canada. It’s doubtful how much Alfred Noble was involved in the design and building of the bridge, since he was part of the team of engineers and others printing pamphlets to encourage the United States to build a canal in Panama.

The other two bridges that I believe are a good afternoon trip are located here in Missouri. One is the restored Old Appleton Bridge and the other is the famous Burfordville Covered Bridge. Both are within about a 30 minute drive of Cape Girardeau and make for a good afternoon trip. To get to Burfordville, just take MO 72 /MO 34 west through Jackson on Jackson Boulevard until you get to the junc-tion of MO 34. Take a left on 34 west and just follow the signs to reach the town of Burfordville. The bridge and the historic Bollinger Mill are part of the Mis-souri State Park system. The covered bridge at Burfordville is the oldest surviving covered bridge in Missouri. It was started in 1858 by Joseph Lansman, but it is unclear as to whether the bridge was complete by the start of the Civil War. It was open to traffic by 1867. The bridge is a covered Howe through truss with wooden diagonals and iron verticals. It is almost 130 feet long spanning the Whitewater River. The bridge is only open to pedestrian traffic today. In 1970 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The last repairs made to the bridge were done in 1998 when new lower chords and iron tension rods were put in. Bring a picnic basket and rest and dine in the park next to the Bollinger Mill. Take time to tour the mill. Leisurely stroll across the bridge and make sure you take plenty of photos. The Burfordville Bridge is one of the most photographed structures in Southeast Missouri. Again, check out the wineries in the region. You can down-load an app called Missouri Wines to your smart phone and explore some local flavor. An interesting side note is that Joseph Lansman was involved in building many structures in Cape Girardeau County and Perry County. One of his lasting contributions to Cape Girardeau has been St. Vincent’s Seminary, now part of the SEMO River Campus.

The next bridge I think is worth the drive to see is the bridge at Old Appleton. Reaching this bridge is very easy. Just take I-55 north to the Appleton Exit (Exit 117). Turn right on State Highway KK East. When you reach the junction of US 61 turn left on to 61 North. It’s just up the road. If you take a right on Main Street it will take you to the bridge. The bridge was built in 1879 by H.W. Sebastian & Co. of St. Louis. In 1982, a flash flood washed the bridge off its piers and abut-ment into Apple Creek. A group of individuals determined to save the old wrought iron bridge started the long road of trying to restore the bridge. It was reconstruct-ed in 2005 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The bridge is open to pedestrians and bicyclists. It is a wrought iron through Pratt truss bridge that is 103 feet long spanning Apple Creek. Pack a picnic basket and head to Old Appleton to walk across the historic bridge, take pictures, swim in Apple Creek or take in some of the other sites in the area. If you are looking for some sweet treats head back down 61 south and take the turn to Pocahontas to the Pie Safe. Friendly atmosphere and great desserts. You can head up to Altenburg and visit the rich Saxon history of East Perry County, tour the museum or go down to Wittenberg, when the river is low, to see Tower Rock. All in a nice leisurely after-noon drive or make it an entire day.