July 11, Hello!

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1 July 11, 2012 Hello! The 2012 Danville Fourth of July Parade has come and gone and boy was it fun! In attendance were: Mike and Suzette Sordello (and Alexandra), 22 DB touring; Amil Gehrke, 27 DB roadster; Kevin and Tina Bradley, 32 DB F10 pickup truck; Tom and Elaine Gong, 30 DB DC8 Coupe (with Elaine driving!); Bob and Timber Vincent, 36 DB LC ½ ton pickup; Roger and Lynne Gong (and Leah), 25 DB Screenside; Herman and Barbara Boone, 33 2 door DP Cabriolet; Ben and Betty Miller, 22 DB 5 window Coupe; Gene and Vicki Stadelhofer (our hosts), 18 DB touring and 28 DB Victory Six 4 door sedan; Travis and Julia Barham, 24 DB Touring; and Tom and Sharon Barham (and Jennifer), 26 DB 4 door sedan. Also in attendance was Lou MacMillan in his newly painted 38 Chevy 1 ½ ton Canopy Express! Reta Kyle and Gary Santero joined us from Cotati, as did Ron and Ronna Kaye from Placerville. Kenny Stadelhofer and his wife and baby were in attendance. There were also too many friends and family of attenders and Stadelhofers for me to keep track of! This was a well attended event!!! We met at Gene and Vicki s house early in the morning and pretty much filled the cul-de-sac they live on with DB s and trailers and tow vehicles. Gene and Vicki have extremely patient neighbors who welcome this each year and we really appreciate them! A Driver s and Navigator s meeting was held where the rules from the Parade organizers were discussed and emphasized. This year, the emphasis was on safety from the heat. The local Police Department asked specifically that the Parade organizers keep the Parade moving. As a result, there were only three areas along the Parade route where groups that felt the need could perform, and they could only perform for two minutes. They also wanted the Parade completed within two hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This actually made the Parade better for the DB s (see below)! We started the DB s and toured to the staging area, a parking lot at the local high school. This year, we got to sit in the shade as we waited to enter the Parade! The School District has installed solar panels above the parking places in the parking lot, and we got the benefit of the shade from them. We were able to decorate the DB s in the shade, as well as get caught up with the DB ers we ve not seen for awhile. In addition to the shade that was available as we waited in the staging area, the wait was pleasant because the air temperature was substantially cooler than it has been in years past: it was less than 90 degrees at the early time of the morning that we got there! What a GREAT day! After about an hour, we were called to begin the line up to get into the Parade. Jennifer rode with Travis in the 24 DB touring as Julia, being six months pregnant, had wisely opted to stay in the air conditioning at Stadelhofer s. As we got into the Parade, we noticed the crowd was more lively; I think starting the Parade at 9:00 a.m. to avoid the heat worked well and was much appreciated by the spectators as well as the participants! Ronna Kaye and her small dog rode in our DB sedan and the crowd enjoyed Ronna waving her dog s paw to the crowd (some with small dogs even waived their dog s paws back from the sidelines!!!)! All 13 vehicles in our group made it through the Parade route this year with no problems (at least, I didn t hear about any problems). I talked to a couple of drivers in our group and we all agreed that even though

2 there were times when we had to come to a stop, it wasn t like previous years where we came to a dead stop for three or five minutes. We actually were moving most of the time this year! Kudos to the Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley for making some pretty significant changes this year to the way the Parade is run! We arrived back at the Stadelhofer s house for snacks, hot dogs, hamburgers, polish sausage, and all the fixin s that a July 4 th meal should have!!! We had a short business meeting where For Sales and Wanteds were discussed; future tours were talked about and promoted; new attenders (Reta and Gary, and Ron and Ronna) were welcomed; etc. It was also noted by me (the proud grampa-to-be! ) that Travis and Julia are expecting a new little Dodge Sister in September! President Elaine Gong also promoted our attendance at the Galt Old Car Festival this year. This is the location where we have our annual business meeting. (It will be held September 30, 2012, so put that date on your calendars!) This is kind of a show and shine event for our group, but other entrants are judged (and win trophies) in their respective age classes or type classes. Apparently, Donn Marinovich was asked last year what the Galt Area Historical Society could do better, especially from the standpoint of the Northern California Dodge Brothers and Sisters group. The result is a new class in the application form for the event: Class J: Dodge Bros. Display! All enjoyed the (relatively) mild July Fourth day and the camaraderie but it was finally time to load up the DB s and say good-byes as people headed home for the fireworks and other festivities in their communities. Once again, we want to extend our thanks to the Stadelhofers for doing this for us every year. And please thank your neighbors, Gene and Vicki, for putting up with us for another Fourth of July! As an addendum to the news of the Parade, two days ago we were notified that the Northern California Dodge Brothers and Sisters group won the award for the Parade s antique automobile class! Vicki Stadelhofer and a girlfriend will represent the group, enjoying lunch at the Roundhill Country Club courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of the San Ramon Valley! Our next get together will be the Penn Grove Power Up in Petaluma on Saturday, July 14 th. Amil Gehrke has volunteered to head up our attendance so please give Amil a call at or him at AMILSCOMPANY@gmail.com to let him know if you plan to attend. Then on the second weekend of August we attend the Great Gatsby Festival Tallac National Historic Site at Lake Tahoe. This is a period clothing required event as our DB s will be adding to the ambiance of the 20 s 30 s period as the estate that is being shown will be open to the public. As part of the program, there is a period clothing fashion show, and our own Timber Vincent will be modeling some of the fashions. There is our traditional camaraderie dinner Saturday night, and a formal tea on Sunday that most of our participants attend. As Roger Gong explained at our short meeting at Stadelhofer s house, it is a very relaxing weekend spent less than 100 from the shore of Lake Tahoe! Please call Donn Marinovich at or contact him at dcmmld@wildblue.net to let him know of your attendance. I believe the application for our participation has already been sent in, and Donn needs to know how many will be in attendance for dinner reservations, tea reservations, etc., so contacting Donn sooner rather than later would be much appreciated!

3 Future tour event possibilities are starting to shape up. Ron and Ronna Kaye are in the process of moving from Placerville to the Monterey area and they are willing to host a tour of the area maybe next year. Our October Tour is shaping up to be in the Valley again, out of Herman and Barbara Boone s house, touring the Sierras through some of the smaller towns like Ione. Herman already has some ideas of new routes and things to see. Mike Sordello has expressed interest in having us down to the Morgan Hill area. And although I have not asked them, my guess is that the Gong family will want to get back on track with another Lazy River Tour next year as well. But I am getting ahead of myself! We still have a lot of get togethers planned for the rest of this tour season, so consult the 2012 Tour Schedule included in this newsletter and let us see you at some of our events! Tom and Sharon Barham (and Travis and Julia, and Jennifer, too!) 315 Strand Ave. Pleasant Hill, CA

4 Northern California Dodge Brothers & Sisters Region 2012 Schedule of Events Turlock (Winter) Swap Meet January 28th & 29 th Stanislaus County Turlock, Ca. Spaces # 40 & 42 ( Paved area ) Fullkerth Golden State Blvd. Contact: Donn (209) or dcmmld@wildblue.net Capay Valley Almond Festival & Spring Auto Tour (ONE-Day Event) Mar. 11 Cancelled due to rain! NCDB&S Region, Annual Planning Meeting & Picnic March 25th Amador Valley Community Park Pleasanton, Calif. Santa Rita Rd. at 4455 Black Ave. South East corner behind Swim Center. Contact: Tom (925) or DBBROS@aol.com California Dodge Brothers, Lazy River Tour - V April 28th & 29th Cancelled due to rain! Mother Lode Round-Up Parade (Parade Event & Luncheon only) May 12th Saturday of Mothers Day Weekend Contact: Donn (209) or dcmmld@wildblue.net International Dodge Brothers Club, Annual Meet & Tour June 25th June 29th Connecticut Yankee Tour Chairperson & Meet Contact: D-B-C President Joe (860) or jacozza@yahoo.com Stadelhofer s Annual 4th of July, Danville Parade July 4th Dodge Brothers Vehicles in Annual Danville Parade Pot-Luck B-B-Q after Parade at Gene & Vicki Stadelhofer s home

5 Contact: Gene or Vicki (925) or vickistad@yahoo.com Penngrove Power Museum Power-Up (ONE-Day Event) July 14th or 21th Join other Dodge Brothers Vehicles in the displays of Antique & Vintage Car & Trucks. Meet & park at Amil Gehrke s then caravan 2 miles to Museum location Contact: Amil (707) or AMILSCOMPANY@gmail.com Great Gatsby Festival -Tallac National Historic Site August 11th & 12th 20 s-30 s Era Car Show and Period Costume Benefit Event South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Off Hwy 89 near Camp Richardson Contact: Event Coordinator Jackie Dumin at (530) or jdumin@fs.fed.us or Donn (209) or dcmmld@wildblue.net 27th ADSC Gatsby Afternoon at the Dunsmuir / Hellman Mansion Sept. 9th Join other period costumed Dodge Brothers & Sisters for a recreation of the Great Gatsby (1920 s & 30 s) era. Held on the lawn at the Dunsmuir / Hellman Mansion in Oakland Contact: Art-Deco Society of California (ADSC) (415) or Donn (209) or dcmmld@wildblue.net Antique Autos in History (Kelley) Park, San Jose September 9th 12th Annual Antique Autos in History Park presented by History San Jose Kelley Park, 1650 Senter Road, San Jose, CA. Sunday Only - Noon to 5 PM Contact: Galt Area Historical Society Annual Old-Car Festival September 30th Pre WW-II Benefit Car Show & Dodge Brothers, Mini-Meet Non-Judged Show what you Have Event at a beautiful rural location McFarland Living History Ranch 8899 Orr Road - Galt, Calif. Contact: Galt Area Historical (209) / Northern California Dodge Brothers & Sisters, Autumn Tour October 13th - 14th Our planning focus for this tour right now is out in the Valley. More information to be provided as it develops! Contact: Tom (925) or DBBROS@aol.com

6 Sonora Christmas Parade (Parade Event only) Nov. 23rd Friday evening of Thanksgiving Weekend Contact: Donn (209) or dcmmld@wildblue.net If you are planning to attend these 2012 events PLEASE call ahead, so the organizers know you are coming If you have an event, and would like the Dodge Brothers to participate, Tell us norcaldbs.org Elaine Gong (510) or elgong@lbl.gov - Tom (925) or DBBROS@aol.com - Donn (209) or dcmmld@wildblue.net