june 2017 over 20 years - dakota cruiseranyway, nerdy stuart gets an insanely tricked out van, and...
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PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
June 2017 “SHIFT’N GEARS FOR OVER 20 YEARS”
Now we’re cook ’n!! Summer is beautiful and the runs and shows are starting to
happen. The Music, Stars, and Classic cars event with Chubby Checker, Herman’s
Hermits, and MORE, was a huge hit in Minot and we will look forward to next May
when we will have a 3 day concert, car show and more. My hat is off to Vance and
Arlene Castleman (DC Lifetime Members) headed the event up and will be doing so
again next year too. It could be on the Canadian long weekend….3 days! I got to meet
Chubby Checker, twisted a bit, and got him to sign the glove box door on my ’57 Chevy
convertible. That was pretty KQQL!!! Congratulations to Steve Smith for winning the People’s Choice on
the best motorcycle at the car show and to Arlan and Lisa Krebsbach for their award with their new
BEAUTIFUL Camaro. WOW!!!
The Presidents Spring Cruise was last weekend (May 20th
) and what a great event it was! Thanks a million
to Darroll & Joanie Myers for hosting a wonderful event. They fed over 100 people and we cruised in
style. It was a perfect day and it could not have come off better! THANKS!!! Apologies if I spelled
names wrong!
Lots going on this summer. Wednesday night cruises and the Friday lunches and weekend shows will be
great! 852-KARS (5277) tells you what is going on!
My shop is winding down a little bit. Chevelle, the 55 Chevy, the 40 Chevy, and more are almost finished
and out of the stable---almost! I’m starting to build a really nice ’55 Chevy two door sedan for myself. (of
course that means for Eileen). I have the chassis going into the assembly process and then the engine and
tranny will be next. Lots going on at this time for me.
Anyway, be safe, have fun and let’s get Cruising soon. Don’t forget to check safety items and hoses and
belts. We assume that not much goes wrong with these cars, but with a little forethought, you can prevent a
breakdown or even worse---the unmentionable—an accident.
George
Supporters of Dakota Cruisers
Dad’s Garage-Lonn Satron 701.420.2003
Fastenal-Craig Lundgren 701.839.7566
KR Auto Body Repair-Kurtis Reid 701.339.3447
Master Restoration-George Masters 701.240.6771
Niess Impressions 837.2767
Premier Physical Therapy-Blerim Dibra 701.837.8441
Sebo Motorsports-Ryan Sebo 701.837.9967
State Farm-Kellie Thorman 701.839.4999
Tuff Enuff Inc. 701.837.8833
Country Hillside Embroidery 701.340.7415
When in need, please consider using one of our advocates.
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
Jim Ryun
June Hot Rod Calendar
2 Noon Luncheon at Captain's Cove
2-4 25th Annual Devils Run, North America’s Hottest Car Show and Rod Run, Devils
Lake, ND
2-4 14th Annual Wheel Jam, Huron, SD
7 Monthly meeting at the Vegas Motel - 7:30 p.m.- Board meeting at 6:00 p.m.
9 Noon Luncheon at Mi Mexico
10 37th Annual Classtiques Rod Run - Riverwood RV, Mandan, ND
10 T&T Rods Annual Car Show, Estevan, SK
11 24th Anniversary Celebration Buggies N Blues - Dykshoorn Park, Mandan, ND
14 Wednesday night cruise to the Brentmoore, Root Beer Floats provided - leave
Hardees at 6:30 p.m.
16 Noon Luncheon at Dickey's BBQ
16-17 Annual Center of the Nation All Car Rally, Belle Fourche, SD - drive-in movie on
Friday and show on Saturday - visit our FB page for more information
17 19th Annual 2017 Rally in the Valley, Valley City, ND
17 Weyburn Car Club 16th Annual Show & Shine - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. - food vendors,
entertainment and door prizes
21 Wednesday night cruise to club house for pot luck - club will supply drinks, hot
dogs, burgers and all condiments - leave Hardees at 6:30 p.m.
23 Noon Luncheon at Hacienda
23-25 44th Annual MSRA Back to the 50s - Minnesota State Fairgrounds, St. Paul, MN
24 Antique and Classic Car Show, Medora, ND - 701-225-8851
24-25 Cars in the Park 2017 - Badlands Drifters Car Club, Glendive, MT
28 Wednesday night cruise to Cenex in Velva - food will be provided - leave Hardees at
6:30 p.m.
30 Noon Luncheon Market Place Foods North
Days of the Shaggin’ Wagon: A Look at 1970s
Custom Vans By Yeoman Lowbrow on 7 April 2015
The streets of the 1970s were littered with a variety of
vehicles: badass muscle cars, massive gas-guzzling “land yachts”
your parents drove, new economy cars to handle the gas crisis,
motorcycles (always ridden without helmets), and, of course,
VANS.
There were no minivans in the 1970s. This was a time before the
van had been tamed, before it had been neutered into the soccer-
mom machine that it is today. In the 1970s, vans didn’t carry
spoiled kids drinking juice-boxes and watching Spongebob…. quite the contrary. Vans were basically a
bedroom on wheels. No Spongebob, no juice boxes, no trips to organized sporting events in the suburbs….
just lots of sex and recreational drug use. You might say the 1970s full size van was the crazy uncle of the
modern minivan – the uncle that lived dangerously in the 70s, then flamed out at decade’s end.
In the 1970s, many van owners took their shaggin’ wagons seriously and tricked them out to the limit: Big
shiny side pipes with mellow sound, plush interior carpeting for maximum fornication, duals to amp up the
horsepower,…. and, perhaps most importantly, the artwork on the sides….
The vans of the 1970s were decorated with airbrushed psychedelic wizards, doobie smoking dragons, naked
slave girls, flaming unicorns… the trippier the better. I reiterate – this was not your mom’s minivan. This
was a place where “bad” things happen, and the designs were warning signs. Get into the back of a van
with an airbrushed Grim Reaper in a land of mushrooms and naked fairies, and you should know what
you’re getting into.
“Your clothes are distinctive, your lifestyle different. So why should your means
of transportation be the same as everyone else’s? You want something personal,
unique… something that fits your image. You want something that says, ‘This is
me.'”
It was the Sexual Revolution – a vehicle designed to accommodate massive
amounts of sex and drugs just made sense.
This advert from 1974 explains that custom vans are big business – a “career”
that can make you “big money”. I love the shot of the
bed (waterbed, maybe?) – they didn’t play around
back then.
There was even a movie devoted to the subject….
This is actually one of the funnest movies to come out of the 1970s. It stars
Stuart Getz – you may remember him as the “nice boy” on The Brady Bunch
who still likes Marcia even though she has a hideously deformed nose from a
freak football accident. Marcia, of course, treats him like total shit… but that’s
neither here nor there.
Anyway, nerdy Stuart gets an insanely tricked out van, and the non-stop shagging commences. There’s an
amazing soundtrack by Sammy Johns which delivered the #1 hit, “Chevy Van” – a song about… well,
having sex in a Chevy van. “Early Morning Love” is another great track – a song about…. yes, again,
having sex in a van – this time specifically in the morning hours.
Here’s a clip from the film where Stuart takes his girl to a van show with Sammy
Johns’ tribute to van-sex playing in the background. It doesn’t get more 70s than
this, folks.
Note that, although the theme song for the film is “Chevy Van”, the van that Stuart
drives is a Dodge. Just so you know, THIS, my friends, is the mighty Chevy
Van….
And while we’re on the subject of custom van shows, I have scanned a few pages
from a couple magazines from 1973 and 74 which illustrate beautifully the magic,
the wonder…
Much weed was smoked on that day.
The Boomers had waved goodbye to the hippy movement, but the
desire to be “free” was still a thing. Songs like “Me and You and a Dog
Named Boo” declared the generation’s passion to spread their wings on
the open road, untethered by responsibility.
The only downside to thick shag carpeting was that your roaches tended to get lost in the fibers.
Nowadays, a van labeled “Magic Mushroom” wouldn’t make it a mile down the road without being stopped,
searched, impounded and driver imprisoned.
Of course, I don’t want to paint a completely one dimensional picture of the 70s van. They weren’t all used
for sex and drugs. In fact, before the days of seatbelt requirements, they were great for family trips. I spent
many a vacation as a child travelling in my aunt and uncle’s full size
van, enjoying the splendor of spacious leg-room. It had a CB and we
could play Rock’em Sock’em Robots in the back – life was good in a
70s van, even for kid.
Notice how this 1976 Ford advert targets the “young swingers”
specifically by selling their vans for “cruising”. Judging by this
advert, Ford vans were basically sex magnets on wheels. It’s sad that
vehicles like this today are often labeled “rape vans”… they’ve
certainly fallen from grace in the past few decades.
Like a boat, vans of the 70s often had their own name branded on the side. My personal favorite: “Frito
Vandito”.
Note that the “Pot O’ Gold” pictured isn’t referring to
what you think its referring to. Think “Acapulco
Gold” and “Lumbo Gold” (AKA Columbian Gold).
Well, it’s been fun traveling down memory lane in
our customized van. But now it’s time to fling our
joints out the window and call it a day. Keep on
Truckin’.
The Olson family won best 50’s dressed contest at the Music Cars and Classic Car
Show. Congrats
THANKS MEYERS FOR OPENING YOUR HOME TO US
The future “Hot Roders”
The first annual Music Stars & Classic Car featuring Chubby Checkers
& Herman Hermits.
POSITION NAME PHONE NUMBER E-MAIL
President George Masters 240-6771 [email protected]
Vice President Dave Alberts 838-4309 [email protected]
Secretary Pricilla Jevne 720-8058 [email protected] [email protected]
Treasurer Cara Olson 721-1627 [email protected]
Newsletter Editor Tammy Kloehn 721-5345 [email protected]
Board Member Ken Amundson 263-1809 [email protected]
Board Member Craig Eraas 721-5500 [email protected]
Board Member Greg Olson 721-5531 [email protected]
Board Member Steve Smith 833-3434 [email protected] Board Member Doug Frazier 721-7203 [email protected]
[email protected]:[email protected]?subject=Dakota Cruisers Web Site mailto:[email protected]?subject=Dakota Cruisers Web Site
Webmistress Sherie Saltveit 721-7501 [email protected] WEBSITE ADDRESS:
www.dakotacruiser.com
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ADDRESS CORRECTION SERVICES
800 31st Ave. S.E., Lot 900, Minot, ND 58701
Next General Meetings at
the Vegas:
June 7 & July 5, 2017