Despite a soggy week prior and the threat of rain on event Sunday luxury car owners from LCOC and the Cadillac & La Salle Club braved the elements to bring their classics to a joint 2019 Kickoff Luncheon on Feb 17 at the Lakewood Country Club. The morning dawned cold and clear so the freeways in and around Lakewood were alive with Cadillacs and Lincolns approaching from every direction. Several decades of collector cars were represented and two late model Continentals also were on display.
Tire kicking began about 9 a.m. in a reserved parking lot in front of the main facility enhanced by warm coffee and dozens of donuts. It was a time to renew old friendships and make new ones thanks to the efforts of Betsy Davenport and her team from the CLC, who organized and managed the event. A medical emergency added a little more excitement than anyone wanted, but Betsy says her husband, who received paramedic attention at the event after a faint is fine.
Late arrivals continued to augment the show field and amaze the onlookers from among the cars owners and members of the public who couldn’t resist a glimpse at the numerous 20th century luxury classics. One enterprising mother and daughter team came prepared to sell Girl Scout cookies.
Perhaps the single most representative vehicle at this joint event was the 1947 Continental owned by Marv Wendt and Jan McNiel, which is powered by a Cadillac 8-cylinder engine that replaced the original Lincoln 12-cylinder power plant. Hence the car’s unusual license plate “Part Cad”.
As lunch time approached so did the rain. The wind freshened and car owners scurried to raise the tops on their convertibles and close their windows. Safely inside the dining room, attendees enjoyed a tasty buffet of salad, roll, green beans, roasted potatoes, chicken breast and tri-tip beef capped by a cheesecake dessert and then were entertained by guest speaker Mike Klyde who recounted his days as a young summer worker in the DeLorean Quality Control Center in Santa Ana.
While some of us had to drive between the raindrops on the way home, we were grateful for a fun day showing our vehicles and trading car stories.
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