With winter having a firm grip on Iowa and much of the country, many of us are spending a lot of time indoors. Some may be binge watching TV shows or catching up on their favorite reading. I happened to come across an article on the Beverly Hillbillies. I enjoyed this show (in reruns) growing up and remember the car during the show’s opening title scene. I never knew what that car was, but as it turns out it was a 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster. As an Oldsmobile enthusiast, I dug further into the article. The car was built by famous custom car builder George Barris who also built the Batmobile and Munster Koach (below right) which appeared on the TV show, The Munsters. The Munster Koach was made from 3 Model T bodies. The Clappett’s family car was actually an Olds body combined with a flat bed truck. The car, or truck, was loud, difficult to drive and uncomfortable to ride in, according to the cast. A total of four were built over the life of the series. Jethro’s Hot Rod (next page) was also a 1921 Oldsmobile Roadster. Different was its Olds 442 engine, automatic transmission, tuned dual exhaust and much more. Both cars were “black gold” to me!
The winter has caused us to cancel several events. The Board and I appreciate your understanding on this. In this Battery Post you’ll see that the Board has been planning a number of activities. The goal has been to provide a variety of things to do in a progression that coincides with warmer days and eventually getting our cars out. On May 11, we are planning a day trip as described under the events section of the Battery Post. That should be a great ride. In June we’ll visit Peter Mond’s place, which will also be a lot of fun! And then another opportunity to get the cars out will be the July 4 event. We’ll tour through the countryside east of Ankeny and end up at Brent and Julie’s place for food and conversation. We look forward to seeing all of you at these events!
All the best to each of you,
Scott
