Dale Edwards, Sept. 1, 2011

In late July, we had six Lizzies drive up the hill and participate in the almost annual Big Bear Parade. I say almost annual because it didn’t happen last year due to what I understand was financial issues. So this year the parade was on a different weekend than it was in previous years and was shorter in length, but the weather was great as usual. Most of the Lizzies went up the night before, stayed in the Robin Hood Inn Motel, and after dinner played cards until the wee hours.

On Saturday morning, the Lizziers drove their cars past the formation area to the local Masonic Lodge facilities where they partook of the offered breakfast and showed off the Lizzie cars. After getting there without incident, Mike Selix’s Lizzie towcar failed to start and had to be towed to the formation area where a shorted out sparkplug was diagnosed and repaired. The parade itself went smoothly with all Lizzies starting and finishing under their own power. After the parade, several of the Lizziers loaded up their cars and zipped back down the hill to attend the wedding of our Captain, Larry Griffin, at the Orange Grove Lodge.

In August we had 15 Lizziers show up for breakfast at Arthur’s Coffee Shop before the La Habra parade and 12 lizzies took part in the parade. A couple of the members had other commitments that kept them from parading, it was not from a lack of available cars. Everyone made it to the beginning of the parade without incident and all made it through the parade without trouble except John Lake who had to get John Edgmon to tow him when his throttle linkage came apart about halfway through the parade. We also had a new Lizzier parading with us, Ted Segerstrom, and he made it through the parade without problems and said he had a lot of fun doing it. Of course he has a brand new factory-built 2011 model Tin Lizzie which he pretty much expected would survive the parade, even with the famous “Student Driver” license plate hanging on the front bumper. The parade went well, even though we had a lot of forward motion hold ups which results in the Lizzies doing a lot of “circling in place”.

If you are not currently a member of an El Bekal Shrine parade unit, you too should consider joining the Lizzies. For more information, come to one of our regular business meetings at the El Bekal Shrine Center on the second Monday of each month. Give a call to our Captain, Larry Griffin, at (714) 273-0220 for specifics. If he is busy recovering from his recent wedding, call our Lieutenant, Bill Walls, at (562) 594-6232.

Dale Edwards, Aug. 1, 2011

We had nine Lizzies in the Huntington Beach 4^th of July Parade this year, where the weather was great and the sideline fans were plentiful and patriotic. As usual, we met for breakfast at the Denny’s at Five Points and then off loaded the Lizzies on Clay Street near the end of the parade route. It’s far better to be close to the conveyance vehicles at the end of a parade than have to drive the Lizzies back through the dispersing crowds to the starting point.

We had some difficulties getting from the Lizzie off-load point to the start of the parade due to construction projects that closed some streets, but finally all made it to the formation area. After the usual pre-parade wait, we all started OK. But Mike Frank’s Lizzie soon broke down and Dennis Rootes, driving Larry Collin’s Lizzie, took him under tow until Dennis burned out his drive belt. So Art Paris picked up the tow and Dennis limped along to the end without the extra load.

But the most memorable event in the parade for the Lizziers was the breakdown of a Royal Chariot that got left behind by the other Chariots about ¼ of the way into the parade. This opportunity was not to be passed up by Treasurer John Edgmon who pulled his Lizzie up in front of the disabled Chariot, hooked up a tow strap and shifted his Lizzie transmission into low gear. It was an effort, but not too bad once they got moving. All in all it was highly successful and made a wonderful memory of a Tin Lizzie coming to the aid of a Royal Chariot.

After the parade, we all gathered at John and Judy Edgmon’s home for a good old-fashioned holiday hamburger and hot dog fry. Also attending the party were some guests who are considering future Shrine and Tin Lizzie membership. And if you are not currently a member of an El Bekal Shrine parade unit, you too should consider joining the Lizzies. For more information, come to one of our regular business meetings at the El Bekal Shrine Center on the second Monday of each month. Give a call to our Captain, Larry Griffin, at (714) 273-0220 for specifics. If he is busy recovering from his recent wedding, call our Lieutenant, Bill Walls, at (562) 594-6232.

Dale Edwards, April 1, 2011

The Tin Lizzie Western Dance and Steak Fry for 2011 was again a great event. We had such a large turnout that we had to set up two additional tables on the dance floor after it started in order to seat everyone. Even at that we had such an overflow on some of the reserved tables that Jerry Murphy and Bill Bergman’s groups had to eat in the Oasis Room. The Lizziers really appreciate the wonderful support that the members of El Bekal Shrine and their friends have given to us by attending our annual Western Dance and Steak Fry. And we were very pleased to see that old time Lizziers Frank Greer and Horace “Twiggy” Zimmerman were able to attend the event. It was good to see them out and about. It was a very successful fund raiser for the Tin Lizzies, and we’ll be able to make a nice contribution to El Bekal during our Pote’s Official Visit later this year.

One thing we will need to do next year, however, is to better control the number of tickets we sell so the place is not so crowded. We’ll work on that, but we also hate to turn people away. Plus, we’ll reconsider the use of the borrowed trailer mounted propane powered BBQ grille compared to our larger charcoal grills that have a bigger cooking surface to better keep up with the serving line. And we’ll not cut back so far on the salad preparations after we bought too much the previous year. Anyway, it was a great event and we thank you for your support.

Coming up, we look forward to having a good turnout and a problem free parade at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. This is a great local parade that all the new Lizziers should be able to attend. Hopefully, the recently repaired Lizzie Tow Truck will have the last of its issues resolved and will parade again for the second time this year.

As usual, we are staying very busy, and we hope you are too. Of course if you aren’t, you could join our busy little group. We have lots of fun entertaining the spectator children at parades every year as we drive our Lizzie cars down the streets. To learn more, just drop by one of our monthly meetings around 7 PM on the 2^nd Monday of the month at the Shrine Center, or give a call to our Captain, Larry Griffin, at (714) 273-0220. Or if he is busy out shining up his Lizzie, call our Lieutenant, Bill Walls, at (562) 594-6232 to get more specific information.

Dale Edwards, Feb. 1, 2011

Considering that he is a recent Past Master, our new Captain showed that he is still a little naїve when it comes to retaining his gavel during his first Tin Lizzie business meeting. Captain Larry Griffin proudly handed his gavel to the first Lizzier who asked to admire it, and the gavel quickly disappeared among the admiring smiles of the fourteen members in attendance. Of course no one admitted to having it. Much to his relief, his gavel was returned at the end of the meeting, hopefully to a much more seasoned executive.

Subsequently the main topic of this meeting was preparations for the up coming Tin Lizzie Western Dance and Steak Fry. That event is happening, as always, on the first Friday of March and the tickets are available and ready for sale by all of the active Lizziers. We have a couple of new Lizziers that have contacts in the food industry and they will be especially useful in ensuring that we serve great food. We will also have the same great Western band as in the past years, although they go by the name of Gary Meyers since Sammy Masters is no longer in the business. So the bottom line is that we expect to have another great Tin Lizzie party at the Shrine Center on March 4, 2011 and you are all urged to buy your tickets now.

Of course if you want to really get involved, you could join our happy little group. Besides putting on a great Western Dance and Steak Fry, we have fun entertaining the spectator children at lots of parades every year as we drive our Lizzie cars down the streets. To learn more, just drop by one of our monthly meetings around 7 PM on the 2^nd Monday of the month at the Shrine Center, or give a call to our new Captain, Larry Griffin, at (714) 273-0220. Or if he is busy trying to find his gavel again, call our new Lieutenant, Bill Walls at (562) 594-6232 to get more specific information.