Gateway Getaways News
FMCA Chapter Since 1996 October/November 2013
A Word from the Prez
I want to once again thank everyone who volunteered at Six State. We receivedpraise from the Captains of all our areas of responsibility. You guys were awesome.
The 2013 season is fast coming to a close, but we still have some fun things on the schedule! In October we have the Springfield Rally, November we have the Fox Tour, and in December we have the Christmas Party. All of these events are on the web site. Speaking of the web site,Les Price is our new webmaster. Les takes Bill Maack's place, and I want to thank Bill for all his long hours and hard work setting up our present web site and maintaining it. Job well done, Bill!
I want to welcome our 2013 new members to the Club. They are Roger and Mary Chantal, Norman and Emily Duncan, Les and Judy Price, Ron and Joan Scott, Leland and Bonita Van Meter, and our newest members, Harold and Sandra Kohrs. The Chantal's, Price's and Van Meter's volunteered at Six State and had a great timeas did we all.
Safe travels.
--Doug Jacobs, President
GGers Working and Playing at the 6-State Rally in Sedalia
See full reports and more pictures of the August & September Rallies beginning on Page 3.
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Join Us for a Tour of the Fabulous Fox Theatre!
Don’t forget to register by November 1 for the Gateway Getaways tour of the historic Fox Theatre in St. Louis scheduled for Saturday, November 16. Our 11 a.m. tour is expected to last about 90 minutes during which time you will see the Fox as you have never seen it before.
The theatre is located at the corner of Grand Boulevard and Washington.
From the East (Illinois) Take I-64 (heading west) across cross the Mississippi River at the Poplar Street Bridge. Continue west on I-64 to the Forest Park Parkway exit. You will immediately exit the Parkway to the right at Grand. Turn right ontoGrand, take itto Washington Avenue, and make a left. Parking lots are on your right.
From the West - Take I-64 (Hwy 40) to the Grand Boulevard exit and proceed north (right) on Grand. Take Grand to Washington Avenue and make a left. Parking lots are on your right.
. Please check with the parking attendant at the Washington Avenue parking lot, located right next to the theater, to be directed to the appropriate parking spaces. All tours should enter the theatre through the front brass doors on Grand Avenue. Tours will exit the building through the doors on the north (Washington Avenue) side of the building which will allow easy access to the parking areas. After the tour, plan to stay downtown for lunch next door to the theater at the City Diner.
Hosts John Biller and Penny Bird are handling all arrangements for our visit to the Fox. Send your check for $8.00 per person to John at 12873 Nimes Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141.
From the Wagon Master…..by Mark Boka
Just a reminder that the 2014 Calendar is taking shape and has been posted on the Gateway Getaways website at https://sites.google.com/site/gatewaygetaways/2014-rally-schedule .
Editors Corner….by Joan Craw
This edition of the Gateway Getaways News is late again. It has been my goal to finish the newsletter and send it on for posting to the website and delivery to your email inboxes before the middle of the month. Sometimes folks are late getting material to me for inclusion in the newsletter, but that was certainly not the case this time! Everyone was very prompt in answering my reminder email asking for all submissions to be forwarded to me by the September 30th deadline.
Coincidentally, Sept 30th was the day I had outpatient back surgery at Barnes Jewish West County Hospital. I was sure I would be able to work on the newsletter while recovering from the simple procedure to correct problems I had been having with my back for several months. What I didn’t count on was how sleepy pain medications can make you. I also didn’t count on how much time I would be spending thinking about watching and attending Cardinals Post Season Baseball!
What this situation points up once again is my need for additional assistance preparing the Gateway Getaways News for publication. I’m especially looking for someone who could step in to put together an edition when health or other issues make it difficult for me to get the newsletter out on time.
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Rally Reports ...by Mary Boka
AUGUST RALLY: Ozark RV Park Campground, Mountain View, AR (August 14-18) Old – Time Traditions! That is what you might call Mountain View, AR. If you like to lay back, relax and be entertained, this is the place to go. Our rally started with a lot of mystery and surprises. We had no idea what was for breakfast every morning. We found out that our hosts had no idea either until they got there 2 days early. We had biscuits gravy, fried donuts, eggs & stuff (omelet) in a bag that was cooked in boiling water, and pancakes & sausage. Something different every morning, and it was all sooo good. It was easier for Silent Bill D. to make the coffee every morning after Jim Chiste fixed another of our GG coffee pots.
A gift was presented to Keith Jerome for all he did as our president: a book just for truckers and bus drivers to map out the route to take. Also, we heard how many instruments he has and doesn’t play any of them, so he was given an orange guitar. Now you say orange? That is better to hit the flies with. You see it was an orange guitar fly swatter. This one he doesn’t have to practice. Thanks again for all you and Anne did to keep this club a fun club. The Jeromes also won the cleanest coach contest.
On Thursday we were invited to the office front porch for a pickin’ & jammin’ session. It was fun to be up close to the players and watch their fingers a movin’. (Continued on Page 4)
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Each musician took a turn figuring out what tune they would play. That session lasted almost 3 hours, and then the group went to the town square and played some more.
We also spent time at the Ozark Folk center watching craftsmen make things the old way. It was fun to talk to each of the craft people and hear their stories of how things were done years ago. It made you appreciate the process involved in producing the finished products. At the Dulcimer Shoppe we gained an added appreciation of how the instruments are made and we listened to the beautiful sounds they make. Carol Gerstein loved it so much that she bought one. Now we can expect Carol G. and Doris Chiste to entertain us at the October rally, since the last time Jim visited the area, he got all the stuff needed to make a dulcimer for Doris. The Saturday night show at the Folk Center Theater was an opportunity for area preteens and teens to show off their talent. They didn’t let us down. Each group that sang and played (some multiple instruments) was unbelievable. Thank goodness for the elders and schools who are passing down traditional folk music .
Judy & Les Price walked into town to see over 3000 motor cycles in for a rally. Since Mountain View is located in a dry county, it was a pretty calm group. Cycles were parked around the square 3-4 rows deep and in alleys, parking lots, and any place they could figure where to park. There were motorcycle games on Saturday morning. One of them involved seeing how slow you could go trying not to beat your opponent to the finish line. Another had your passenger trying to take a bite out of a hot dog covered in mustard as the cycle was driven under the hanging hot dog. That turned out to be very messy, but a lot of good old fashioned fun.
Our fearless leader obtained a special card that allowed her friends to drink adult beverages at one dry county restaurant. That was so nice of Guen to do that!
During some of our happy hours Carol G monogrammed our lawn chairs. Thanks, Carol, they turned out great. It was great to see Bob & Carolyn Distler & David & Maryann Schmidt. Both gals have been bothered with foot problems. Finally, as we were hitching up, Lonnie brought his copilot over for her to watch how it was done. Again, she didn’t speak a word and really didn’t even look interested in doing it. The two of them have to learn better communication skills.
Everyone took different routes home;. some by mistake and some hoping to find a straight road in Arkansas. The nice part is the scenery is beautiful everywhere, if you are the copilot.
A Big GG thank you to Keith & Anne Jerome and Bill & Guen Douglas for planning this fun rally.
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Gateway Getaways Row at the Missouri State Fair Campground in Sedalia for 6-State FMCA Rally
SIX-STATE RALLY: Missouri State Fair Grounds, Sedalia, MO (September 11-14) Those who didn’t come to this Six-State rally missed a great one. The entertainment was outstanding and it was a great place to be. Just like any rally it takes time to get oriented. But once you did, you had it made. Many people that I drove in my golf cart from other states loved the layout.
Did we work? Yes we did, but we had a fantastic time doing it. You knew the GG’s were there. You’d go to registration & you had Lonny Price or Earl & Jean Brigman or Marvin & Mary Emas or Anne Jerome there with a smile & made everyone feel welcomed. Sometimes Chiquita would be there also. You would go to seminars & Kay Watts would be there guiding people to the right class.
The Volunteer Dinner was very good. It is amazing to see how many volunteers it takes to pull off a rally like this.
Ted Watts brought his cart over, piled the quilts in, and carried them over to the hall. We turned in 25 quilts. Thank you gals for a good job; we won’t tell them how much fun we have doing that.
In the morning at breakfast you had Leland & Bonita Van Meter greeting you & handing out newsletters. Now Leland, don’t you tell me that the hat doesn’t make the man. The food servers worked alongside the Rally Cadre and Officers, including our National President, making sure we had enough to eat. We also gave a big tip to Earl Brigmann for the table service he gave us. Do you think 4 pennies was too much?(Continued on Page 6)
Clever machine mass produces yummy pancakes John & Mary celebrated their 49th anniversary at 6-state
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Looking none the worse for wear, hardworking GG’ers relax over dinner at LeMaire’s Seafood Restaurant
Lucky Judy Price won a beautiful quilt. Their FMAC number was posted on the board. By the way did anyone see or feel the Pixie dust at some of the happy hours?
The golf carts and trams workers had their own fun. It seemed every time I would be driving a cart I would pass John Townsend up. He would try to make it go faster with his left leg pumping on the left but we would pass him up. Jan T. always had a smile on her face as she drove by. In the beginning we would have big waves as we would pass each other but by the last day you were lucky to get even a small one. We were getting very concerned about Les Price, because at the slow times he felt he was a stalker. He would drive slowly down the lane looking between coaches to see if anyone wanted a ride. At a very slow time Vickie Long and I hopped in his cart. When he stopped, we jumped out and did the Mexican shuffle around his cart. He was so embarrassed! That was so much fun that we did it to Earlene Bonin. She knew how crazy we can be.
The tram people had their own issues. You would see Guen & Bill Douglas going by & Bill would be smiling but Guen gave half smiles. I found out later that after she got a pillow to sit on the smiles came back. It was a very bumpy ride. When Bill & Judy Keith got the afternoon schedule to drive it was very boring because the seminars were over for the day and most people were back at their coaches. Others experienced that as well, so they stopped that drive time.
We had a very special guest at our table at the red hat luncheon. Chiquita was our quest and she knew she was on a slippery path. She did let us know that she really enjoyed being with us because her partner didn’t let her talk as long as she was in the copilot seat or driver’s seat. She looked great in her red hat but didn’t eat a thing because she was worried about her curvy figure. We did get many questions about our special guest.
Roger & Mary bought a new Bounder RV. It is beautiful and we can’t wait for them to come to a rally to have show and tell. Many happy and safe miles of driving to you!
Judy Price drove her coach coming over to the rally. She had a big smile while Les was still holding on to his steering wheel. Just kidding; he said she did a beautiful job.
It was the first time that our GG flag and poles were put on display. They look spectacular and they do show off where we are. Thank you to Earl Keen & Linda Boka for pulling this off. (Continued on Page 7)
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