Individuals who attended the 22nd Annual Louis Rothermel Houston Swap Meet included the following: Host Louis Rothermel, Co-Host Tom Oncken, Tom Ashe, Jerry Ball, Mark Betner, Alan Bischof, Carleton Callahan, Allan Carter, David Coffey, Jr., David Coffey, Sr., Tom Croasdale and Pat Nichols, Dave DeMoia, Weldon Eklund, Adam Finn, E. J. Fournet, John Graf, Lloyd Greer, George Gustafson, Bruce Henderson, Dan Jarvis, Di Johnson, Captain Gary Keeney, Stan Kremp, Dan and Wanda Kubecka, Dominick Leva, Bob Macaluso, Brenden Macaluso, Joe McCauley and Cornelia Kueffner, Harold McGuire, John McRae, Bruce Miller, Meatball Murray, Mike Oncken, John Platou, Chip Rathbun, Rich Reich, Clinton Russell, Howard and Annie Sandoz, Mark Schmidt, John Slator, Ed Slominski, Al Smith, Grant Taylor, and Vince and Cole Whelan. (We apologize if we overlooked anyone as most of these names were taken directly from the official sign-in sheet. Other names were retrieved from our failing memories. At last count, we had 49 individuals attend the meet at one time or another.
After some early bargaining and trading on Friday afternoon, John Slator, Adam Finn, Stan Kremp, Joe McCauley with his bride Cornelia Kueffner, and Di Johnson headed to the Jax Grille in Bellaire for burgers and more.
We had very nice weather, neither too hot, nor too cold, and things resumed on Saturday morning with Louis hosting coffee and donuts.
Louis opened up an unoccupied bay for us to display in, but compared to last year, there were considerably fewer motors to ponder. There was a lot of outside open space left over.
John Slator and Di Johnson set up early and were able to move some motors and accessories to new homes. Di Johnson sold three motors and brought his fine looking Mark 58-powered 1957 Feather Craft. On Friday, Joe McCauley helped Di get the bugs out of his plagued dead magneto resulting in a good solid spark. Yea!!
Vince and Cole Whelan brought a Dallas, Texas manufactured plywood-constructed “Continental” outboard runabout powered by a 1956 Evinrude Big Twin 30hp outboard. No sale, but a lot of looky-loos and at least one inquiry.
Joe McCauley brought his 10½’ shiny Feather Craft powered by an 18hp Johnson. It was a good thing that the sun was not shining too brightly also.
Other guys that brought stuff were David Coffey, Jr. and Dominick Leva. Dominick brought motors in a miniature trailer towed by a Smart Car. Actually, Dominick returned to his home in Austin on Friday night so he could bring additional motors on Saturday morning. Way to go, Dominick!!
Jerry Ball wowed everyone with his enthusiasm as a fired-up new member. He showed off his immaculately restored 1958 Johnson 18HP Sea Horse and a one-of-a-kind restored 1935 Minn-Kota electric trolling motor that he rescued for $5.00 from a scrap heap. Really cool!!!
Chip Rathbun had an exceptional display of older outboard motors. His nicely restored 1939 Evinrude Mate ½HP and 1938 Johnson MS-38 1.1HP were incredibly well done. Chip ran the MS-38 (affectionately referred to as a “sausage tank” motor) and it purred like a kitten. Great job Chip! Several members drooled as they passed Chip’s exhibit which also included a 1939 Elto Cub ½HP in its original shipping box.
Chip performed above and beyond the call of duty on Saturday when he assisted Stan Kremp in making his Johnson 18HP outboard run properly. Stan had to buy a “parts motor” from the Gibbs Marine offerings so he could appropriate some ignition parts from its magneto plate to resurrect his Johnson. When Chip was finished, he had that motor purring also, and Stan had a big grin as he carried it back to his vehicle.
Several motors took a turn in the run tank, including Di Johnson’s 1968 Merc 110 9.8hp which now runs, but needs new fuel lines – drat that ethanol!!!
There was a reunion of sorts at this Houston meet. Brenden Macaluso and Mike Oncken got together to talk of old times at some of Louis’ earliest meets. Check out the photo of Brenden and Mike trying to start a stubborn Mercury.
We wish to thank William Bowden of Bowden Marine and Gibbs Warley of Gibbs Marine for displaying a large batch of motors for sale at this year’s swap meet. Bowden Marine offered ten outboards, two Mercury gas tanks, and a set of cowlings for a Merc 500. All sold with exception of three outboards and the cowling set. Gibbs Marine offered sixteen outboards (a couple were bare bones parts motors), some parts catalogs and other literature, and a few extra props and prop nuts. The only things remaining were two TD-20 Johnsons and the box of extra props and nuts.
For lunch on Saturday, Louis and Tom Oncken organized the collection and hosting of a true Texas BBQ feast for $10 per person which included sliced brisket, savory sausage, beans, tater salad, and coleslaw. Cornelia Kueffner brought a delicious layered apple dessert which really classed-up the place. She also brought a cherry compote-type dessert on Friday that was also delicious. Great fare always tastes better outside. Oh… don’t we all love the aroma of BBQ and 2 cycle motor smoke in the afternoon?
After lunch, Texas Chapter President, Adam Finn, gave an update on finances, recent events and activities, and future events. We held an election of chapter officers voting in incumbents Adam Finn as President and Chip Rathbun as Secretary/Treasurer for a third term. Tom Oncken was voted in as the new Vice President and was then honored by Adam for his contributions to the chapter as the Newsletter guru. Adam also passed thanks around to Louis Rothermel and Tom Oncken for organizing this meet.
Adam acknowledged Morgan Ziller (not in attendance) for donating his 1956 10HP Evinrude for our raffle on Saturday. The lucky winner was Brenden Macaluso. We raised $155.00 for the motor which helps our chapter treasury. Thanks Morgan.
Things began to wind down earlier than normal on Saturday afternoon due to a much thinner crowd than in previous years. A handful of individuals stayed until closing at 6:00PM and shared stories and tales from the past.
Attendance on Sunday was also very light. Tom Oncken helped Jerry Ball rebuild a carburetor on a 1957 Johnson JW 3HP that he had purchased at last year’s meet. Before you ask, of course it ran perfectly. Joe McCauley worked on a Mercury Mark 20 and a 1957 Johnson JW 3HP that he had purchased the day before from the dealer displays. Louis Rothermel spent some time tinkering with his 1946 Mercury KD-4 6HP that he had purchased from the Bowden Marine offerings. Primarily, Louis removed mud dauber nests from behind the front cowling and spent some time degreasing the old motor. She looked pretty nice when he was through. A few other individuals came by and looked around, but had no motors they wanted to work on.
For lunch on Sunday, we finished off the leftover barbecue and fixings from Saturday’s feast. Add that to all of the stories that were shared over the weekend, Sunday became an appropriate end to a great gathering.
Well, that’s all for this year. Our 22st annual Houston swap meet was another success. We look forward to doing it again next year, if Louis and Tom are up to it.
Submitted by: Di Johnson
