Host Louis Rothermel, Co-Host Tom Oncken, John Slator, George Gustafson, John Platou, Tom Ashe, John Graf, Al Smith, EJ Fournet, Ray and Dot Watson, Tom Brandon, Mark Betner, Dave DeMoia, Brenden Macaluso, Lance Brannen, Gary Lee, Don Smith, Ted LaBree, Joe McCauley & Cornelia Kuffner, Stan and Donna Kremp, Rich Reich, Frank Simon, Sammy Guillot, Leonard Sturm, Di Johnson, Allan Carter, David Coffey Jr, Tim Dugan, Weldon Eklund, Captain Gary Keeney, Dan and Wanda Kubecka, Bruce Miller, Clinton Russell, Dave Samstag, Alan Morris, Jerry Morris, Drew Crispin, Jerry Ball, Richard Kairis, Jim and Nancy Goldman, Bob Macaluso, Nancy and Jim Goldman, and Gilbert Hoffman.
Any photo you want to see enlarged, just double click on it!!
After some early bargaining and trading on Friday afternoon, John Slator, George Gustafson and Di Johnson headed to the Jax Grille in Bellaire for burgers and more.
We had significantly cooler weather in the low 50s, and things got off to a good start on Saturday morning with Louis hosting coffee and donuts. The popularity of this event has spread and we handed out some applications to prospective members.
New attendees Gary Lee and Don Smith brought Don’s heaping truckload of unusual small motors and accessories. A really neat project motor was the Goodyear Sea-Bee with its original Sea-Bee motor stand. Among the bevy of Don’s classic motors, I saw an air-cooled Bendix, an Evinrude rowboat motor, a Lausen, a Scott Atwater, a Sea King, a really nice Flambeau, a Chris Craft Challenger, a Martin 60, an ELTO Speedster, a Caille Motorgo rowboat motor, and an electric troller I forgot the name of. Compared to past year, there were considerably more motors to ponder.
John Slator and Dave Samstag set up early and were able to move some motors and accessories to new homes. John Graf brought his amazing show trailer of classic Mercurys – always jaw-dropping to the crowd. Di Johnson sold a couple motors and brought his Glen-L 8’ Hydro and is still looking for a new owner for that rig.
Louis had the heater on in his shop and it seemed too cool outside to tempt anyone to his run tank, so it sat silent all afternoon.
For lunch on Saturday, Louis and Tom Oncken organized the collection and hosting of a true TX BBQ feast for only a paltry $5 per which included sliced brisket, savory sausage, beans, tater salad, and coleslaw. Cornelia Kuffner brought a special dessert which really classed-up the place. 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 VP Di Johnson gave an update on finances, recent events and activities and planned events. Di passed thanks around to Louis Rothermel and Tom Oncken for organizing this meet. Tom Oncken was also thanked for his excellent work publishing the chapter newsletter this year. Di then recognized Joe McCauley for writing articles in the Antique Outboarder and the club leadership presented Joe with a vintage APBA racing plaque repurposed with an engraved plate honoring Joe’s prolific writing.
Things began to wind down earlier on Saturday afternoon due to it being a lot colder than in previous years. The threat of rain held off until the last possible minute. It began sprinkling as Louis locked up for the night.
On Sunday, the weather actually warmed up into the mid-sixties; however, rain fell the entire day. Fortunately for us, Sundays at this meet are work-in-the-shop days and the weather did not affect the restoration work that was going on. It was dry inside the shop and the heater had been working flawlessly over the entire weekend.
Louis Rothermel spent a good part of his day disassembling a Johnson Model 300 that he acquired during the meet. Tom Oncken performed minor surgery on a Lockwood Ace by removing a ton of mud-dauber nests from under its flywheel. Its Eisemann coil was in remarkably good condition. Brenden Macaluso made a brief visit to hear about the successes of Saturday’s gathering. Richard Kairis made final arrangements to purchase a modern Yamaha outboard that Gilbert Hoffman had been trying to sell at the meet for the past two years. Gilbert left with a big smile on his face. John Graf continued some work on some of his Mercury outboards and kept the bead-blaster humming. Joe McCauley worked on several of his smaller outboard motors. Captain Gary Keeney made a visit to supervise and offer his insights on outboard repair. Nancy and Jim Goldman stopped by to see members working on their motors. Nancy has a keen interest in boats and motors and wanted to see how we do it. She has a Nissan outboard that needs carburetor work and she had an opportunity to visit with some of us who have rebuilt carburetors before.
For lunch on Sunday, we attacked 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.
We wish to thank Doyle Rice of Kelly’s Outboards in Houston for donating a large batch of motors and parts to this year’s swap meet. Doyle has been fighting cancer and was scheduled for surgery later in the year. Although he donated the parts, we placed a donation jar next to the parts tables for individuals to toss in some funds for the parts and/or motors that were taken home. After the meet, Doyle came by Tom Oncken’s house and received the $448 that had been collected in the donation jar. Doyle had already received $300 for a 3HP Johnson outboard before the meet began and expressed his gratitude for the generosity of our members. The funds will be used to offset some of his medical expenses. Our prayers and wishes go out to Doyle as we hope to see him in attendance at next year’s swap meet.
Well, that’s all for this year. Our 21st Houston Swap meet was a great success in spite of threatening weather throughout the weekend. We look forward to doing it again next year. Hopefully, it will be dry and warm.
This article co-written by Di Johnson and Tom Oncken.