MARKING ONE OFF MY BUCKET LIST – 2016 Tomahawk Nationals
By Tom Oncken
Many years ago, I had made a decision that upon my retirement, I was going to find the time and money necessary to participate in one of the premier outboard motor meets in the northern United States. Accordingly, I added the Tomahawk Nationals to my “bucket list”. Unfortunately, over the past ten years, my immediate family has suffered a run of poor luck, medically and in a lost business, which pretty much erased my hopes of ever traveling to Tomahawk and seeing its immense showing of boats, motors, and parts.
End of story, right? Well, . . . no. Apparently when I visited with our founder, Dave Reinhartsen, about his historic trip to the AOMCI 50th Anniversary Meet at Tomahawk last summer, I had mentioned my total disappointment that I could not attend, and told him that I had written off my dream of attending a Tomahawk meet. Subsequently, without my knowledge, Dave contacted Louis Rothermel of Houston, Texas and suggested that Louis contact the members of the Texas Chapter to see if anyone would be willing to contribute to the purchase of airline tickets, auto rental, and a hotel stay so that the Texas Chapter could send me to the 2016 Tomahawk Nationals.
Louis then enlisted the help of John Graf, who is also from Houston and has local ties to Tomahawk, WI. In early January 2016, these two gentlemen sent out letters to the entire Texas Chapter membership with the sole exception of my son, Mike. They did not want their plan to slip out to me, and I was absolutely oblivious to what was going on.
I went over to Louis’ shop one Saturday in late February to do some bead-blasting on the wheels from Mike’s Tee Nee trailer. Louis and John took me aside and told me what they had been up to, and that donations had been arriving daily in the mail. I was overwhelmed and at a complete loss for words. (For those of you who know me well, you are aware that I am never short on words . . . . until then.) What a wonderful thing for the Texas Chapter to do for me! John presented me with an itinerary that he had prepared for a week long trip with flight plans, car rental information, and an offer to stay at his summer home near Tomahawk. Needless to say, I was stunned.
On Friday, March 4th, Louis and John picked me up from my home and took me to the Monument Inn Restaurant located near the San Jacinto Monument, the battleground where Texas won its independence from Mexico. They bought me a fantastic seafood lunch fit for a king. As we completed the meal, Louis pulled out a check payable to me for the Tomahawk trip. The final total collected was $3,000! This is undoubtedly the most phenomenal thing that anyone has ever done for me. I could not believe that this was really happening.
The original plan was to cover the expenses for my wife and me to make the trip to Tomahawk; however, my wife is an accountant for Waste Management in downtown Houston, and she cannot take off from work during the first week of any month due to month-end closing of their books. As an alternative, I invited my son, Mike, who has been involved with AOMCI since he was nine years old. He managed to get approval to take off from work, so he agreed to accompany me on the trip. Having my son come on this trip was an additional perk. He and I used to see each other six days a week before we lost our business to a crooked landlord in 2011. Now our visits occur during birthdays, holidays, or when my wife and I take care of the grandkids. Needless to say, the upcoming vacation was an opportunity to bond again.
At that point, it was nearly five months until our trip to Tomahawk. It seemed like an eternity to wait; however, the time flew by ever so quickly. John Graf had researched United Airlines flights to and from Wisconsin, a rental car from The Autohaus in Tomahawk, and a one-night stay at the Quality Inn near Central Wisconsin Airport since the return flight was leaving at 5:05 AM. All I had to do was purchase tickets and make the reservations. Lodging was otherwise covered by John as he provided two bedrooms for me and Mike for the seven nights we spent in his home near Tomahawk.
John picked us up at Central Wisconsin Airport on Saturday afternoon, July 30th, and took us to his home to drop off our luggage. Upon arrival, we noticed a mini-van with The Autohaus license plates sitting in John’s driveway. John had already arranged to have the rental vehicle delivered to his house. Mike then drove the three of us around Tomahawk so he and I could familiarize ourselves with the area. As we drove by Sara Park to scout out the meet site, I was amazed to see that there was already one pickup truck there with a load of outboards. My anticipation of the meet began growing. That afternoon, we attended the Kwahamot Water Ski Show in Tomahawk. The Kwahamot Water Ski Club has been doing annual shows since 1960. It was a great show put on by Tomahawk locals for the benefit of the Shiners Hospitals for Children.
On Sunday, after John served a gourmet breakfast, we took a trip northward to Minocqua, Wisconsin to check out an antique and classic boat show that was being held at The Boathouse. We perused the vintage boats on the grounds and at the docks and then decided to have lunch at the restaurant. I noticed several old outboards inside including a Flambeau, a Johnson A-25, a Champion Blue Ribbon, a mid-fifties Johnson, and a 1958 Evinrude Fisherman. We left The Boathouse and spent a little time visiting other local boat builder legends and learning more about the lay of the land. Later in the afternoon, we visited Sara Park once again to check out additional members who had arrived. The meet was still not scheduled to begin for another two days, but attendance was growing, as was my anticipation.
We drove to St. Germain, Wisconsin on Monday to check out the massive flea market sponsored by St. Germain Firefighters Association. It took quite a while to walk through and see all of the vendors. I noticed several outboard motors for sale including some Mercury green top outboards, various Evinrudes (among them a rowboat motor and a nice 1930s Fisherman), and a Flambeau. All of them were overpriced with the cheapest one being a Mercury priced at a little over $500 and other motors priced up to $1,500, if not higher in some cases. Another quick trip by Sara Park that afternoon revealed that more people were arriving hourly and attendance was beginning to expand exponentially. John’s guest list grew on Monday afternoon with the arrival of Rob Ebbing and Todd Young from Illinois. The more, the merrier at the Graf Hotel.
Although Tuesday is not an official day of the Tomahawk Nationals meet, we spent most of our time there as vehicle after vehicle came in loaded with motors, boats, and parts. We could not take a chance that some good deals might pass us by. For the most part, we lived at Sara Park for the remaining days. While John set up a tent and sold some Tomahawk Boat t-shirts, Mike and I walked the park . . . and walked . . . and walked some more. Sara Park is enormous! We met several Executive Council members including George Emmanuel, Fred Truntz, and Richard Paquette. Mark Lodge was apparently there, but we never ran into him. We also met a great number of AOMCI legends, too numerous to list here. Sadly, I am sure that we missed almost as many as we met.
Tuesday night, John Graf hosted a truly fabulous meal at his home. John and Cindy Slator, and Gene and Nellie Gruender from Missouri accompanied John, Rob, Todd, Mike, and me for a remarkable evening of good food, drink, and conversation. The meal included some Grade-A steaks grilled to perfection, with roasted corn on the cob and salads that included vegetables from John’s garden. (Several other items were included, but I cannot remember specifics as we had homemade dinners most nights while we stayed at the Graf residence and I am sure I could easily confuse one day’s menu for another.) Take it from me: the meal was perfect as was the company at the table. To quote an old saying, “A good time was had by all”. Thanks, John.
Wednesday was the official first day of the meet, and after registering in the arena, Mike and I took a stroll down to the main launch ramp to check out the boats. As the Indian Special Interest Group Leader, imagine my joy at getting an opportunity to ride with Bill Andrulitis in his Indian powered aluminum boat. During our participation in the four day event, I also got to witness Brook Newcomb running his Indian on a little hydro. I can now say that I have seen and heard an Indian outboard motor run. I have always speculated that the Indian outboards were very noisy with their exhaust cutout opened, and that was confirmed when I rode with Bill as we could not hear each other speak while riding in his boat. We could hear one another once the exhaust cutout was closed, but the horsepower dropped immediately. I offer my personal thanks to Bill and Brook as they helped fine tune my knowledge on these rare old outboards. Now, I need to get mine running and on the water to further my Indian experience. Wish me luck.
As a first time Tomahawk visitor, the sights and sounds at this meet were astonishing. There were literally tons of outboard motors on display, parts for sale, decals for sale, literature for sale, boats for sale, and even some toy outboards for sale and on display. Race boats were roaring up and down the lake throughout the meet and even some old iron was being run. Bill Andrulitis ran a Waterman Porto. I had only seen a Waterman in photos and it is even more amazing to see one run in person. Several varieties of rowboat motors also were run, making the number of old motors run on the waterways absolutely amazing.
You may think that I am exaggerating, but the most outstanding part of this meet for me was speaking to the members who attended. For years, I have visited with members over the telephone, by letter, or through email correspondence. In most cases, the only opportunity to see any of these people has been through photos in The Antique Outboarder. I was finally able to put many names, faces, and voices together. I returned to John’s home each afternoon with a hoarse voice from talking so much. (What? Me talk a lot? Heaven forbid!) Camaraderie is what this organization has always been about, and I got to enjoy it first hand.
Saturday night’s banquet was a blast! Not only was the food very good, but the door prizes were something special. Mike and I were sitting at a table with John Graf and Gene Winter of Wisconsin. Suddenly, a special door prize was shown. It was a frilly little “Divas Snow Gear” sequined t-shirt. I looked at Gene as they showed that shirt and I told Gene that he really needed that t-shirt. I said something like, “Gene, this shirt is definitely you. Get ready, my friend, to go get your new shirt”. Immediately after I made those comments, Gene’s name was called. While Gene was trying to recover from the shock, we all were laughing so hard that we had tears in our eyes. Mike made Gene pose for a photo with his new shirt.
As the door prizes continued, John received some maple syrup and Mike received some coffee mugs. Then it happened again. Another frilly little pink “Divas” shirt was held up. I told Gene that I had a horrible feeling that I was about to get a shirt to match his. You guessed it. They announced that the shirt was going to a fellow from Texas, and I was the only Texan left in the room. I had to go get my frilly little shirt while Gene laughed himself silly. Of course, Mike had to take my photo as well. By the way, my wife likes her new t-shirt. Where’s yours, Gene?
I am sad to say that the banquet was soon over, as was the Tomahawk meet. Immediately following the banquet, John rushed us out to the Quality Inn next to the Central Wisconsin Airport so we could get up at 3:30 AM to catch the flight back home. In a flash, it was all over. The week seemed like only a day or two. Then reality set back in as we had to return home to the Houston area where heat advisories and 100+ degree daily temperatures greeted us.
In closing, I wish to thank all of the Texas Chapter members who contributed so that I could take this trip. You have made an old member very happy, and I will never be able to repay the kindness that you have shown. My thanks also to the Dalle Ave clan, the Northwoods Chapter, and all members in attendance for making me and my son feel right at home. I offer thanks to Dave Reinhartsen for starting this adventure and Louis Rothermel for helping to pull it off. A very special thanks also goes to John Graf. My son and I invaded his home for a week, and he treated us to some special gourmet meals and excellent lodging. We could not have done better if we had stayed in a first class hotel. Hopefully, the Texas Chapter has started something. I would encourage other chapters to look around at their memberships and see if they could do something special like this for one of their less fortunate members. As for me, I have successfully marked the Tomahawk Nationals meet off of my “bucket list”. It is an experience that I will not soon forget.
[Aerial photos were taken by Rob Ebbing using a drone. A few other photos are from Emma and Jack Craib’s blog used with their express permission. I offer thanks to Rob, Emma, and Jack. The photos really complete the article. Tom]
Please follow this link below to take you to the photo gallery to view all of the pictures from Tom and Mike Oncken’s trip: http://www.texaschapteraomci.com/gallery/tomahawk-wisconsin-2016-national-meet/