month to talk about issues, plan tours and commit to local shows, parades or other events. The group also has a monthly tour or get together. They caravan to local places, eat and just have fun. Events are familyoriented.
Three things become clear very early in the process of getting to know the Club. One— this is not just an“ old boy’ s” club. Women are very involved and very much a part of the auto club mystique. Two— every car has a story and the owners are more than willing to share those stories. And, three— they really do have fun. A good start on this road is the collection of Ford products at Russ and Marilyn Carr’ s place in San Martin. The back entrance to their property is a garage across the lane from a horse farm. The garage is well-equipped with a lift, tools and plenty of nostalgia. Three Continentals and a T-Bird make up the current collection. The’ 75 Continental was part of a lot sale in Lodi. The man who purchased the lot was interested in the farm equipment and was happy to get rid of the Continental. Russ notes that the T-Bird is not his … ergo the license“ HER63TB.”
Russ connects his love of cars with his dad who took the young Russ to car shows. His dad on his honeymoon even stopped in Reno and purchased a Harold’ s Car Club placard, which now has a place of honor in the Carr garage. Russ is retired from Silicon Valley but has a deep connection to his father and grandfather’ s spirit in the tools and hand-made rigs they passed down to him. Russ eagerly demonstrates these fine old pieces.
In his spare time Russ is president of the
Valle Del Sur club and heads up the car run component of the Freedom Fest Parade on the 4th of July.
Hank Miller’ s home was not hard to find. Driving down a tidy street in a new development in Morgan Hill, the beautiful blue and white‘ 56 Corvette was easy to spot. Back then, only 3,000 Vettes were made and only 300 in this color combination. Hank had an almost identical one as a younger man. He sold it to continue his education. In 2013 he saw this one in almost perfect condition. Now it is his. He has since garnered trophies for this beauty. Hank’ s garage is not full of lifts and tools. It is just a suburban garage. Hank’ s car story harkens back to a younger, less complicated time. While his handyman skills are evident in his well-equipped wood shop, he is happy to let others work on
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JULY / AUGUST 2015 gmhtoday. com
91