Why is it that when you want to put a car show together and someone says “let’s have a theme” they always pick the 50s? I am getting a small inkling of why.
It’s because of guys like these in the above picture. The “Igniters”. A Red Deer Car Club which was started in 1955 and was one of the first to be recognized in Western Canada as an official club. It was made up of young guys like “Fudd”, “George”, “Freddy”, “Soapy”, and then the second generation of guys like “Gary”, “Laurie” and “Wayne” to name a few. You see I know why these guys are special. They just didn’t have a love for street cars, they were masters at what they did. You see, I am getting to understand that first they had to find a car, that special 32 Coupe. They had to find a way to get it home, then the dream began. You see these young guys of the 50s didn’t have a lot of money or good credit, and they knew how to share and work together. They shared car parts, tools, and they shared knowledge. They had to become exceptional mechanics, welders and craftsmen that knew how to tubb out a car so the big fat tires would fit, they were artists when they applied the paint and pin striping to their rods, they were inventors, but mostly they were a tight crew that worked together for a common love of cars.
These guys are special and they have not changed. Yeah sure, they are older, maybe a little rounder and a little grey but they still share the knowledge and the stories of each of their accomplishments, and they still have that special car that they love to talk about and show to everyone – that is why Show & Shines are so popular today. When I spoke with George Mackie, one of the founders of the Igniters, he was more than willing to give me a photo album of pictures (hence the sharing). He entrusted me with a treasure, an album full of memories and dreams. From the beginning of the album I could see what these guys were about. The first pages of the album are car club member cards and they say “you were assisted by” – and then the car club name. George has loads of these car club cards from all over. My favourite one says “Free Ticket – It’s not good for anything it’s just Free”. Then the pictures begin. The page that caught my eye was not necessarily the picture, it was what was written on the page by George. “The start of my 32 coupe rescued from a wrecking lot by Doug Hall and me. Doug hauled it home for me in Constable’s truck. Then the dream began – rebuilding the 32 coupe into a classic rod.”
I am the little baby sister to Gary Anderson, the last president of the Igniter Car Club that existed until 1964. I wasn’t even born yet when the Igniters started in 1955 (they started one year early), but even as a little squirt I was surrounded by these car club guys. I remember being taken to Hannigan’s, a local Red Deer hamburger joint that the club guys would meet at. My brother would always take me there, especially on St. Patrick’s Day, to have a green ice cream. Gary loved to take me for a ride. With the rumbling on the car and a little speed, my eyes would go wide and he would laugh. He also taught me car etiquette – no sticky fingers, don’t lean on or even think of sitting on the car, no touching, no breathing, but you are welcome when asked to go for a ride. Girls are always welcome to go for a ride. I have heard many stories from these guys and one in particular sticks in my mind. Laurie Johnson has that magic touch with a car but the one I liked most was that he hooked up his record player in one of his cars that played 45s. It worked well as long as you didn’t hit any big bumps. You see these guys were the beginning of the MP3 player, and the ideas of tricking out your ride. I also heard that Laurie would drill a small hole in the tail light of his car and place a small blue light so that when they were turned on it would have a purple glow, yet again these guys started the thought of ground effects.
The reason why I am in amazement of these Igniters is that they were the first and nowadays a lot of people want great rides but it just boils down to how much money or good credit you have. Yes, my husband, Milton, and I own a hemi but it was purchased. There was no blood, sweat or tears to have this car – it was just good credit. If we want to make it go faster we just have to buy a computer chip. It’s not being inventive or creative, it’s just buying….so when you go to our Show & Shine look for the Igniters’ licence plate – chat with these guys and then look for that special 2011 guy who has taken years to build his street rod – we have those guys in Innisfail – they spend years planning and building these special cars and all they want to do is share their pride and joy.
I want to send a special thank you to these Igniters for supporting our Innisfail Weekend of Wheels – I love you all.
