YOU ARE HERE: FRONT PAGE > EVENTS > PREVIOUS EVENTS > CAT SCRATCH FEVER 2002


THIS ARTICLE IS REPRINTED WITH THE PUBLISHER'S PERMISSION FROM THE AUGUST, 2002 ISSUE OF THE COUGAR PAGES MAGAZINE

By Becci Tomlyn-Litten
TCP Event Correspondent

The Cougar Nationals West officially kicked off on Friday July 19, and ran through July 21 in Cypress, California. However, the unofficial show actually started Thursday with the arrival of members from the Cascade C/C. Participants continued to arrive as late as noon on show day, Saturday July 20.

Los Angeles traffic, always something to be contend with, delayed the arrival of many show participants by an hour or more on Friday afternoon. Those who braved the traffic were treated to a free buffet Welcome Dinner and raffle prizes.


Several participants mingled after dinner Friday in the hotel lobby and outside in the parking lot, sharing Cougar related stories and admiring the cornucopia of Cougars. Speaking of stories, the “Hard Luck” trophy was awarded to Darrel and Judy Seibel who threw a push rod on their trip from Northern California. At 10:30 Friday evening, Dan Gire (Arizona C/C) and Jeff Bingaman (Cascade C/C) were still adding trim rings, windshield washer hoses, and other items on the beautiful black ’68 GT Dan has been restoring one piece at a time over the last eight years. Several other Cougar enthusiasts also joined in offering advice or yet another hand.

Show morning Cascade C/C members Jeff Bingaman (left) and Neal Jacobson (far right) give their Cats a little last minute grooming, as other participants line up to enter the show site.

Show day started off cloudy, but the sun started to peek out around noon. As usual, participants were up early doing last minute detailing before officially checking into the show area just across the street from the Cypress Marriott hotel. Many entrants were happy to have mild temperatures and some shade available for show day. The Southern California Cougar Club's past two Nationals hosting experiences paid off dividends in making sure there was something for everyone to enjoy this year. Vendors selling parts, crafts, and food were available throughout the day.

On hand to prevent parking from turning into a Cougar demolition derby, Southern California Cougar Club President, Mike Brown, directs traffic show morning.

Cougar fanatics had eight rows of nothing but classic Cats to inspect and enjoy. Since not all of our kids, spouses, and significant others are car enthusiasts, there were other options including the hotel swimming pool and air conditioning just across from the show. A local mall was also close by for the shopping spouse to escape from all the Cougar nuts.

Contributors to this year's show included Classic Auto Air, Disneyland, Ford Motor Company, and Meguiar's, to name just a few. Items from these sponsors were raffled off throughout the day. Other items provided by the SoCal Cougar Club, including a Sony color TV and a Craftsman tool set, were also given as raffle prizes. The most anticipated raffle prize, of course, was Tiffany, the 1967 Cougar restored by members of the SoCal C/C. The drawing for Tiffany took place at approximately 3:45 on Saturday afternoon. The lucky winner was TCCN subscriber, Don Jaeger. Don was on hand to claim the prize many classic Cougar enthusiasts from the east coast to the west coast had hoped to win. Don said, “My daughter will be quite surprised to see another Cougar parked in the driveway when she gets home.”


Lucky raffle winner, Don Jaeger (left), accepts the keys to Tiffany from Southern California Cougar Club President, Mike Brown.

The final show count totaled 120 Cougars. Of that number, 110 were classic Cats. The entrants covered the spectrum from display-only cars to daily drivers, and all were terrific in one way or another. Approximately fifty-five cars were entered for formal judging, so the volunteer judges had their work cut out for them. The most difficult part of the show for this reporter was filling out my ballot for People's Choice and Best of Show. I don't think I was the only one with this problem, as all years of Cats were included in the People's Choice categories for daily drivers and modified Cougars. All cars were parked according to year and, thus, the People's Choice entries were intermixed with cars being formally judged. Each row had several Cougars which were easily contenders for an award if the judging had taken place by specific year alone, therefore picking out only three winners was a difficult task.

The great number of entrants in the People's Choice classes made voting a tough job.

Cascade Cougar Club members Dave Nashif, Jeff Bingaman, Neal Jacobson, Dennis Welch, and Jim Compton, made the trek to the Nationals West from Washington State. John Swanson, Dennis Pierachini, Ernie Cardoza, Lee Schenck, and Steve Eitzen represented the Stray Cats from northern California. The Arizona C/C members present included Dan Gire, Gary Bynum, Fred Hanks, and Jon Morris. The Northern California C/C was represented by Darrel and Judy Seibel, and by Ernie Cardoza, who is a member of both northern California clubs. Other clubs with members in attendence include the Cougar Club of San Diego, Cougar Club of New Mexico, the Sierra Nevada C/C, and the Over the Hill Gang. TCCN subscribers also made a large showing at this year's Nationals West, with more than thirty subscribers on hand.

The Cats in this trio of aqua '69s were all winners. From left to right, they belong to Becci Tomlyn-Litten (San Diego & SoCal Cougar Clubs), Ernie Cardoza (NorCal & Stray Cats Cougar Clubs) and Steve Eitzen (Stray Cats Cougar Club).

The long distance award went to Terry and Peggy Henderson, who trailered their triple black ‘70 convertible in from Independence, Missouri. Other long distance travelers who showed up without their Cougars included Phil Parcells, who flew in from New York and Richard Klepach, a long time enthusiast from Massachusetts. Walking down the rows of Cougars, trying to decide on my People's Choice selections, I was pleased to see how much everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Several times I heard people talking about putting names with faces after having corresponded via e-mail or telephone about some technical issue or searching for that ever elusive part. As with the Nationals East show, there were lots of folks visiting and saying hello to long distance friends only seen at National shows year after year.

San Diego Cougar Club member and TCCN subscriber, Tim Brandsoy, went home with first place gold in the 1969/70 XR-7 convertible class with his CJ428 rag top.

Judging started promptly at 10:00 a.m., with Head Judge, Rich Ladd, in charge. The volunteer judging crew deserves a big "thank you" for giving up their time at the show to make the event more enjoyable for everyone else. That old saying about how time flies when you're having fun was certainly true at the Nats West. By the time of the drawing for Tiffany I had several different people tell me how quickly the day had passed and how they still hadn't seen all there was to see and visited with everyone they planned to meet at the show.

Rich Ladd and his army of volunteer judges prepare for action on the morning of the show.

The Awards Banquet began at 7:00 p.m., following the show. After dinner, SoCal Cougar Club President, Mike Brown, took the podium to introduce the two guest speakers for the evening, Steve Eitzen and Rich Ladd. Steve surprised Rich with a special TCCN Publishers Choice Award, presented to Rich for his dedication and support to the Classic Cougar hobby. The award was special for its significance as well as what was on the award. Steve worked with Jim Pinkerton, TCP History Correspondent, to secure an actual piece of the headliner from Cougar #1, which was mounted on the award plaque along with Rich's name. The back of the plaque displayed a picture of Cougar #1 along with a certificate of authenticity signed by Cougar #1's owner, Elaine Pinkerton, and Cougar #1's trainer, Jim Pinkerton.

Rich Ladd's TCCN Publisher's Choice Award, featuring a piece of Cougar #1's original headliner.

(Image Courtesy of TCCN)

After receiving the Publishers Choice award, Rich Ladd gave a very entertaining and thoughtful speech relating to retaining membership in our clubs and passing the dream of having these classic Cats around for the next generation to take over the reigns. Several attendees later told me Rich used just the right amount of humor and seriousness to keep everyone's attention and it was the best speech at a Nationals show they had ever heard.

Following Rich's speech, Mike Brown again took the podium to announce the winners for the judged and people's choice awards. Many TCCN subscribers were winners including John Swanson, Tim Brandsoy, Dave Nashif, Dennis Pierachini, Ron and Pat Marshall, Steve Eitzen, Darrel & Judy Seibel, Joe and Jan Celio, Lisa and Barry Yarnell, Earl and Beverly Pike, and your Event Correspondent to name just a few. The evening seemed to belong to Rich Ladd, however, because he was also awarded a first in his class and Best of Show (people's choice). Congratulations to all the winners, and especially to Rich!

Rich Ladd's (SoCal C/C) 1970 CJ428 Eliminator: First in the 1969-73 Senior Class and Best of Show.

The evening ended with Mike Brown recognizing various club members of the Nationals show committee. These members included, Pat Kelly, Rich Ladd, Earl and Beverly Pike, Ron and Pat Marshall, Lou and Eloise Otte, Carol Slezak, Lisa and Barry Yarnell, and Dick Hoffstadt. A Nationals show requires the time and efforts of more than just a few dedicated and talented individuals. The SoCal Cougar Club did a terrific job of organizing and planning down the smallest detail, resulting in a great experience for everyone who attended. Mark your calendar for the next Nationals West show!

A few more memories from Cat Scratch Fever 2002 . . .

Lou and Eloise Otte's (San Diego & SoCal C/Cs) 1970 XR-7 took home first honors in the 1969/70 XR-7 coupe class.

This slick 5.0 EFI installation is found under the hood of Joe & Jan Celio's 1967 XR-7. The car took second place in the 1967/68 XR-7 class.

Dave Nashif (Cascade C/C) drove his '68 Cat down from Seattle for the Nats West, and went home with the second place award in the Modified class.

Stray Cat member, Chet Moore, returned to northern California with first place honors in the 1967/68 standard class. Stray Cats Prez, Dennis Pierachini, won second place in the same class.

This beautifully restored XR7-G, belonging to Art & Wanda Hopkins, walked away with first place in the 1968 XR7-G/GT-E class.

Last minute efforts in the hotel parking lot to put the finishing touches on Dan & Michele Gire's (Arizona C/C) '67 GT paid off. The Gires took top honors in the 1967/68 GT class.

(Image courtesy of the SoCal C/C)

Dennis Kelly's 1971 hardtop took first place in the 1971/73 XR-7 & Standard Coupe class.

(Image Courtesy of the SoCal C/C)

Except where otherwise noted, photos by Becci Tomlyn-Litten