Celebrating the original Ford Thunderbird
from 1955, 1956, and 1957
Recent Events
AeppelTreow Winery & Distillery
On Sunday, June 8, 2025, thirteen of us set out from the McDonalds in Grayslake and followed Bob Wenderski’s turn-by-turn/mile-by-mile directions to the AeppelTreow Winery & Distillery in Burlington, WI. Six cars made up the caravan – one old ‘bird (Smizinskis), one new ‘bird (Wenderskis), one VW Bug (Karen Kelly & Rose Kovalenko) and three daily drivers (Keils & Liz Werth, Schellins and Vinyards). Once at our destination, we were given a very comprehensive tour of the small facility by one of the owners, Milissa. This was followed by a tasting of everything on the “Cider & Spirits List”. The list included traditional cider, flavored cider, small-batch cider, sparkling wine, table wine, dessert wine and distilled spirits. Everyone had an opportunity to taste everything if they so desired. Several of us made purchases of some of the beverages we had sampled. From there, we drove to the Birchwood Grill in Bristol. Many of us enjoyed the huge buffet which included breakfast things, salads, dinner items and many desserts. Following our meal, we said our goodbyes and headed home. It rained while we were eating which reinforced why some of us had not driven our classic cars.
Ken Nagel's Classic Car Collection
By Jim Wilson
May 24, 2025 CTCC Members gathered in Plano, Illinois to view 26 impeccably restored milestone 50's and 60's cars in Ken Nagel's Collection. Of special note was a '57 T-Bird F Code supercharged joined by a '57 Ford Retractable F Code with the top partially down to show the intricate mechanism, said to be one of only 17 made with that engine. The newest car present was a 1970 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV, one of only 12 4 Spd. convertibles made. There were 1957 and 1959 Pontiac Bonnevilles fuel injected and AACA Natl.
Award Winner. A '65 Pontiac LeMans convertible was unrestored.
Three Mustangs were represented a '66 GTK Code 4 spd 289 HiPro
271 HP, a '68 Shelby GT500KR 4 Spd. Convertible, and a '69 Boss 429 Fastback, with thoroughbred gold status. A '56 Ford Sunliner convertible sported a two tone of dusk rose and black. Six Chevrolets included a '70 Chevelle LS6 SS convertible one of 18 made, a '64 Impala 409 SS, a '58 Impala Tri-Power, a '57 Dual Quad and a '57 Fuel Injected, an a '56 Bel Air convertible, the only solid color made. A '58 Buick Limited convertible, dripping with chrome, was one of only 839 made. A '53 Buick Skylark was one of 1,690 made. It was Matador Red with white wheel wells.
Mercury’s were represented by three '54 Monterey’s, one a replica of Ken's first car, an AACA award winner, and a Sun Valley glass top. Chrysler Corp. products included a '58 DeSoto Firesweep, a '59 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer, and a '60 Chrysler 300F Dual Quad, all Rare convertbles.
Ken provided interesting history on each of the above. In addition to the cars Ken had interesting artifacts made from dried cow bone and currently has 77 cows on the property.
Colletti’s
Karen Kelly planned yet another wonderful get-together for a mid-afternoon meal at Colletti’s on Sunday, March 23rd . Twelve t-birders came out and enjoyed each other’s company and delicious food.
Thank you, Karen, for planning this outing. In attendance were: Gail Hascek & Mike Detty, Len & Mary Keil, Karen Kelly, Rose Kovalenko, Marylu Kramer, Steve Kramer, Lloyd & Joan Schellin, Ken & Kathy Smizinski.
