Southern Nevada Model T Club
Members' Profiles Page 2 by G.A. Villa, SNMTC Communications Director
Jon Bibbens in his early Ford Speedster. Photograph by G.A. Villa, June 6, 2010. Copyright G.A. Villa and SNMTC 2010.
The Bibben's Family California homestead showing shed full of Model T parts and complete, unrestored vehicles. Photograph courtesy of Jon and Pam Bibbens. Copyright Jon and Pam Bibbens and SNMTC 2010.
Jon and Pam Bibbens share an interest in the fine art of painting pictures. Pam enjoys the actual painting of pictures, and Jon regularly scours thrift stores looking for paintings of interest for his growing collection. The fact that Pam genuinely appreciates Jon's like for paintings and the fact that Jon genuinely appreciates Pam's efforts as a painter were perhaps foretold when they met as they both seem to enjoy the details of that enduring story.
Jon is a construction carpenter and supervisor who has been with the Bomel Company for 30 years, and earlier in that career, he was working on a construction site at Lake Elsinore, California. Pam saw him at the site and walked up and asked him to go to lunch. They went to lunch, and when it was time to leave, Pam got up and, it may be assumed, was so distracted by the dynamic Mr. Bibbens that she turned around and fell over a planter that was behind her. Jon says with an enviable grin, "She fell for me."
Their extended family of four girls reflects their genuine respect for each other.
Jon has nurtured a interest in all things Model T since he was 13 years old when his granddad, George Bibbens, gave him a Model T headlight and running board. As Jon never did anything with them, his granddad replaced them in his predominantly Model T collection of car parts and chassis. Jon's life-long interest in cars and antiques began with his granddad's gentle and serious introduction to collecting and preserving older things of value. Jon notes that his granddad often found parts that had been abandoned in the countryside and that he sometimes had the indigenous Hat Creek Indians bring him parts that they found. After his granddad and grandmother passed away, Jon was able to buy the entire collection of parts (see the photo above) and begin the long, loving process of organizing them in storage and beginning to restore cars part by part. The speedster pictured above is one of the first of those efforts which will eventually include restoration of some lumber cutting equipment powered by modified Model T power plants.
Jon took this writer through his two-floor garage and storage shed where he has perhaps thousands of Model T parts and, most notably, a fascinating collection of early automotive mechanical turn signals. Jon explains that early in the history of the automobile, there were no rules or restrictions about turn signals or stop signals, and the result is a collection of devices similar to the railroad semaphores. Such is one interesting nook in Jon's collecting talent.
It is very good to have Jon and Pam and their lovely and intelligent daughters as members of the Southern Nevada Model T Club.
Mike and Melissa Karr anticipate the completion of the Karr family 1926 Ford Model T restoration. Photograph by G.A. Villa. Copyright G.A. Villa and SNMTC 2010.
It would perhaps be difficult to find a story of two people that goes back as far as that of Mike and Melissa Karr. They met in kindergarten at Walter Bracken Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada, when they were five years old and are two people who obviously have had a very strong direction in life from very early on. Additionally, Melissa had her first motorcycle at the age of four (before she met Mike), and perhaps it was her influence that found its way into Mike's life when he got his first quad at age seven. However one wishes to put it all together, Mike raced quads in motorcross and Melissa raced Yamaha YZ80 to 125 class motorcycles in motorcross for a good number of years. They have been married for 17 years and have a son, Gregory, and a daughter, Christina.
As parents the Karrs have turned their energies and talents to the rigors of car restorations, and among their work to date are the 1967 Chevy Camaro in the picture, a 1966 Mustang, a 1961 Corvette, and a 1957 Chevy Stepside. In perhaps their first family restoration effort, they recently purchased a rolling 1926 Ford Model T chassis, and they and their son Gregory are doing some preliminary body work on fenders on the car.
Both Mike and Melissa are sure in their praise for their parents, noting their long years of work and good and strong guidance. Mike notes that dad and Southern Nevada Model T Club member Jerry is unquestionably the patriarch of the family and that he is more than worthy in that role. Aside from Mike's three-year stint in the U.S. Army as a crew chief for Blackhawk helicopters at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, most of the family efforts have been under the canopy of Jerry Karr's Western Electric Motors, Inc., where Mike works with his dad. Basically, Mike says, the company repairs and services anything electrical in-house or with field service, and he is proud of the trade that his dad has handed on to him.
In turn it is good to have the good fellowship and abilities and talents of all of the Karr family under the Southern Nevada Model T Club canopy.
Mike Hill and his daughter, Brittany, in the family 1915 Ford Touring car. Photograph by G.A. Villa. Copyright G.A. Villa and SNMTC 2010.
Mike Hill's grandfather restored the 1915 Ford touring car pictured here over the course of one year, completing it in 1954. It is a highly modified car capable of speeds up to 100 MPH, and the set up of the car includes a three-speed Warford transmission and a two-speed Ruckstell transmission. The T-Go head on the car was engineered by the late Jim Culbert in San Diego, California, and it is used in this car as it was used in the replica Ford Indy racers built by Culbert. Mike's granddad gave him the car, and it is a perfect fit with Mike's love of high performance and speed.
Among Mike's car projects are a T-Bucket hot rod "12-pack" (the car had six deuces or two-barrel carburetors); a 1968 Corvette; a 1970 Challenger 440 Magnum RT/SE (Road and Track Special Edition); and a 1970 Nova S 396 four speed. During his time in Sacramento County, California, Mike raced his cars on a drag strip that a friend had legitimate access to after hours. He was always pushing for more horsepower and speed, and Mike would "wreck" an engine and rebuild it for more speed and durability and blow it again and rebuild it. Such is the enjoyment of an unintimidated, grease-up-to-the-elbows mechanic who grew up in a family that has over 40 cars including a 1940 or 1941 12-cylinder Lincoln Convertible and a 1939 12-cyclinder Packard Limousine that got the needed mechanical and restoration attention they needed from various family members.
Brittany appears in the picture here, and she is one of three daughters that include Jacqueline and Kelly (and two grandchildren). Mike is a Southwest Gas Customer Service technician with important responsibilities including legal-speed responses to suspected and real gas detection alarms. Mike matter-of-factly and kindly notes that he was a professional bowler in 1975, 1976, and 1977 and that he bowled ten 300 games in his career!
He is obviously a gifted mechanic, a gifted athlete, and a welcome friend in the Southern Nevada Model T Club.
Bobbie and Ronnie Mazzucchi with their 1915 Ford Touring Car. Photograph provided courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Mazzucchi. Copyright Ronald and Roberta Mazzucchi and SNMTC 2010.
On September 17, 2010, Bobbie and Ronnie Mazzucchi will celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary and their life-long residence in Santa Rosa, California. They were both born and reared there, both came from ranching backgrounds, met there, and married there. It is our good fortune that they now also have a residence in Las Vegas, Nevada, and that they can visit with their Southern Nevada Model T Club friends four or five times a year.
Ron's time as a young man on the family's 43-acre dairy ranch was formative. Of the 300 cows on the ranch, Ron was responsible for about 50 or 60 of the herd. As a 17-year-old high school Future Farmers of America (FFA) member, Ron demonstrated his ranching ability alongside his capable size as a high school football tackle. Modestly, Ron says he was a fairly good football tackle, but his accomplishments as a young dairy rancher cannot be disguised by his characteristic self-effacing kindness. His work with Holstein dairy cows included registered heifers and bulls and their breeding. He and his world-class livestock traveled and received awards in Kansas City, Kansas, and the National Cow Palace in San Francisco among his many local recognitions. In 1959-1960, the Ron was recognized as the FFA of the Year for his lifetime achievements as a young dairy farmer. Ron left the ranching business at 22 years old, and he began work as a plumber and plumbing estimator for more than 30 years.
His interest in the Model T Ford was absolutely practical at the beginning of his life as the vehicles were used functionally on the ranch for everyday work. At 14 years old, Ron bought a neighbor rancher's 1930 Model A Ford for $30, and his actual interest in antique cars began then. That mechanical and historical curiosity ranged out to include hot rods that include a 1955 Ford F100 pickup and a 1954 Ford F100 pickup that he is presently restoring with and for his grandson. The 1922 telephone-booth coupe cared for and driven by Bobbie's sister and brother-in-law, Donna and John Colo'n, is seen on the Members' Automobiles pages and also in the Club Members' Profiles picture for Donna and John Colo'n. That red coupe was owned and driven by Ron's father, and it is a prized part of the Mazzucchi family heritage.
Ron met his life partner Bobbie (Roberta) from among the world of local dairy farmers. Bobbie's mother and grandparents were dairy farmers, and she brought the attendant strengths and intelligence of practical life to their marriage. Ron and Bobbie's two children (adults now) are also in Santa Rosa, California, and they are spoken of with pride and respect.
Bobbie herself is an avid gardener and someone who enjoys knitting and their beautiful rural home on a hillside lot in Santa Rosa after decades of work in public and private business. She thoroughly enjoys both the antique cars and the hot rods, and she notes that she helps to maintain all of them with equal affection. She does prefer the antique autos herself, though. This writer perhaps cannot relay Mrs. Mazzucchi's wonderful, joyful enthusiasm in conversation adequately, but he does hope that the membership has an opportunity to meet and talk with both the Mazzucchis at a future gathering.
The Southern Nevada Model T Club looks forward to all visits with Ronnie and Bobbie Mazzucchi.
Christian Kolberg stands ready with his 1914 Ford Model T Touring car to chauffeur Camille, the Kolberg family's Brazilian foreign exchange student, and her escort . Photograph courtesy of the Kolberg family. Copyright the Kolberg family and SNMTC 2010.
Wallace and Christian Kolberg inherited the 1914 Ford Model T Touring car in this picture from Wallace's dad (Christian's granddad). The elder Mr. Kolberg bought the car at a flee market and restored it to such splendor that it became a featured part of not only the annual Southern Nevada Helldorado Day Parade, but also of William Harrah's annual antique car tour. The cars in the Harrah's tour drove to various locations in Nevada with a semi-truck following. The truck was outfitted with complete repair and parts support, and if a car broke down, it was loaded onto the semi where mechanics would repair it while moving and ready it for a return to the road at the next stop! Certainly, that is a high standard of road service. Wallace also drove the car with Christian and wife Lara from the church following their wedding to their reception site. Christian notes that the car also broke down during that trip but was readily repaired and delivered the couple with characteristic elegance to their waiting family and friends.
Christian decided recently that he wanted to share that elegance with the Kolberg family Brazilian foreign-exchange student, Camille, as she prepared for an important high-school formal event. The car, however, was not working, and Christian found his way to the Southern Nevada Model T Club and the expertise of two of its master mechanics, Gary Cooper and Harold Mann. Mr. Cooper and Mr. Mann were under the car and out in fairly short order, and the car was ready for its important appointment.
Wally Kolberg brings a distinguished executive resume to the Southern Nevada Model T Club as a retired Southwest Gas Corporation executive with 43 years of service. He also brings a near life-long interest and expertise in fountain pens which began simply enough as a high-school and college student who was given a gift pen and took him to the present day as a recognized expert and collector who travels extensively to share his expertise and to deal in rare pens. Christian, in turn, was the Las Vegas Review Journal marketing director for about 15 years with his natural talent for positive public relations enfolding the additional duty of working for the Donald Reynolds charitable foundation and serving on the Board for that organization for 7 years. A gifted speaker and a genuinely compassionate and public-service minded man, Christian's career path took him to that of a charity benefits auctioneer. His auctioneering involves work throughout North America where he adds finesse and dignity to celebrity and public and private charitable events.
Not surprisingly, his wife of 15 years, Lara (pronounced "Laura") has served the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in an executive capacity. They met during his travels as an auctioneer, and when Mr. Kolberg was asked to describe his wife, he said simply "beautiful" in such a way as to make clear that that adjective carried a strong spiritual significance. Lara and Christian have two sons ages 8 and 10 who are noted for their love for old cars.
The Southern Nevada Model T Club welcomes the Kolberg family as new 2010 members.
Ray Potter with his 1929 Ford Station Wagon (Woody), 6/28/2010. Ray notes that 1929 was the first year that the station wagon was manufactured in the United States. Photograph by G.A. Villa. Copyright G.A. Villa and SNMTC 2010.
Ray Potter is a soft-spoken gentleman with a background as varied as his car collection. Ray was born and reared in Las Vegas and has spent time working as a properly courteous young man who parked cars and as a purposefully tougher pool hustler who made his money with a working knowledge of the precise techniques and angles of winning pool. Ray notes that his work was so diverse that at various times he held Federal liquor and gaming licenses and Federal firearms and explosives licenses. His Cristy and Jones Dice Company produced die for the gaming industry that required intricate production phases with tolerances of one ten thousandth of an inch and equally precise weights and finishes. He owned and operated a family liquor business and bar in the older downtown area of Las Vegas, and also supervised and ran a tire store for Fletcher Jones. However, Ray comes alive when he talks about the downtown black powder gun shop, Ray's Beaver Bags, that he owned and ran until his retirement in 2005. The shop sold "muzzle loading guns and supplies, flint-lock muskets, tee pees, furs, leathers, knives, and tomahawks," among other genuine items and antique reproductions. Mr. Potter's business was unique and served customers here and around the world. He still does provide a fire-starting kit for the Boy Scouts of America and other purchasers.
Ray and Pat Potter's beautiful home seems no place for Ray's "city junkyard" description as one walks the long driveway to Ray's warm welcome. In the garage, his wife Pat's immaculate green 1932 Ford small-block hot rod seems every model-building youth's dream car (I was one such youngster), and Ray on this day is trying to determine where to put the fire extinguisher which is required to be in driver's compartment by the touring association rules to which Pat adheres. She and Ray have been married 47 years and have four daughters. Among other important jobs, Pat served as a Supervisor on the Nevada State Contractors Board in Las Vegas for 15 years, and however much she wishes to be known mainly as a woman devoted to her and Ray's six grandchildren and one great grandchild, her car makes it clear that she is a top-of-the-line hot rodder.
The large, walled backyard opens out from the back of the garage and bears out Ray's description of his city junkyard.
Here are 1920's and 1930's and earlier and later years' car shells and wheels and parts of all kinds. Ray has several early Dodge automobiles, and he notes as we walk through his somewhat neatly arranged collection, that Henry Ford had a falling out with the Dodge Brothers who built coaches for him early in his ascent and that that is linked by some to Henry Ford's well-known anti-semitism. Ray points to the emblems on the radiators on the cars in his backyard that the Dodge brothers built independent of Ford and notes that they are an image of "the Star of David."
There is a large storage shed at the back of the yard, and in it is a 1911 Ford Model T Touring car that was part of the Harrah's touring collection mentioned in the Kolberg family profile. There is a also a 1913 Pope-Hartford car manufactured by the Pope Manufacturing Company beginning in 1903 and 1904 in Toledo, Ohio. These four- and six-cyclinder car engine entrepreneurs also began the Columbia Bicycle Company. Ray is seen with his 1929 Model A Ford Station Wagon in the picture, and his 1930-1931 Model A Deluxe Phaeton two-door touring convertible is seen in the Members' Automobiles section of this website. Ray also has a 1931 Model A 400 Convertible Sedan which is one of only 5,500 made. Again, however, Ray demonstrates his favorite among his cars with his talk about the 1915 Cadillac Coupe that is squeezed into the far right slot of his very full shed. The body is hand-formed aluminum, and the engine is a magnificent mix of aluminum and steel and polished parts that demonstrate remarkable engineering and aesthetic design. The hood for the car is on the floor about ten feet away, and Ray keeps it off the car so that the engine can be seen. It may be the only such car still in existence (this one was originally owned by a physician in San Francisco).
Hanging from the roof of the shed are more parts than can be described, and almost as a final punctuation to his fascinating collection and historical archive, Ray took a part that mounted to the floor of a car and that could be reached and pulled up to the driver or passenger. "What's that, Ray?" "It's a cigar lighter." What fun there is in the details of his astounding collection.
A tip of the hat from the Southern Nevada Model T Club for members Ray and Pat Potter.
