Seattle Model A Club visits SHS
Written by Burgess, Former Student on Friday, June 8, 2012
Snohomish High School students got a surprise as they headed to lunch today. The campus promenade was lined with eight Model A Fords courtesy of the Model A Club of Seattle. The cars were built between the years 1929 and 1931.
Several students spent their lunch time chatting with members of the club about their hobby.
Assistant Principal Gordy Brockman said that the club came to SHS because they have donated old parts to help with the restoration of Snohomish’s own “Oscar” and they wanted to see their contribution in action.
Snohomish was their first stop on a tour that they do each year, taking them to cities such as Winthrop and Grand Coulee.
Members Don Bowie and George Sage, both retired electrical engineers, have been restoring old cars for years as a part of one of the
country’s oldest Model A Clubs. Sage owns his own shop, “Owl Auto Electric”, and spends his spare time refurbishing cars that are typically eighty years old or older.
Bowie, whose grandson attends SHS, has been a member of the club for ten years and enjoys getting his family involved in his restorations.
Seattle resident, Larry Grant and his wife Jan spent time talking to a variety of students about their 1929 model A. “Larry found this truck in Montana. It was just a shell when we brought it home,” stated Jan. It took Grant two years to restore the crimson truck.
Grant turned the engine over for a group of students as he talked about the history of the truck. “You know, these cars are quite small inside. It can be a tight squeeze,” chuckled Jan.
The organization likes to get all members involved, including the wives. They dress up in clothes that match the decade of the car.
