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VWCA members gather in Naperville, Ill., to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary convention

By Tom Janizewski

Five decades ago this summer, when the Volkswagen Club of America’s first convention took place, it’s hard to say if anyone in the club could have ever imagined that members would hold 50 of these special events.

Well, we’re still here, and the Northeast Illinois Volkswagen Association took on the challenge of hosting our 50th anniversary convention on July 22-24. It turned out to be a fantastic weekend full of tradition, friends and Volkswagens in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill.

The fun kicked off in high gear as VW fans from all over the area met convention attendees at the hotel for a cruise to see Disney’s “Herbie Fully Loaded” on the film’s opening night. I volunteered to lead the group with my ’65 Herbie replica. My fiancée, Chandra Albers, coincidentally drives a yellow New Beetle, which was decked out with black stripes to match Herbie’s girlfriend in the movie. She followed close behind as we led the group of nearly 30 VWs from the hotel to a nearby theater. We snaked into the parking lot, and made a pass in front of the massive theater complex. The place was hopping with people, and we made quite an impression as we drove past the box office before parking in a reserved area.

Critics’ reviews of the latest Herbie film have been mixed, but it was a hit with all of us. Disney was careful to preserve a lot of the charm of the first Herbie films while injecting a little contemporary “Fast and the Furious” adrenaline. Many at the convention had attended Mid America Motorworks’ Funfest for Beetle in June, where we were treated to seeing two of the Herbies used in this new film, and we met Randy White and Bret Stach, who built the cars (a huge apology goes to the folks at Mid America as I overlooked mentioning them in my Herbie article in the last Autoist). After seeing the cars in June and hearing about how the movie was made, it was great to finally see the movie.

Inside the theater, we filled most of the seats, and it was a blast to see the film together. Everyone laughed and cheered, and just as it was great to see many of our friends at the convention, it was great to see our friend Herbie back on the silver screen for a whole new generation to enjoy.

After the film, we jumped into our cars and raced to Oberweis before it closed for the night. Oberweis is a favorite local ice-cream shop chain that serves up top-notch ice-cream, malts and sundaes.

Saturday kicked off with a round of meetings where all club members are invited to help chart the club’s future. Considerable time was spent talking about how local chapters have not put much emphasis on safety. One of our goals for the future is to come up with an updated safety program. It was also here that Rich and Debbie Van Treuren announced that the Central Florida Volkswagen Club will be hosting the 2006 convention.

The meetings wrapped up just in time for everyone to get ready for the rallye. Shell Tomlin was our rallye master this year, and he put together a route that took participants throughout the Fox River Valley. Downtown areas seen in the Tom Hanks film “Road to Perdition,” a beautifully restored windmill and a picturesque riverside drive were enjoyed by all on the rallye — well, at least those who didn’t get lost! If you’ve ever planned a rallye, you know things beyond your control can happen that could cause a problem with your rallye.

Shell spent hours charting and testing the route when he discovered at the last minute that one of the streets on the route was going to be closed as part of the local Swedish Days event. A phone call or two later, Shell was able to remap the route. All seemed to go well for all of the teams — all drivers and their navigators were still talking to each other upon their return!

As the rallye contestants filtered back to the hotel, many relaxed in the VWCA hospitality suite. This year, members were encouraged to bring any historic club memorabilia such as old Autoists, photos and awards to put on display in the room. Several people brought photo albums and slides dating back to the ’50s and ’60s.

Lew Van Vliet was kind enough to give away many old issues of VW’s “Small World” magazines from the ’60s as well as other VW magazines from the same period to anyone who wanted them. Many people were able to fill holes in their collections while others simply enjoyed paging through them in the room. The old advertisements for original EMPI accessories, Judson superchargers and other aftermarket goodies were almost more fun to read that the features!

Saturday evening brought the second VW cruise of the weekend. This time, it was to the banquet dinner where everyone enjoyed a meal of roast beef, chicken and vegetables. After dinner, the awards presentation kicked off. This year, the Northeast Illinois Volkswagen Association swept all of the categories. Tina Ahrens accepted the John and Jean Eberle Award for Best Local Newsletter; and NIVA’s president, Kirk Schulz, accepted the Woodbury Dunn Safety Award for the affiliate’s efforts in promoting safe motoring; and the coveted Wolfsburg Trophy for most active chapter.

Individuals also received VWCA awards — Shell Tomlin spoke briefly about the rallye he had planned for earlier in the day. Richard and Nancy Cox took home third place; Jimmy Jenson took second; and Dave and Tina Ahrens won first.

Jack Lyman presented the National Car Show Awards to the winners of our annual car show contest. When VWCA members enter and place in a VWCA-sponsored show, they win points. Those with the most points at the end of the season earn special honors. This year, the winners were Shell and Lynida Tomlin, Gary Hanson, Cliff and Kris Oie, Dave and Tina Ahrens, Kirk and Pam Schulz and Gene and Phylis Smith.

After the presentations, Charlie Wolf spoke for a moment about our friends from the club who were there from the very beginning, in 1955. While no founding members were with us that night, Greg and Barb Boltz, Richard and Nancy Cox as well as Charlie all could say that they’ve been in the club for 47 years. The crowd gave a cheer as they posed for a photo. The group looked great — Barb and Nancy must have joined when they were still riding around in strollers! As for the guys ... I guess working under those VWs takes a bit of a toll on you (just kidding, guys!).

A table-full of door prizes were raffled off and the evening came to a close as people drifted out and headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Sunday was car show day! The summer of 2005 in Chicago has been a warm one, and folks who came out to Bill Jacobs VW in Naperville sweltered in temperatures that hit the low 90s. The staff at Bill Jacobs did a wonderful job of helping everyone keep cool by providing shade in their service department’s welcome center, and folks were able to chill out in the air-conditioned showroom. Bill Jacobs also provided free food and beverages for the crowd.

Outside, the lot was filled with 74 VWs entered in the show — not a bad turnout considering not only the heat, but this was also the first year for NIVA’s Bugfest at this location. Variety is one of the things that makes VW shows so great, and there certainly was a lot to see. There was a Winnebago Rialta motorhome that’s the Taj Mahal of VW campers, with its EuroVan cab and fiberglass motorhome body. Many great looking Beetles, Buses and Ghias were also on display.

One would have a tough time coming up with a type of VW that wasn’t represented at least once in the show, including 16 Dune Buggies.

Participants cast their votes for their favorite cars. Ballots were counted, and the awards presentation got under way a little early so people could escape the heat. Once the last award was presented, the 50th convention came to a close.

Looking back, not only was it an amazing weekend, it has also been an amazing 50 years even to this writer who has only been in the club for the last 18. The convention isn’t only a chance to spend a weekend driving and looking at Volkswagens. It’s a chance to see members of our other family who may have nothing more in common than the affection for VWs.

A big high-five to the folks in the Northeast Illinois Volkswagen Association for their hard work, and thanks to all who traveled long and short distances to make that work worthwhile.

Here’s looking ahead to the next 50 years as the Central Florida Volkswagen Club kick it off for us at the 2006 Convention!