This article is an excerpt from the September 2010 "Bowtie Bulletin" Eddie & Betty Sewell and a '32 Chevy Named "Puff" My love affair with vintage automobiles began in 1958 when I was eleven years old. We had just moved to Cleburne and my dad was in the process of buying a home. While he was negotiating with the owner, my twin brother and I went outside. The owner's teenage son was working on a Model A coupe and we talked him into taking us for a ride. I was hooked. I intended to buy a Model A as soon as I could drive. T. Lindsay Baker, a friend of mine from Boy Scouts, had a 1931 Model A coupe with a rumble seat and a roll down back glass that he had just restored. He graduated in 1965. That summer, my brother and I went with him in the Model A to visit his aunt and uncle in Galveston, a trip that took thirteen and a half hours. I had not had any luck trying to find a Model A to buy. During the trip, he mentioned that he had acquired a 1932 Chevy sedan that he wanted to sell, since he was only interested in Fords. When we got back, I went to look at the car and decided to buy it. Boy was it rough! It had 101,000 thousand miles on it and thirty layers of seat covers, but it was mine !!! I drove it my senior year to high school, while working on it in my spare time. My car's name is "Puff" as in Puff the Magic Dragon. That may sound a bit strange, but there is a story behind the name. When I first bought the car, the radiator was all but stopped up. The water in it was a rusty red color. Someone had drilled a hole in the fill spout just below where the cap went. One very hot day, I stopped for a traffic light at the courthouse. The car overheated and spewed a huge cloud of red steam out of that hole. It looked like a fire breathing dragon. Peter, Paul and Mary had just come out with the song "Puff the Magic Dragon". My brother said the car reminded him of the song and the name stuck. I graduated from high school in 1966 and Puff and I went to East Texas State University. There he caught on fire. He was repainted brown with black fenders and top. It was while I was in college that I met Betty on a blind date (the only blind date I have ever been on). On our second date, it snowed. It snowed just as hard inside the car as out. It must have been true love because she went out with me again. If snow was bad, rain was worse. We got soaked every time it rained. I finally proposed and Betty and I became engaged. We were both studying to become teachers. Her field was Special Education and mine was History. We graduated in 1970 with our bachelor degrees, and in 1973 with our masters. I got a job teaching history at Cleburne High School and she got a job in Weatherford. We got married on April 10th 197l. A week later, a friend of mine in the Packard Club, Hayden Vandever, stopped by and told us that a group of Chevy lovers were going to meet at Meadowbrook Park in Arlington to form a club on April 25th. We made plans to attend that meeting. When we got there, we did not know anyone. We liked what they wanted to do and joined that day. We really enjoyed the meetings and the family atmosphere there. We rarely missed a meeting and meanwhile continued to collect parts for the elusive future restoration of Puff. We visited some of the "finest" junk yards between here and Stephenville searching for parts, not counting countless swap meets for the next thirty years. Over the years we became more involved in the club. I served as assistant newsletter editor, board member, and assistant director. Betty served as membership secretary for five years, has helped with numerous Christmas parties (one for which she provided all the table decorations), and has worked in the registration tent for many swap meets. We sponsored the club's 39th anniversary party this past April, and have sponsored two day tours, one in the fall of 2006 and one in the spring of 2009. We are currently in the planning stages of this year's fall day tour scheduled for November 6, 2010. Finally in 2001, Puff wore completely out and quit running. By now he was in such bad condition I knew that I could not do all the work required to restore him. So in July, 2001, Puff went to Hatfield Restoration in Canton for a frame off total restoration. By now after thirty-seven years, my garage looked like a Chevy parts house. Everything went to Canton. Thirty five months later in June, 2005, Puff came home fully reborn. By now Betty and I were retired and started taking Puff on tours. We have been to most of the Southern Fall Tours. We really enjoy touring and the many friends we have made there. In 2006, we made the journey to Grand Junction, Colorado for the 45th Anniversary Meet. We had Puff judged there and he scored 964 out of 1000 points. We have been married 15 days longer than there has been a Lone Star Region Chevrolet Club. We will celebrate our 40th anniversary next April and have already celebrated our 45th in June of owning Puff. By: Eddie Sewell, September, 2010

This article is an excerpt from the February 2011 "Bowtie Bulletin" Bennie Zimmerman - Long Time VCCA Member Bennie Zimmerman first heard of the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America in 1967 from his friend Ray Guthrie. Shortly after Ray told him that he had joined the VCCA, Bennie decided that he would join also and their VCCA national identification numbers are only 30 numbers apart. When he heard there would be a meeting on April 25, 1971 to form a club in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, he attended that meeting and joined the club that day to become one of the Lone Star Region’s charter members. At the charter meeting, Bennie met Roy Chambers for the first time. This was the beginning of a long friendship between them that was easy to keep going since they both live in the same area of Dallas. Bennie was born in the small east Texas community of Perryville, but moved to Dallas in 1948 where he first worked for Austin Steel Brothers. He left this job to work for a time at the defense plant in Fort Worth that was then known as Consolidated. This plant is what is now called Lockheed-Martin. In 1950 Bennie went to work for Kroehler Furniture Company and worked there until his retirement in 1980. Bennie has lived in the same home in Dallas since 1969. Bennie has had an interest in antique cars all of his life. At the time that he joined the Lone Star Region he owned a 1928 Chevrolet 4 door sedan. He and his brother had a stripped down 1930 Chevy that they used when they went fishing in their teenage years. He has owned and sold many cars over the years and they have all been Chevrolets except one. Due to health issues, he has gradually been downsizing for several years, and at the present time he still owns six antique Chevrolets. Two of his favorites are a 1950 2 door hard top and a 1955 red and white convertible. Chevrolet first made a hard top in 1950 and that is one of the reasons that his is so special to him. Anyone that knows Bennie and Margie has seen them drive the 1955 convertible to many of the Lone Star Region activities. Bennie attended his first National VCCA Anniversary meet in 1976 when it was held in Colorado Springs, CO. He and Margie have attended several of the meets since then, and many times combined the VCCA meet with a side trip to see other attractions along the way. He served as Director of the Lone Star Region during 2001 and 2002 and as a Board Member several times. Bennie was always a very active club member, attending almost all of the activities and rarely missing any of the tours. He acquired quite a reputation for his fondness for ice cream, especially Blue Bell and that hasn’t changed. During a recent stay at a physical therapy facility, Bennie said, “After dinner they always asked if anyone wanted ice cream, and I always raised my hand, and they brought me Blue Bell”. Bennie isn’t able to get out much anymore or do any traveling, but he still enjoys hearing any news about the Lone Star Region and receiving visits and phone calls. With their combined families, Bennie and Margie have had a very busy and interesting life. Together they have several grandchildren and great-grandchildren that they have enjoyed watching grow up. Bennie has two daughters, one that lives in Sulphur Springs, TX and one in Fort Collins, CO. The VCCA and the Lone Star Region have also been a big part of their lives, which gives us all many good memories to share. Note: Bennie passed away in June 2015. The LSR family misses him. When stories are told of the early days of the LSR the mention of Bennie brings a smile to everyone.