VOLKSWAGEN LTD / DKP EARLY PHOTO GROUP SHOT

[johnl]

The photo attached from Keith Seume’s (The Story of the California Look VW) book and is what I strongly believe to be the “first” one ever taken of the group.  I was there and have studied it very carefully and have been blessed or cursed with a pretty good memory for details  There is another black and white shot that I have, but haven’t been able to locate it as of yet.   

What I can offer without much doubt is the following.  This was shot at La Palma Park in Anaheim, California probably in late 1965. My reasoning is that my car went from red to the Firemist Green in the summer of ’65. 

 I remember there was something going on at the stadium later that day (Sunday??) and somehow we talked ourselves and the cars in for these photos.  I think they even let us borrow a ladder to get these.  You can plainly see that they were not taken at ground level.

The people, front row left to right:  Laying on the ground behind my ’63 I think is Pete Dayton, standing Bill Green and Mike Mahaffey.  Two people laying down with their heads hidden are unknown to me.  Next would be the (late) Jon Radke and Gary Michael Huggins (the guy who came up with the DKP name and logo).  To the left of Huggins and down are myself (John Lazenby) and Forrest (Frosty) Blossom.

In the back on the left is Mike Mendenhall standing next to his Molly painted Burgundy car.  The three girls are unknown as of this writing, but must have been with some of us guys.  I have a suspicion that the blond on the left could be Dana Seal that Pete Dayton was dating at the time.   In the center behind my car I believe the red car to be Mike Touseau’s with him standing behind it.

The cars;  beige sunroof ’66 is Huggins, dark green car behind Huggins’ is Pete Dayton’s (I think).  The white car in that area I don’t know.  The car in the far back behind Mendenhall’s unknown.   

Moving to the right and behind the girls is Frosty’s black ’61.  At the time this was the fastest car around as he worked for Joe Schneider at Schneider Motors.  I think it was a 1500cc with a 32 NDIX Zenith.  The blue car I believed to be Jim Holmes, but I don’t see him, so he could be one of the people laying down.  The white or light colored car behind the blue one is unknown as well as the brown one on the far right.  I believe the light green car with the rear showing to be Bob (Harbor Bomber ) Sechi.      Once again I don’t see Bob, but seem to remember him being present.  Mahaffey must have had a car there, but I can’t locate it.  His split window was dark metallic brown them, but there may have been a car prior to that??  I’m not sure if Jim Edmiston was there that day although he was very active back then.  He might have been home sorting his sock drawer!!   

I’ve e-mailed Mahaffey and Edmiston and currently waiting for a reply from Jim Holmes.  The first two couldn’t add anymore than I have here.   

This was long before the Ron Fleming, Greg Aronson, Doug (Underdog) Gordon, Don Crane and others appeared on the scene and the Cal-Look VW thing started.  So there you have in my opinion a significant document of our early history.   

John Lazenby

[johnl]

The following e-mail just received from Mike Mahaffey.  I'll go with his dates based on the info he provided.

John,
My memory is not nearly as good as yours and I agree that it looks like it me next to Bill Green. But the dates are off from what you are saying. Bill is the person who first invited me to the club. I remember the first meeting at your house. That was about August or September of 1966. I got my first car - a 1958 red rag top VW - at the end summer 1966 after I graduated from High School. I don't see that car in the photo. Since I didn't know anything about the club before I got my car, I could not have been in a photo prior to then. Or it is possible that I had a geeky look-alike that is next to Bill. Or your dates are off. Now I am curious. I would like to know before Alzheimer sets in - at least totally.
Mike

Or it is possible that I had a geeky look-alike that is next to Bill

I can assure you there was and is on one Mike "Howdy Doody" Mahaffey.......


 

[sheep]

hey Sarge Ratto sent me this pic of you and your dkp buddies reunion hahahahaha 

[Carlos De Alba]

I believe Sarge was in his mid-thirties by then............. 

[johnl]

hey Sarge Ratto sent me this pic of you and your dkp buddies reunion hahahahaha 

Hey, you "young punks" are just jealous!!!    :oWe lived the "good life" and you have to deal with the issue of today.  Regarding the DKP runion, well at least we had good gasoline back then and one could run some compression.........

[Jim Ratto]

hey Sarge Ratto sent me this pic of you and your dkp buddies reunion hahahahaha 

is this the drag car?

[Sarge]

       

[JS]

Laughing so hard I fell off the couch!!! 

[Jim Ratto]

we love you Sarge.... 

[johnl]

we love you Sarge.... 

Sarge, don't believe them.  They'll use you and abuse you...........

[edcraig]

I'm just more surprised that they had cameras back then!

[Fastbrit]

Can't wait for Jim's home movies...

[Sarge]

         Why do I always feel like I've been raped with my pants on around here?? 

[Fastbrit]

I particularly like your raincoat which happens to be conveniently unbuttoned up to the waistline...  Forward planning, maybe?

[Dave Rosique]

I love this thread... in a train wreck sort of way

~DR.

[edcraig]

Actually, this is a great picture.  Look closely, the guy second from the left is Abe Lincoln. 

[Fritter]

This is great stuff, thanks John L!   

[johnl]

This is great stuff, thanks John L!   

Mike,  I wonder now if it was a mistake based on some of the comments.  Yes, some of us are old and I remember when I was younger how "old people" bothered me with their stories about times of long ago.  Now I find myself wanting to share my early VW times and I guess I do it with some documentation.  Possibly this is not the best way to do it?

Regarding Ed Craig's comments, well I've known him far to long to put any creedence to them.  Hey Ed, your gonna love the prices I'll give you for the item you are currently look for !!!

You should probably go to your bank and apply for the loan NOW.........

[Jim M]

[/quote]

[  Possibly this is not the best way to do it?

[/quote]
Hi John,  Thank you so much for posting.  I truly enjoy all of the history of this hobby/lifestyle that we share. DON'T STOP POSTING. You 2 Sarge THANKS.

[Fastbrit]

Ya know we're only raggin' on you. Sarge loves it when we beat him up on his posts... 

The present would be nothing without the past.

[Jim Ratto]

yeah, somtimes our sense of humor gets a little twisted up 'round here....  we only prank out of brotherly love.... well, except for Sheep. 

[Fritter]

Keith nailed it John L, you are part of the "bedrock" or "foundation" of this whole crazy hipo VW thing we all love.   

Getting stories from the "very early" hipo VW days (65-70 or so)  is rare and I think everyone appreciates it very much.

Please keep up the stories and pictures, we love it!!

[johnl]

Keith nailed it John L, you are part of the "bedrock" or "foundation" of this whole crazy hipo VW thing we all love.   

Getting stories from the "very early" hipo VW days (65-70 or so)  is rare and I think everyone appreciates it very much.

Please keep up the stories and pictures, we love it!!

Keith nailed it John L, you are part of the "bedrock"

Lets see, does that make me related to Fred Flinstone or Barney Rubble??? 

Thanks guys I appreciate the words from all of you and I guess I'm just to darn sensetavie.  I'll just have to change my "Depends" more often!!!! 

[edcraig]

I'd say more fossil than bedrock!   

[louisb]

This is great stuff, thanks John L!   

Mike,  I wonder now if it was a mistake based on some of the comments.  Yes, some of us are old and I remember when I was younger how "old people" bothered me with their stories about times of long ago.  Now I find myself wanting to share my early VW times and I guess I do it with some documentation.  Possibly this is not the best way to do it?

Regarding Ed Craig's comments, well I've known him far to long to put any creedence to them.  Hey Ed, your gonna love the prices I'll give you for the item you are currently look for !!!

You should probably go to your bank and apply for the loan NOW.........

Keep the stories and photos coming! More! More! More!

--louis

[WCB Hitler's Hot Rod]

Just curious how DKP first began. Who planted the seed? Who initially came up with the idea and who would you say was the first person to say,"Let's start a club"? Where you all friends that came together from a common school? Did any of you belong to a previous club before DKP was formed?     Please keep our history class in progress 
Also, during that photo gathering were you already known as DKP or did that come out shortly after? Seems to me you were known as Volkswagen Ltd. at that time.

[johnl]

Just curious how DKP first began. Who planted the seed? Who initially came up with the idea and who would you say was the first person to say,"Let's start a club"? Where you all friends that came together from a common school? Did any of you belong to a previous club before DKP was formed?     Please keep our history class in progress 
Also, during that photo gathering were you already known as DKP or did that come out shortly after? Seems to me you were known as Volkswagen Ltd. at that time.

Volkswagen LTD came about in early 1965.  Prior to that I had met Rich Kugel and there were a couple of other guys that had cars.  We started hanging around together and cruzin' as a group.  This would have been in late 1963 I think.  By early '65 Brian Rennie (the guy who introduced me to my future wife and I had known since the 4th grade in 1956) purchased a new black 1965 sedan.  We continued as VW's LTD.

Somewhere along this time Pete Dayton had aquired a sedan and Gary Michael Huggins purchased a '66 sedan new.  I had known Huggins since 1961 and Dayton and I had known each other since proably 1959.  Somehow between Dayton, Huggins and myself it changed to DKP.  As stated before Huggins gets credit for the actual name.  Huggins tells the story that he went to Joe Schneider (Schneider Motors), who I met in the summer of 1963 when his shop was known as (J & F) which stood for Joe & Fritz, to check it with Joe.  I don't know German, but some say it is stated wrong.  Wrong or right "Der Kleiner Panzers" stuck.

There were many others that became involved in those early days.  Names that come to mind are Jim (Sarge) Edmiston of course, Dwight Magill, Jon Radke, Mike Johnston, Bob (Harbor Bomber) Sechi, Gregg Bunch (some of us were at Irvine Park waxing our cars and that is where I met Gregg).  I'm sure there are other names that should be listed here, but it was a looooooooong time ago and although my memory is pretty good some of it has faded into history.

Back in those days most of the changes made to the cars were cosmetics.  I had done the Judson Supercharge, Fourtuned Headers, Porsche diphram clutch and 83mm Big Bore kit and a Potvin Cam.  At this time Joe Schneider was doing most of my work and several others.  Joe was supportative of us and became our first sponcer. 

Forrest (Frosty) Winton Blossom started working for Joe about 1966.  He was a couple of years younger than us and lived close to Joe and Erica Schneider in Anaheim.  Frosty was into Alfa's and somehow also had a black '61 Sedan.  This was a car that Joe helped him build a "Big Motor", which was a 1500 with a Potvin Cam and a Zenith carb.  This was the fastest car around at the time, which goes back to the theory "There is no substitue for cubic inches".

I've gone off track a bit here.  As to your questions about who said lets start a club.  I gess it would be those very early guys, Rich Kugel and myself and probably a few others.

Your other question about the photo being under the Volkswagen LTD or DKP, based on what Mike Mahaffey provides as far as dates earlier in this thread I'd say it would be Der Kleiner Panzers.

Just remembered this.  Bob Wilson who also worked for Joe Schneder and had a white '59 Vert was a buddy of Kugel.  They both went to Servite High School in Anaheim and were a couple of years ahead of me.  Anyway, Bob was around and somewhat active in the beginning.  Have no idea of what ever became of him.  One story about Bob I can tell is that he purchased a '65 Alfa and he and I drove it to Laguna Seca in that year.  This was the first 5 speed car I'd ever driven.  Also Bob's dad was a Dentist in the Anaheim area and they had bucks.

I haven't see Rich Kugel in probably 20 years.  We were good friends and did lots of stuff together, like joining the Navy together, going to Bonneville with his brother Jerry Kugel and even seeing Elvis at the International Hotel (now the Hilton) in Las Vegas way back in 1969.  Rich married and now has a grown son and daughter and probably grandkids.  He lives in Irvine and we still exchange Christmas Cards in which there is always a photo of the family.  Rich still looks the same and I think he will be 65 this November.  I wonder if he has any idea how big the VW thing still is??

Good memories and I miss many of my old friends, but life takes us all in different directions........................

[Sarge]

Thanks for another trip down memory lane, John!  Would be fun to see or hear from Rich again.  Bob Sechi was at an Irwindale Drag Day a year ago... good to see him again.

[johnl]

Thanks for another trip down memory lane, John!  Would be fun to see or hear from Rich again.  Bob Sechi was at an Irwindale Drag Day a year ago... good to see him again.

You know James, this is pretty much all your faut !!!   Since you've stuck the match and started the fire again I don't sleep and dream of those times and cars.  Now I want to build another sedan and lay awake at night pondering that idea.

Looking back I wish I'd stayed more active in the VW world.  In my quarter of a century of the Chrysler world I've made some great freinds all over the world and traveled to places I would have never gone had it not been for the cars.  Possibly now I'm becoming a more "rounded" person (no not my pant size) and can do both.  I centainly want my remaining years to be filled with both marks and the great folks I've met by being in the car hobby.

Jim, words really can't express what you've brought back to me and I'm proud to still call you my friend after all of these years.  You are without a doubt, THE BEST !!!!!!!

[vwcab]

Thanks for another trip down memory lane, John!  Would be fun to see or hear from Rich again.  Bob Sechi was at an Irwindale Drag Day a year ago... good to see him again.

You know James, this is pretty much all your faut !!!   Since you've stuck the match and started the fire again I don't sleep and dream of those times and cars.  Now I want to build another sedan and lay awake at night pondering that idea.

Looking back I wish I'd stayed more active in the VW world.  In my quarter of a century of the Chrysler world I've made some great freinds all over the world and traveled to places I would have never gone had it not been for the cars.  Possibly now I'm becoming a more "rounded" person (no not my pant size) and can do both.  I centainly want my remaining years to be filled with both marks and the great folks I've met by being in the car hobby.

Jim, words really can't express what you've brought back to me and I'm proud to still call you my friend after all of these years.  You are without a doubt, THE BEST !!!!!!!

So JohnL,.....go for it and built that VW.    and have fun!!