296 - FULL ISSUE - Plymouth Club

Juneau on the recent passing of his brother.For our 2009 Fall Foliage Tour, wedecided to go back to our original plan ofgoing to the Duluth/North Shore area withRoger and Marion McLean doing theplanning. Following that, we discussedthree more upcoming meets, events andtours.We all enjoyed a delicious potluckdinner with thanks to Rich and Carol forhosting us.-- Happy Plymouthing,Rog & Jean Ramberg“MY PLYMOUTHTHINGS(Tune: My Favorite Things)by Margie AmosGolden State RegionPlymouths in driveways,With cold weather covers,Bright shiny paint jobsAn’ fabric interiors,Chroming the bumper,Tune ups and brakes,These are a few of my Plymouth things.Cream colored Cranbrooks,An’ apple red Furys,Gold trim on Dusters,An’ Valiants with sixes,I glide on the road in my P–15,These are a few of my Plymouth things.Worn out shop coats,All greasy and dirty,Waxing and working,To make my car pretty,White side wall tires,Titanium springs,These are a few of my Plymouth things.When the weather’s bad,When the money’s tight,When I’m feelin’ mad,I simply remember my Plymouth things,And then I don’t feel so sad.Once again, given this issue’s theme, welook at Margie’s “My Plymouth Things,”even though the summertime weather mayreally not be so bad.Member RememberedTHE REV. ARNOLD J. TIEFENBACH, Regina, Saskatchewan, diedJune 7 at age 96. Aside from taking his post-secondary education atColumbus, Ohio; Dubuque, Iowa; and Columbus University in NewYork City, he remained a life-long resident of Saskatchewan.Ordained into the Lutheran ministry in 1942, he served parishes inthe province and taught religion, science and Latin at Luther College high school inRegina.Told by a doctor in 1972 that he should find a hobby, Arnold bought and restored a1927 Star. Then, a ‘36 Plymouth resting in the woods of his wife Marjorie’s home farmin Minnesota caught his eye. (The story of his acquisition and restoration of this carcan be found in PLYMOUTH BULLETIN 164, pages 26-27.)This is where your editor enters the story. I was serving as assistant pastor atChrist Lutheran Church, sharing an office with Marge, who was the parish secretary(two Norwegian Lutherans from Minnesota, we were more than figments of GarrisonKeillor’s imagination). I had purchased an engine from another parishioner who hadone in an unused combine on his home farm. This became the time I discovered thatChrysler had built two sizes of the flathead six: 23 inches and 25 inches in length.Being a Canadian-built car, my ‘49 had the longer engine. The combine engine had the23-inch block. Since Arnold needed the shorter engine, he purchased it instead of me.Arnold was of the make-do-with-what-you’ve-got school of restoration; borne,likely, of his Great Depression experiences. The upholstery, for instance, came from anold car coat and remnants of his sons’ trousers and backed by layers of defunct politicalcampaign signs. Instructions on how he made the gas tank for his ‘36 appear inBULLETIN 203 on page 30.Once completed (but never finished,as Arnold wrote), the Plymouthwas taken on a 1200-mile round-trip toAshby, Minnesota, for Marge’s 50thhigh school reunion. Later, they drovethe car to Alberta for the 1990 POCNational Meet in Calgary.His son, Mark, has inheritedArnold’s Plymouth and POC membership.His son Karl wrote in his father’sobituary: “Arnold was a gentle man1990 National Spring Meet in Calgarywho will be remembered for many things: his faithful service to God and Church, thegreat joy he derived from family, the hours spent with his antique cars, and most especially,his unfailing wry humour and dry wit.” I enjoyed that wit and humor, as well asgenerosity and hospitality, of a man with whom I could discuss cars and theology at thesame time.Arnold was predeceased by his wife Marjorie. In addition to Mark and Karl,Arnold is survived by his daughter Joan and son Peter, eleven grandchildren and twogreat-granddaughters.-- Lanny KnutsonThe 1950 P20sedan of LongIsland Regionalpresident, PeterMarks. Thephoto was takenduring theregion’s co-sponsoredshowWheels & Wingsof Hope.-19-