Wednesday, January 24, 2007 · Page 19 Richard Busse's 1953 Meteor Customline Richard Busse purchased is 1953 Meteor ustomline four-door edan in 1962 from Hat uto Sales in Medicine at, Alberta for $275. He emembers it well: "It was medium brown ith a white top and had a hocolate brown interior ith a white Ford 50th nniversary steering wheel. t had a 255-cubic-inch ercury flathead with a hree-speed column shift nd was equipped with the ercury-style airplane ash! "For a mild custom job, I nosed and decked it, removed the bumperettes, and added dual Hollywood exhausts with chrome turndown extensions. The new paint was 1959 GM Turquoise `Venetian Metallic' with 1960 Buick full disc hubcaps. The Meteor performed well on the unofficial drag strip by the Goodyear plant. It even outpaced the Ford 272s and 292s that had automatic transmissions. "Medicine Hat in the early `60s had four car clubs: the Turnkeys, the Gas City Customs, the Charioteers, and the Coachmen. Our club president, Jerry Bennis, insisted all Turnkeys drive in a safe and courteous manner, assist all motorists in distress, and drive seniors to the polls and blood donor clinics. This was done to improve the club image, as the public was suspicious of car clubs. We got permission from Premier Manning's Social Credit government to shut down the Trans-Canada Highway on a Sunday long weekend for the first drag races. "When the Turnkeys disbanded in 1965, all assets were sold and monies donated to Muscular Dystrophy. "Standing by my car I am wearing my Turnkeys car club jacket. The crest was a 1935 Ford coupe with a Hemi (our club car). I dated my high school sweetheart, Donna, in this car, and we are still together with two children and three grandchildren. I am driving my sixteenth Ford, a late model Mustang convertible, but my favourite car was that neat little Meteor I drove in high school." Ford of Canada introduced the Meteor for the 1949 model year. It was a Ford with its own unique trim and was available only in Canada. Two separate dealerships had been established across Canada after the war: Ford-Monarch and Mercury-Lincoln-Meteor. By launching the Meteor in 1949, Ford of Canada gave its Mercury-Lincoln dealers a car they could sell in the low-priced field. The Meteor sold well across Canada all through the 1950s, the decade when Richard Busse's Meteor was built. It was seven years old when he bought it in 1962. He mentions the 50th anniversary steering wheel. The Ford Motor Company was formed on June 16, 1903, with Henry Ford as president. His two previous attempts to form a car company had failed. He was proof of the old adage: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. William Ford is the current president of the company. He is the great-grandson of the founder. CARSTORY I S SPONSORED BY Your Security. Our Responsibility. Ruthven Apple Fest Committee announces Miniature Golf Tournament The Ruthven Apple Festival Steering Committee is pleased to announce that the annual Ruthven Apple Festival Miniature Golf Tournament, will take place at Colasanti's Tropical Gardens in Ruthven on Saturday, Feb. 24, beginning at 4:00 p.m. In addition to food, refreshments and a cash bar, participants can look forward to a generous prize table, and prizes for low scores. Tickets are only $20 and tournament play is limited to 72 golders. To reserve an opening, call 776-6483, extension 246. This popular preevent is a kickoff to the celebration of the 28th Annual Ruthven Apple Festival, to be held on Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30 at Colasanti's. The two-day charity event will again feature the Ruthven Oddfellows' buffet breakfast, a parade, a farmers' market, more than 100 food and craft booths, games and rides, and nonstop musical entertainment. All proceeds are donated to Community Living Essex County which supports over 500 people with an intellectual disability and their families throughout Essex County. With the regular season over, Essex Pee Wee Team 6, sponsored by SX Video and PC Connection, played their first championship division playoff game on Sat. Jan. 20 against Harrow #5. Harrow had enough players to fill three forward lines and two sets of defence. Due to illness we were two players short of two complete lines. Before the first minute of play was finished, however, we were on the scoreboard when Jake popped one past the Harrow netminder. Assists went to Josh and Mario. Peewee Interlock Essex Video & PC Connection At the 7:51 mark of the period, Alex converted a nice pass from Mario to put us up by two. The Harrow squad skated hard but were unable to break up our smooth passing and were unable to test Brandon in the net. The early part of the second period saw play more evenly matched with neither team putting on the goal light. The last half of the period saw Harrow taking two penalties and Essex taking advantage of both by adding two more tallies to the scoreboard. Scoring the Recreation Committee Softball/T-ball Registration (Leagues Now Forming) Saturday, February 3rd 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Sunday, February 4th 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. AT St. Mary's Hall, Maidstone St. Mary's Park MEN $60 LADIES $60 YOUTH $25 (Family - 3 or more $60) third goal was Josh on a beautiful pass from Chase. Josh also scored the fourth goal with assists going to Mario and defence man Alex. Scott finished off the period with a rush down the ice but the clock ran out before he was able to get a shot off. The squad found themselves with the man disadvantage in the middle of the period but stepped up to the challenge and, though a man short, controlled the play for much of the two minutes. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Ages for Youth Leagues: Born in: 2001, 02, 03 - T-Ball (Saturday morning) 1998, 99, 00 - Junior (Saturday morning) 1995, 96, 97 - Intermediate (Saturday morning) 1992, 93, 94 - Senior (Thursday evening) Please note - Late charges Will Apply IF openings are available For more Information call: Michelle Mongeau - 519-737-6766 OR Shaun Fuerth - 519-723-4247 MAIDSTONE RECREATION CENTRE SUMMER MIXED SAND VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE (starting end of May - Labour Day - 15 weeks) REGISTRATION SAME DATES AND TIMES AS NOTED ABOVE AGE 16 AND OVER FOR MORE INFO CALL Jim Croft 519-723-2216 or Brian Soulliere at 519-739-0475 or email at maidstonerecreation@hotmail.com