Baby Jay Takes Flight!

We dropped our youngest child (of three) off at Creighton University in Omaha this past weekend. I am a Creighton Alum (BSBA '83) and our two older children hold degrees from Creighton. We are a  Creighton family. We build family gatherings around Creighton events. We spent last New Year's Eve at the CenturyLink Center for Creighton's inaugural Big East Conference basketball game. We all traveled to New York for the Big East tournament and our older daughter, her husband and our son joined me in San Antonio for Creighton NCAA tournament games.

So it was no surprise when Sarah told us she wanted to attend Creighton. But she had no interest in even visiting another school. Her senior year visits to Creighton only solidified her decision.

While taking a child to college is always an emotional event, at Creighton it is a spiritual event as well. The Creighton "Welcome Week" mass, this year on Saturday night, is always moving. One can see parents throughout the church wiping or holding back tears. At the end of mass, when parents are asked to say a blessing over their children, it's hard to hold back. I never can (or do).

Rachel with Grandpa Harry and Grandma Pat

When our oldest, Rachel (BSBA '08), left for Creighton in 2004, it was the whole "first time" sentiment. She was the first to leave, we didn't know what to expect and so there was apprehension as well. Though our daughter was leaving for school, we still had a high school son and an eight year-old at home. We knew that we would be busy parenting.

When our son, Alex (BSBA '11), left for Creighton in 2007, I knew there would be no one with whom to watch college football and basketball games at home any more. My deer hunting partner was leaving. All my regular father/son activities would be drawing down. (We would, however, make it to church each week on time since we didn't have to wait for Alex each Sunday!) But we still had an eleven year-old at home who would soon be getting busy with junior high and high school activities.

Now, seven years later as Sarah leaves for school, I have different feelings. I will miss being a parent on a daily basis. I will miss chasing Sarah from one corner of South Dakota to the other watching her volleyball, gymnastics and fine arts events. I will miss her friends at our home with there youthful energy (and naïveté). I will even miss the perpetually messy bedroom.

I know Sarah will be educated in the Jesuit tradition. She will be challenged academically, socially and emotionally. She will learn how to serve others. She will make wonderful, lifelong friends that will shape her as much as or more than we, as parents, did. These are the reasons we are sending her to Creighton. They are also the factors that makes this process a bit easier. 

Last Friday night, we got her settled in her dorm room (with a ton of help from the "Welcome Week" crew). We made "Target runs" on Friday and Saturday.

We met Sarah's roommate and her family. We met several friends that Sarah knew - either from high school activities or from Creighton's "Admitted Student Day" or "Summer Preview". We attended a luncheon where we learned about the Creighton Students Union Presidential Fellowship in which she will participate (and about which we are very excited!). We partook in all the "Welcome Week" activities to which parents are invited (before they are shown the door and encouraged to use it!).

On Sunday morning, we took Sarah to breakfast at Lisa's Radial Cafe, part family tradition, part Creighton tradition and part great food. Rachel introduced us to Lisa's shortly after she started at Creighton and we have been making Sunday morning treks there ever since.

After breakfast, we took a couple of photographs and then we set off for home knowing Sarah was ready to hit the ground running. It was a long quiet drive - too quiet. But it was even quieter at home. My first stop when I got home was Sarah's bedroom.

The hard wood floor, normally carpeted with clothing, was visible. There were some empty nails on the walls from which she had taken favorite photos of family and friends. There were no half bottles of water on the dresser or breakfast bar wrappers on the floor. Those irritations seem so insignificant now.

It was quiet. Even her dog, Snickers, was not there, having been checked in to the "Marriott for Mutts" for the weekend. It was just quiet. We had silence before, but we always knew it would not be long lasting. I'm sure I'll get used to the quiet (might have to turn on all the TVs in the house for awhile!).

Judy and I look forward to trips to Omaha to visit our "Baby Jay", to see the Creighton family or to watch Bluejays basketball. We will enjoy a dinner at one of Omaha's many outstanding steakhouses or catch a musical at the Orpheum.

We are now looking forward to the next family gathering - which, ironically enough, will be the marriage of two great Creighton friends at St. John's church on the Creighton campus. The we'll look forward to Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.

I always find it to be a challenge to come up with a topic and start a new blog entry. But I think starting that this starting a new chapter will be an even greater challenge.

August 2014 SDADA Column

The New York Times started a firestorm with this August 8th editorial about sub-prime automobile lending. The article is rife with comments like this one:

Banks that are scrambling to buy such loans have sometimes formed alliances with unscrupulous dealers, including one who was indicted on grand larceny charges that he defrauded two dozen buyers.

In typical fashion, the New York Times suggests that ALL dealers are guilty of the actions of a few, all car loans are bad and, somehow these people would find a way to get a car without the high interest rates otherwise. Finance 101 - interest rates reflect the risk involved in the deal. High risk = High Interest rates.

Stephen Gandel, Fortune, provides a bit of balance with this August 13th article about sub-prime lending and GM's purchase of AmeriCredit (now GM Financial). Jim Henry, Automotive News, reports on the issue in this August 13th article as well. Moody’s Analytics senior director Cristian deRitis chimed in here.

NADA President, Peter Welch, rebutted the misguided New York Times editorial here. Welch is quoted, “Enforcement of existing laws against a small minority of bad players is in everyone’s interest, but smearing an entire industry for the misdeeds of a few is just plain wrong.”

This from Welch's rebuttal:

A subprime auto lender CEO ... said another big distinction is that mortgage brokers sold mortgages with no stake in how well those mortgages would perform in terms of repayment over the long term. In contrast, he said, the subprime auto lenders that sell asset-backed securities typically agree to buy back the loans if they perform below stated thresholds. “It’s called skin in the game,” the executive said. “That’s a big difference.”

Hopefully this issue dies a quick death. I'm sure the CFPB would love to weigh in.

Dealer Franchise System

I don't know if you saw John McElroy's editorial, Tesla Is Wrong, Franchise System Is Better, about the franchise system. You can read it here. He makes the case for the franchise system over factory stores:

Dealers will happily take your used car as a trade-in, no matter what brand it is. They’ll pay you a wholesale price, then turn around and retail it in their used-car lot. Do you think factory-owned stores would be interested in selling used cars from another car company? Never. Just for kicks, go ask your Tesla dealer about handling your trade-in. They send you to AutoNation.

What’s more, dealers are consumer advocates when it comes to doing warranty and recall work because they get paid by the factory to do it. Do you think factory-owned stores would be so consumer-friendly? Of course not. Warranty and recalls would represent higher cost, not more revenue.

McElroy's closes with the point that this is discussion is not about Tesla, but rather when Chinese automakers finally start selling cars in the American market. Do you think that the Chinese manufacturer will take good care of the consumer when he/she buys the $10,000 car? Who will be that consumer's advocate for warranty work? Who will point out the safety concerns and the needs for recalls? I think we know the answer to that one.

Attendee Registration and Housing Now Open for 2015 NADA Convention in San Francisco

Online registration for the 2015 NADA Convention & Expo in San Francisco is now open. Make your hotel reservations as soon as possible because rooms will fill up quickly. Early bird registration ends Sept. 12, which includes a $100 discount from the onsite rate.

The NADA convention runs Thursday, Jan. 22, to Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Moscone Center. The keynote speakers are former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and NADA Chairman Forrest McConnell, III, on Friday, Jan. 23; Jay Leno and NADA Vice Chairman Bill Fox on Saturday, Jan. 24; and inspirational speaker Beck Weathers on Sunday, Jan. 25. Click here for the speaker bios.

The NADA convention includes dealer-manufacturer franchise meetings, hundreds of educational workshops for dealers and their managers, several hundred companies exhibiting on the expo floor and numerous networking events. For more information or to register, visit www.nadaconvention.org.

Grandpa's Caddy

I've previously written about my Grandpa Frank. While he left a very significant impression on me during the seven and a half years we shared, perhaps his most lasting concrete legacy was his 1964 Cadillac Sedan Deville. He bought his car in 1965 from Novak Cadillac in Omaha. He replaced his 1961 Chevrolet Bel Air.

I remember the Chevrolet Bel Air from one eventful trip in it when I was three or four years old. I was riding from Chamberlain to Winner with Grandpa and Grandma on a hot (and I mean HOT!) South Dakota afternoon. Air conditioning in cars was a still a luxury - one that Grandpa had not splurged on in that car. I was roaming the spacious back seat by myself. We were somewhere near Hamill, SD when we hit a bump on the road (South Dakota roads were the same back then - every bridge was three inches above the road!) that caused the back window of the Chevy to shatter and the glass to fall down on me.

Grandpa pulled over immediately. Grandma was crying and asked me if I was alright. I was crying and I told her that I was fine - though I probably needed to change my undershorts! When Grandpa asked me why I was crying, I told him I was scared because Grandma was crying. Grandpa scolded Grandma, they put me in the front seat with them and we set off on the half hour trip to Winner!

Shortly after that, Grandpa decided to get his new Cadillac. I remember sitting on the arm rest on the front seat between Grandpa and Grandma in the Caddy. It was like a built in booster seat. This was in the days before child car seats and even seat belts for all passengers. I felt like I was the king when I rode with them in that seat.

I remember Grandma driving that car after Grandpa passed. She was so little for such a big car but she handled it with no problem. After Grandma moved from Winner to Chamberlain in the mid-eighties, Grandma drove it very infrequently. She drove it for groceries and to church.

Grandma passed away in January 1987 and I expressed interest in purchasing the car from my Mom and her two sisters. I think they were excited that I was interested and that it might stay in the family. I bought it from them and began the long, slow process of reconditioning it.

The car was in great shape mechanically but had some cosmetic blemishes. Over a five or six year period of time, I put on a new vinyl roof, painted the body and put on a new set of wide whitewall tires. I replaced some interior parts that had been lost or broken over the years. Later I replaced the seat covers, replaced the in-dash clock, put in a Bluetooth MP3 player and speakers and a did few other small fixes,

The original owners manual, window sticker and sales contract were in the car when I purchased it. I found a service manual, showroom literature and some magazine advertisements.

When (daughter) Rachel and (son) Alex (this was BS - before Sarah) were young, we drove the car to Winner to the drive-in theater a couple different times. The kids loved rides in the Caddy because people would spontaneously wave at the car - not us but the car - with a big smile on their face. You could almost see that the car was evoking memories of their youth as they watched us pass by them.

One Fourth of July morning, I took Rachel over to Roam Free Park (which overlooks Chamberlain and the Missouri River) and took some photos of her (on her birthday). Years later, she would take some of her high school senior portraits with the car - one of which hangs in my office!

The Caddy played a prominent role in Rachel and Andrew's wedding last summer. Not only did it shuttle the bride and groom to the church and reception/dance, it was featured in the wedding photos. That was so appropriate since Rachel has been posing with it since she was about four years old.

When Rachel was in college, she commissioned a very talented friend to paint a watercolor of the Caddy sitting at Roam Free Park. It hangs proudly in my office.

Each summer, the Caddy glides out of storage where it is nestled in a car cover in a garage. It's white walled tires roll down the streets of Chamberlain for a month to six weeks. It accumulates a couple hundred miles every years - adding to its total of 78,000+. It's a great ride to church on a summer Sunday morning. The locals smile and wave as its rolls down the streets of Chamberlain. The tourists drop what they're doing and gawk.

The vanity plate on the Caddy reads "64 CADI". That's why is it so ironic when people want guess what year it is. Like a teenage boy with the Swimsuit Sports Illustrated, they are so smitten with the car's beauty that they don't even notice!

This year, the Caddy is 50 years old. While it may have had a few wrinkles, the "work" that's been done has served it well - it looks pretty damn good. Because it's half century has been spent mostly in a garage and receiving lots of TLC, it  may be just hitting its prime!

I love the Caddy. I love it because it is a classic. I love it because it represents a different era - a simpler time. I love it because of what it does to people when they see it. I love it because when you put your foot on the accelerator, the 429 cubic inch V-8 roars (and moves the gas needle). I love it because you can put a family of four in the trunk. I love it because any pre-1970 song, regardless of fidelity, sounds great on its stereo. I love it because the wide whitewalls make the car look like it is wearing sneakers. I love it because when you sit behind the wheel, you cannot help but smile. But most of all, I love it because it was Grandpa and Grandma's car - their pride and joy!

We have had a lot of fun with the Caddy. I'm pretty sure Grandpa had no idea of the legacy that car would carry when he made that trip to Omaha in 1965.

Update - 9/4/2014: On August 30, I took the Caddy to the Prairie Cruisers Car and Tractor Show in Winner, SD. The show is part of the community's annual Labor Day celebration. Ironically, in its return to its "old stomping grounds", Grandpa's Caddy won a Best in Class award. Several old timers recognized it as Frank Wurnig's Cadillac. It made for a fun afternoon.

My First Cars

Cars are part of our American culture and as such, everyone remembers their first car. Some remember their first car for what it was - year, model, make, engine, etc. Others remember their first car for where it took them, the friends who rode shotgun, the responsibilities it brought (or didn't bring) or the sense of freedom that came with it.

For me, it was much more of the second group than it was the car. Perhaps if I had driven one of the the "muscle cars" of that era, it would be about the car. But my first car was anything but a muscle car. It was closer to a aircraft carrier!

When I got my South Dakota "learner's permit" back in the fall of 1974, I inherited the family station wagon. It was a 1967 Mercury Colony Park Station Wagon. Before it belonged to my family, it was the property of the Holiday Inn in Mitchell, SD. They had a vinyl sign on the wood grain side of the wagon. When the vinyl was removed, one could see how the wood grain had weathered. The wood grain under the vinyl had not weathered so my first car advertised the Holiday Inn in a not so subtle way.

That mattered little to me. Nor was I bothered by the fact that you could land small aircraft on the hood, that you could rent out the back of the vehicle to a small family, that it got about 3 gallons/mile (yes that is backwards but gas was about $.35 so it mattered little), or that it was a "sled".

I can't find any photos of the old Mercury but the photo below is a pretty good representation of my car. It was maroon instead of white. (Picture a dark image of a Holiday Inn sign on a faded wood grain!)

It was my car. It got me where I needed to go. I did not have to ride my bicycle or depend on my parents for a ride anymore. And the optimist in me rationalized that I could get all my fishing gear in the back of the wagon easily. What more could a 14 year-old ask for?!

1967 Mercury Colony Park Station Wagon

...until I started high school. The upperclassmen were not near as enamored with my "Woody Wagon" as I was and were quite outspoken about it. Let's just say I caught my share of crap about it. Soon after starting high school, I was working Mom and Dad for a better, "cooler" ride.

After a year or so of "salesmanship" on my part, Dad took me to the local Ford dealership and bought me a two year-old 1974 Ford Pinto - it was the top selling car in America that model year. It was orange with a stripe across the rocker panel and it had a glasspack muffler (exhaust gas passes straight through the center of the muffler) which meant it sounded a tough as a Pinto can sound.

I was thrilled and immediately began customizing the Pinto. While for most high school boys, that meant headers, wheels, new carburetor, etc, for me it meant a new stereo - the first automobile cassette player in Chamberlain -  a 5-band equalizer/amplifier and speakers with enclosures. I'm certain that 200 decibels was within my reach!

Soon I had all the upperclassmen stopping me to look at the stereo in my Pinto. Shortly thereafter, they were asking for my help in securing and installing a stereo of their own. I sensed a business opportunity and before long I was ordering and installing stereos.

All the money I earned went toward upgrading my Pinto's system. It was my "demo" model and was certainly justified as I tried to expand my audiophile empire. It allowed me to own the best automobile stereo in town throughout high school.

This was much more important then than it is now. We didn't have iPods, Walkmans or even "boom boxes" yet. If we wanted music, it came from our cars. We would often spend hours "cruising" the streets of Chamberlain. That was a big part of our recreation. The cruising was much better with great tunes blasting from a hot stereo!

One summer day my Dad came home to find I had cut a hole in the roof of the Pinto with a jigsaw. He was aghast to learn I was putting a sunroof in my car. He was sure I had ruined the car. I did a good job though (after I endured fixing a couple leaks) and I'm certain I had the only Pinto with a sunroof. 

1974 Ford Pinto

I drove the Pinto to Creighton University in Omaha in the fall of 1978. While it was an adequate vehicle, there wasn't much room to transport my limited belongings back and forth (especially with those speaker enclosures in the way!). So while the Pinto was a great high school car, it certainly wouldn't do for a "college man" - or so I told my parents.

1978 Ford Thunderbird

After several months of "salesmanship" again, they bought me a one year-old 1978 Ford Thunderbird in the summer of 1979. It was a luxury car compared to my Pinto. The Pinto stereo certainly would not do in this car - I would need an upgrade. And so it went.

My college buddies called it the "Thunderchicken" but that did not stop them from piling in for our road trips to follow our beloved Creighton Bluejays basketball team play or to follow Bruce Springsteen's tours across the Midwest. We roamed from Denver to Chicago with five of us packed to the car. It was a good thing that our luggage was little more than a change of underwear and a tooth brush!

The "Thunderchicken" served me well through the rest of my college years. I drove it until I went to work for Lederle Laboratories and got a company car. I courted my wife in both the Pinto and the T-bird (it was a long courtship!). I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have acknowledged knowing me when I was driving the "Woody Wagon"!

Each of these cars is still a part of me. Unlike others from my generation though, I have not spent any time looking for these vehicles or a facsimile to restore. I have many fond memories of these vehicles, the places they took me, who was with me and the events we attended stored in my mind. That will do just fine!

July 2014 SDADA Column

This year, 2014, is the year of the automobile recall. It’s only July, yet vehicle manufacturers already have recalled more vehicles this year than any other year in history.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there have been recalls for 37.5 million cars this year in the U.S. The previous record was 30.8 million in 2004.

Despite that fact that faulty ignition switches at GM have received the most of the attention, virtually every dealership in South Dakota has been affected by recalls. Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Hyundai, Mazda, BMW, Toyota, Subaru, Honda, Lexus and Kia have all had recalls in the last couple of months on some model or part.

General Motors was the trend setter. After being burned by the ignition switch issue in the first month as CEO at GM, it would seem that Mary Barra has decided to get all of the recalls out of the way right away. GM vehicles make up about two-thirds of the vehicles that have been recalled with more than 25 million recalls in the U.S.

It seems other automakers are aggressively scheduling recalls now since GM is providing cover with all of their headlines. No automobile manufacturer want to be accused of dragging their feet after watching what has happened to GM.

Why all the recalls? Is it because cars are more complex (more electronics) than ever and there are so many things that can go wrong? Is it because of faulty workmanship at the manufacturer level? Is it, as Mary Barra suggested at GM, an "underlying cultural problem" (read "arrogance") for manufacturers? Is it because people are keeping their cars longer than in the past?

Is it because of less manufacturer oversight of suppliers than in the past? Is it because of faulty workmanship at the supplier level? Is it because of the regulatory environment in our federal government? Is it our litigious society?

I will suggest that it is a combination of all of the above factors and probably some other that I have not listed. But the bottom line is that our customers want and need information about their vehicles.

Despite the consistent numbing reports of more recalls on the evening news, the dealers have been the stars. We have taken this opportunity to talk to our customers. The dealerships have softened the blow for GM and other OEMs.

Dealers are the front line contact for the manufacturers in any situation like this. The manufacturer may call for a the recall, but people take their vehicle to our stores for the repair.

I hope that the manufacturers remember what an asset that the dealers are for them at times like this. How soon will they revert to their "what have you done for me lately" attitude that they usual exhibit.

Jeb Bush, Jay Leno and Beck Weathers to Keynote 2015 NADA Convention in San Francisco

San Francisco will host the 2015 NADA Convention & Expo from Thursday, January 22, to Sunday, January 25. This will be the 16th time that the NADA convention has been held in San Francisco since 1948.

The keynote speakers include former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and NADA Chairman Forrest McConnell, III, on Friday, January 23; Jay Leno and NADA Vice Chairman Bill Fox on Saturday, January 24; and inspirational speaker Beck Weathers on Sunday, January 25.

The American Truck Dealers (ATD) Convention & Expo runs concurrently with the NADA convention at the Moscone Center. The NADA expo runs January 23-25.

Attendee registration and housing opens on Monday, July 21. For more information, visit www.nadaconvention.org.

June 2014 SDADA Column

Is this the beginning of the end for the dealer auto finance model? Will a flat fee model eliminate dealer risk?

Last month, BMO Harris Bank made the switch from dealer reserve to flat fees for compensating dealerships for arranging auto loans. The bank now pays a flat fee of 3 percent of the amount financed up to a maximum fee of $2,000 for contracts of 36 months or longer. BMO Harris is the first large auto lender (17th largest by portfolio size) to make this move.

Last year, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a bulletin that suggested policies which allow dealers to exercise discretion over interest rates and provide direct financial incentives for charging higher prices may lead to fair lending violations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

The CFPB claims that it is not pushing the industry to flat fees. On the other hand, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a written statement, “It is encouraging to see BMO Harris taking this proactive step to protect consumers from discrimination.”

What does that mean? Switching to flat fees does not eliminate dealer discretion, because flat fees can differ and dealers would still have to choose finance sources. How do you think your finance managers will choose their lending source? Would it possibly be based on who flat fee is the highest and, therefore, where they will make the most money?

NADA has released an new article, "The Fallacy of Flats" (which can also be found in this bulletin), that addresses an important compliance issue facing dealers in connection with dealer-assisted financing. In this article, NADA’s Paul Metrey cautions dealers that lender programs that pay dealers a flat fee do NOT eliminate the dealer’s risk of violating fair credit laws.

It is therefore important that dealers develop an effective means of managing the discretion they exercise in pricing credit, regardless of the way lenders pay them. To that end, the NADA Fair Credit Compliance Policy & Program provides a dealer with an optional method of managing its discretion (and in a manner that allows consumers to benefit from competition) when working with lenders who pay dealers using a dealer reserve or dealer participation approach.

I strongly encourage you to read through this policy to see if it might help you mitigate these risks in your store.

FTC Staffers Opine on Federal Blog

Three staffers from the Federal Trade Commission posted a blog on the agency’s website expressing their own opinions—not the opinion of the FTC or any individual commissioner—about how new cars should be retailed in the U.S.

The FTC staff bloggers, however, failed to acknowledge how the franchised dealer network actually benefits car buyers through price competition and safety, and provides enormous economic benefits to local communities.

During a flurry of media inquiries from Reuters, Automotive News, USA Today to CNN and others, NADA responded as follows:

“For consumers buying a new car today, the fierce competition between local dealers in a given market drives down prices both in and across brands – while if a factory owned all of its stores it could set prices and buyers would lose virtually all bargaining power,” said Jonathan Collegio, NADA vice president of public affairs. “And buying a car isn’t like buying a pair of shoes online. Cars require licensing to operate, insurance and financing to take home, and contain hazardous materials, so states are fully within their rights to protect consumers by standardizing the way cars are sold.”

So it is important that we have the bureaucrats' opinion?

The Dealer Franchise System Works Best for Manufacturers

A new NADA study highlights why the dealer franchise system is the most efficient  and effective way for auto manufacturers to distribute and sell automobiles nationwide.

According to the study, “Franchised dealers invest millions of dollars of private capital in their retail outlets to provide top sales and service experiences, allowing auto manufacturers to concentrate their capital in their core areas of designing, building and marketing vehicles”.

Key findings of the NADA study, “Auto Retailing: Why the Franchise System Works Best,” include:

• The average dealership today requires an investment of $11.3 million, including physical facilities, land, inventory and working capital.
• Nationwide, dealers have invested nearly $200 billion in dealership facilities.
• Annual operating costs totaled $81.5 billion in 2013, an average of $4.6 million per dealership. These costs include personnel, utilities, advertising and regulatory compliance.
• The vast majority—95.6 percent—of the 17,663 individual franchised retail automotive outlets are locally and privately owned. They generate billions in state and local taxes annually and provide significant employment opportunities that help build goodwill in the community.
• Manufacturers benefit from the high return on capital invested in manufacturing vehicles, as opposed to the low margin of retailing them.
• Dealers bear the cost and risks of these investments—at virtually no cost to the manufacturers—and provide a vast distribution channel that benefits the consumer.

The study is part of a major new “Get The Facts” initiative from NADA to promote the benefits of America’s franchised new-car dealership network. The initiative includes a Web site and variety of multimedia resources available at http://www.nada.org/GetTheFacts.

The centerpiece of the project is a two and a half minute animated video detailing the benefits of the dealer franchise system, viewable here. Other resources include a 30-second video, a fact sheet on the consumer benefits of dealers, a longer informative FAQ, a document explaining the reasons for state franchise laws, an infographic and other materials.

Click here for the study.

Grandpa Frank

Frank Wurnig was a beer wholesaler, a baseball man, a devout Catholic, a staunch Republican, a volunteer
fireman, a community man, a husband, a father to three daughters, a grandfather to seven grandchildren and a general all-around interesting character. He was my maternal grandfather.

Born in 1906 Lead, SD, he was the second son and the third of nine children born to Frank and Mary (Hauser) Wurnig. He completed 8 years of education in addition to his nine months of pre-Communion education at St. Martin's Academy in Sturgis.

He met my Grandma Theresa at a dance. They joined with my Grandpa's sister, Lizzie, to form a band. Grandpa played the violin, Grandma the piano and Lizzie played the drums. They played at house parties in the Hereford area.

Grandpa grew up in a baseball family. He and his siblings all played ball. He was the best catcher in the Hereford Flats area. More on this later.

He and Grandma had three daughters. My Aunt Bev and my Mom, Patricia Louise, were born in New Underwood where Grandpa had a pool hall. The family lived upstairs. My Aunt Mary Kay was born in Winner after the family moved there in 1940. Grandpa opened a Blatz distributorship in Winner when they moved there.

Grandpa hosted a rather famous "poker night" at the warehouse on a regular basis. In addition to serving up some cold beer, he gained renown for his "Tiger Meat". He was not a safari hunter, rather this kind of "Tiger Meat" was a raw beef concoction, ground and heavily spiced, served with saltine crackers. I can only imagine that it was tremendous with cold beer!

Over the years, Grandpa carried a wide variety of different beers but in 1953, he took on Schlitz. At the time (and through about 1976), Schlitz battled back and forth with Budweiser as the top brand in America. I still have several Schlitz advertising trinkets from Grandpa that tout Schlitz as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer". He also carried the aforementioned Blatz, Hamms, Grain Belt, Old Milwaukee, Storz and a few others through the years. Grandpa, a true promoter,  was known to sneak some beer into the nun's quarters at church when he delivered pop to them.

My family lived within his beer territory in Chamberlain, SD - about 55 miles northeast of Winner. It was just under an hour drive from one city to the other. Grandpa Frank's beer truck made that trip several times each week. They stopped at each of the bars, liquor stores and grocery stores in Chamberlain, refilling their coolers beer before returning to Winner to refill the truck.

The beer truck made for a very convenient ride to Winner for me to see my grandparents. Not wanting to let the truth get in the way of a good story, I always said that if I got in trouble at home, I would ride my bike to the bar to wait for the beer truck. More correctly, my mother and grandmother would coordinate where and when the pick up point would be so I could visit my grandparents in Winner. In later years, that might involve me riding my bike to the bar (or grocery store).

My drop off point would always be the beer warehouse where all "the guys" would pay special attention to the grandson of the boss. They all treated me great. Grandpa, however, loved to tease. He had many different ways he would do this, but suffice it to say that he was very creative and very persistent!

I spent most of my time at my grandparents house when I visited. They had a great variety of toys. There were many trucks (of the Tonka variety), much cowboy gear and other masculine toys. Grandpa and Grandma had three daughters and I was the first grandson. I think they had fun buying some boys toys for the first time.

The highlight of my visits there was always playing baseball. Whether it was a neighborhood wiffle ball game or just playing catch with my Grandpa, I learned to love baseball from him. He played, coached and umpired throughout his life. He was posthumously inducted into the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

I would go to Leahy Bowl (the baseball field in Winner where Grandpa's name is now on the right field 
fence) and sit in the grandstand and watch Grandpa umpire games. He would slip me a quarter every couple of innings so I could do some damage at the concession stand.

When Grandpa came home for lunch each day, I would meet him at the door with the baseball gloves and a ball and we would play catch until Grandma came to fetch us for lunch. After lunch, it would be some more tosses until Grandpa had to go back to work.

Though I never thought much of it at the time, our lunches were a pretty significant event. Grandpa loved cream of tomato soup, the kind with tomatoes cut up in a milk broth. Grandma fixed it for him almost every day. Often there was a different kind of sandwich to accompany it but she almost always prepared cream of tomato soup.

Before Grandpa sat down to lunch, he would go to the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of Schlitz beer. Then he would go to the cupboard to get a couple of small, clear plastic glasses. He'd open the beer and pour half in each glass. Then he'd slide one of the glasses over in front of me.

This was probably a big deal the first couple times it happened, but since it became a regular occurrence, it did not seem very significant. I remember the bitter taste and the bubbles as they went from my mouth to my throat. I would emulate my Grandpa's punctuating "AAAHHHHH!" after each sip then slapping the glass on the table after the final gulp - just like on television! Sometimes this scene would be repeated at dinner time but it was mostly a lunch time ritual. My Grandpa was just enjoying a beer with his grandson.

That's me on the car with Grandpa & Grandma.

As mentioned above, Grandpa loved to tease me. His favorite was to put his coat over his head when he came home from work at the end of the day. He would knock on the front door and then yell out that he was looking for a "blond-haired, blue-eyed little" boy. He would cook up some scary scenario for this kid if they found him. I was always concerned, even when I knew it was Grandpa teasing me. Grandma would always get mad and chew him out for scaring me and he would always have a belly laugh about the whole episode.

I sometimes wonder if he knew that his time with me was limited and so he wanted to get as many "Grandpa moments" in as possible. He certainly made an impact on me.

I remember he liked "Gunsmoke" and the "Jackie Gleason Show". He had a favorite rocker/recliner chair that he would sit in to watch those shows. He sat in that same chair as we watched the 1967 World Series together during our last fall together, Grandpa was a Red Sox fan (his oldest daughter, my Aunt Bev, lived in Boston) and he infected me with that disease that fall.

Carl Yastrzemski won the Triple Crown that season. He and Jim Lonborg led the Red Sox to the Fall Classic against the St. Louis Cardinals. They would lose in seven games but they won my heart over in the process. I am still a Red Sox fan despite the fact it was twenty years before they made their way to the World Series again and 37 years before they cast off the "Curse of the Bambino" and won the Series.

Grandpa died the following spring before I turned eight years old. He was 61 - still a young man. He left a very lasting impression on me in those seven plus years and I think of him often. I know that am a better person today because of my time with him.


Here are some headlines of articles about my Grandpa from the archives of the Winner Advocate:

3/21/1946 Frank Wurnig elected manager of Winner baseball team
10/10/1946 Nesbitt Bottling Co moves to new Main St building from temporary home on East 3rd St
1/15/1948 Frank Wurnig of Nesbitt Bottling Co. buys Dari Maid Ice Cream Co from Von Ayers
1/27/1949 Frank Wurnig, owner of Nesbitt Bottling Co. elected VP of SD Beer Wholesalers Assn.
9/20/1951 Herman Johnson buys Dairy Maid from Frank Wurnig.
4/30/1953 Frank Wurnig elected President of South Dakota Soft Drink Bottlers Association.
11/26/1953 Nesbitt Bottling Co. owned by Frank Wurnig will now distribute Millers and Schlitz beer.
8/18/1955 Frank Wurnig named president of Winner Lion's Club
10/17/1957 Frank Wurnig of Winner named head of Chicago-Black Hills hiway Association.
12/5/1957 Frank Wurnig reappointed District Commissioner for SD Amateur Baseball Association.
10/17/1963 3 firemen are honored as they are retiring: Ted Klappal, Floyd Teigh and Frank Wurnig
4/22/1968 Frank Wurnig, 61, long time Winner businessman and owner of Nesbitt Bottling Co. dies
11/10/1971 Frank Wurnig inducted into SD State Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame

Mom

My Mom, Patricia Louise Knust, wife, mother and grandmother, died on June 9. In a time when one's significance in life seems to be measured by how far up the corporate ladder one has climbed, the roles of wife, mother and grandmother seem to have been diminished. They are important roles for sure, but Patricia Louise Knust's roles were far more important than any others' because she was wife to my father, mother to my sisters and me, and grandmother to our three kids.

As we like to say about athletes, Mom "brought it every day" and "left it all on the field" when it came to her duties in those roles. She took them seriously and did everything she could to be the best that she could at each of them. That doesn't mean she was without flaw, but she showed her love of family in everything she did each day she was on this planet.

Mom was born the middle of three daughters to Frank and Theresa Wurnig in New Underwood, SD. Frank moved his family to Winner, SD in 1940. Grandpa Frank was a "cradle Catholic" and Grandma Theresa was a convert. They instilled a strong faith in all three of their daughters. Their lives and those of their daughters revolved around St. Mary’s Elementary School where Mom and her two sisters attended school and where Frank was a trustee for many years.

"Patty", as she was known in her school days, took piano lessons when she was young. She loved music and passed that appreciation on to her children and grandchildren. She formed several friendships at St. Mary's and later, at Winner High School, that lasted throughout her life. She got together with a few of these ladies somewhat regularly right up until her death.

After graduating from WHS, Mom attended college at Duchesne College of the Sacred Heart in Omaha. Duchesne closed as a college in 1968 and became a boarding school for girls. While there, she met my father.

I don't know many stories of my parents' courtship but I know they were married in October of 1959, shortly after Dad's graduation from University of Nebraska. They wasted no time starting a family when Dad took a job with Pillsbury in Mason City, IA, where I was born just ten months after they were married. Then they moved on to Grand Island, NE, where my sister, Christy, was born. When my sister Lisa was born ten months after their move to Chamberlain, my mother insisted that there would be no more moves!

Mom was  a full-time mother. When she wasn't cooking or doing house chores, she was sewing clothes for my sisters (and occasionally for me). This was part hobby and part thriftiness. She ran a very efficient household. She was a coupon clipper and found many other ways to save money.

Mom & Me - First Communion

I was a typical boy and the first thing to happen every time I got a new pair of jeans was that I would, almost immediately, fall on the pavement or playground and rip out the knees of my new jeans. Mom had enough of this so she began to proactively iron on patches to the inside of the knees of the jeans to fortify the denim. I didn't mind that, but when she ironed on the patch on the outside after my falls, the jeans would soon get shuffled to the back of the closet.

One of the skills Mom learned from the nuns at St. Mary's was cursive handwriting. She was a letter and note-writer throughout her life. When I was in college, she would cut out newspaper articles and send them to me with a handwritten note. Even when I moved back to Chamberlain, she would do that - sending the note and article to the dealership in an envelope with Dad as the courier.

Though she wore many hats in her lifetime, Mom's true vocation was a caretaker. She was always caring for others. Whether her family, her church or some other group, Mom took care of others. It started at home.

My father had many strengths, but caring for himself was not one of them. Though Mom took care of him in their young days, once he was diagnosed with diabetes in 1968, caring for Dad became a full time vocation. She embraced it completely and fully. It included preparing special meals for Dad, but that was something else she embraced.

When I was in high school, I came home for lunch every day. Some would say I was pampered (I was!), but Mom would prepare lunch for me every day. She made me a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup or creamed chipped beef on toast just about every day I was in high school. But what else would she make? Those were my favorites and so that is what Mom made.

Food is always pretty high on a teenage boy's priority list! I was in it for the lunch. I now recognize that Mom was in it for the 15-20 minutes of quality time with her son. Each day she learned what was going on in my life and what was important to me. That's what was important to her.

Mom embraced being a grandmother just like every other hat she wore. She loved spending time with her grandkids. Each had a special relationship with her and shared some interest. Whether politics, music, food or just conversation, Grandma Pat knew each of their interests and how to make them feel special.

Mom and Dad began spending time in Arizona in the mid-1990's. After several six-week stints in the "Valley of the Sun", they purchased a home in Sun City. She enjoyed decorating their new home. The Arizona climate was much easier on Mom's rheumatoid arthritis than was the humidity and cold of the South Dakota winters.

Though it was difficult for them to be away from their grandchildren (especially at Christmas time!), they had fifteen great winters in Arizona before Dad's health made the trip too difficult. They made many friends while in Arizona and Mom would stay in touch with many of them through email and hand written letters.

Mom's devout faith was always a beacon for our family. She was a lifelong student of the Catholic faith. She taught religious education when we were young. She was always very involved in many activities at St. James in Chamberlain. I believe Mom and Dad's faith made it easier for them to meet and enjoy others when they lived in Arizona and when Mom live in Sioux Falls. She was a wonderful Catholic example for her children, grandchildren and friends.

She was a conservative Republican. Her support for unborn was unwavering. I remember that she worked on several campaigns when I was young. Whenever I saw Mom, at some point the conversation would turn to politics. Whether local, state or national, she enjoyed talking politics, especially with those who had a similar viewpoint.

In 2010, when Dad's health deteriorated to the point that Mom could no longer care for him, they moved to Sioux Falls where they both could get the medical attention that they needed. Dad required full time nursing care so they lived in different places. Of course, Mom, ever the caregiver, felt guilty about this.

Mom lived at Trailridge Retirement Community in Sioux Falls. She loved her apartment and enjoyed having her daughters help decorate her place. A visit from either of them was a great excuse for some shopping and decorating.

She had some wonderful friends at Trailridge and in Sioux Falls. She spoke regularly of wonderful visits or outings with Marlene, Teresa and Bernie. Many of her Chamberlain friends would stop to visit her when the came to Sioux Falls.

Mom had so many health problems. Besides the debilitating arthritic condition, she had pulmonary fibrosis, spine surgery, breast cancer and many eye issues. Her calendar was littered with doctor appointments. Often one of her friends would accompany her to these appointments.

After Dad's death in January, Mom was supposed to have some time to focus on her health. She could finally spend some time and effort taking care of herself - rather than worrying about Dad. But it was just three months after Dad passed away that she received her cancer diagnosis - Stage 4 breast cancer. Though she was ready and willing to fight, she had so many underlying health issues, it was never a fair fight.

So Mom's final lesson to us was that life is not like a Hershey bar where everyone gets an equal square of the bigger chocolate bar. Fairness in life is not divided into equal portions. It just seems that Mom never got to taste the chocolate at all.

I miss you Mom.

Rachel's eulogy for Grandma Pat can be found here.

Lisa's "10 Things I Love About You Mom" can be found here.

Father of the Bride

We celebrated a wedding last August and it was pretty successful in my opinion. We gained a son and we had a great party.

It won't surprise anyone who knows me to hear that I did not buy any wedding magazines before the big event. I did not visit any wedding sites online to prepare, get tips or plan for the date. I did check on a few etiquette items so I wouldn't make a fool of myself.

My role was simply to host to the most important party that I had ever thrown. We invited all our best friends and our family. What could be more fun than hosting a party with your family and friends?

We had people from all corners of the country - many in South Dakota for this first time. The Millards catered a fantastic dinner to our home. We had the perfect evening to showcase South Dakota at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. The picturesque sunset over the Missouri River was complimented by a cool northerly breeze. It was the just kind of night you would order, if you could, for such an event.

But South Dakota summer could not be contained any longer. The hot, dry southeast 25-30 mph winds roared like a blast furnace on the day of the wedding. The 100+ degree temperature, not atypical for late August in Dakota, reminded us that the elements can be extreme on both ends of the spectrum in "God's country" as we like to call South Dakota.

But we celebrated a beautiful wedding ceremony followed but a momentous reception, dinner and dance that put the weather extremes out of everyone's mind. The bride and groom had fun. I believe our guests had fun. (I had a great time!) And that would be my ultimate test of a successful wedding.

But it has been fun to get reviews from others who do this wedding thing a bit more often. Matt and Kendra at Summer Street Photography did a tremendous job with the photos. Kendra, who was 8+ months pregnant at the time of the wedding, was a real warrior, especially in that heat on the wedding day. Despite the fact that we scared Matt a bit with our sailboat shoot, he rallied to get some great shots. Their comments and some of the photos can be found here.

Rachel and Andrew collaborated with Amy at Envision Event Planning to plan (what this father of the bride believes to have been) a truly great wedding. Spending a couple years on the wedding circuit at friends' weddings and having an eye for detail paid off for Rachel and Andrew. Amy's comments and more photos can be found on her blog here.

An online wedding magazine called "Dainty Obsessions" featured Rachel and Andrew's wedding in its Spring '14 issue here. Rachel's remarks highlight the magazine piece. (It was interesting to see the family dog, "Snickers", on the first page of the magazine feature.)

Each of these three spotlights suggest to me that I wasn't the only one who thought that it was an exceptional day and that Rachel and Andrew are a special couple. A great canvas, a photogenic couple, some great planning, wonderful execution (a little cash) and, most importantly, magnificent friends and family as guests will yield a great wedding every time (even if Mother Nature doesn't fully cooperate)!

Explorers Road Trip!

If you're a regular follower of this blog, you know of my affiliation with a young men's service club in Chamberlain. I have posted about the Explorers in the past.

I want to thank to St. Joseph's Indian School houseparent Andrew who authored this post on the St. Joe's blog about the Explorers' trip to Kansas City for a pair of Royals-Rockies games last week.

While he wrote it from the perspective of the seven St. Joe's Explorers (the group with whom he was charged with responsibility), I think he captured the experience for the twenty other members of the group as well. I know the part about being happy to be at the ball park rather than in the classroom was unanimous!!

I was pleased that the twelve eighth graders in the group got to experience the "hat trick" of Explorers trips: they visited Target Field in Minneapolis in sixth grade; they visited Coors Field in Denver in seventh grade; and then Kauffman Stadium this year.

Andrew described the ball park experience well but he didn't mention the food. It is pretty amazing how much ball park fare (read junk food!) 12-14 year-old boys can eat in 24 hours! AMAZING!

Thanks Andrew for a great post on a great group of young men!!

Explorers at Kauffman Stadium

Here is a link to all trip photos including their check presentation to the City of Chamberlain for playground equipment!