Thursday, July 2, 2009

Mister "C" Himself....



Well known and often seen cruisin' Thunder Bay is Clarence Merko and his pink 1957 Thunderbird. If you go to pretty much any car event here in town, you will find Clarence and his T-Bird as well as a hot microphone in his hand. Mr. "C" loves to chat and can hold an audience at bay for quite some time with his verbal antics(always nice though). Clarence is a wonderful guy, friend to everyone, and would give the proverbial shirt off his back to anyone in need. His volunteer work around the city of Thunder Bay is second to none. Clarence has also been a lifetime member of The Lakehead Antique Car Club and has clocked thousands of hours on their behalf too. My wife and I had the privilege of spending some time with Clarence and his beautiful wife Pat down in Corpus Christi, Texas a few years ago, and the great fun we had especially with Clarence keeping us in stitches the whole time will always be an unforgettable memory.
The two car picture was taken in around 1992 of Clarence's T-bird and my Deuce coupe at the old original entrance to Vickers Park here in town. No one can drive into there now but we did have this opportunity for a photo shoot then. The last and black and white photo was taken as a promo photo of the park for a postcard that was for sale in the late 1940's. There is much speculation as to who the little girl and lady were. To the best of my knowledge they are Verlie Umpherson and her mother Sally. Verlie's brother Ken and Ken's wife Sue are old friends as well.
Thanks again Clarence for the great pose and wonderful smile on Canada Day, July 1, 2009. Click on pics to enlarge.

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