Frankie Schmitz

Mark,

You wrote the following in another topic:

"This is a 'Shout Out" to long time Members:

Does anyone remember a Member by the name of Frankie Schmitz from Gainsville,TX ?

If I recall..............he won both long distance awards, at the National Convention, for driving a car, and towing a car.

He towed a Desoto, with a Desoto.

I think the Convention was in Michigan, or Indiana.

It was many years ago.

See what people miss, by not attending?

He was one of a kind !

Mark Waite"

You're thinking of the 1989 NDC Convention that was held in Detroit. On his way to that convention, if I remember the story correctly, his 1955 Fireflite sedan broke down. I don't remember now exactly what it was that went wrong with it. Anyway, he got his 1929 K sedan off of its trailer and drove it to a parts store in a nearby town. There he found a part for a 1956 De Soto that would work on his '55. Drove the '29 back to the '55, fixed the '55, put the '29 back on its trailer, and finished driving to Detroit.

I crossed paths with Frankie in 1992 while on the way to the NDC Convention in Sacramento. We were driving modern iron and had stopped for lunch in Kingman, AZ. (We had been to the Grand Canyon and was on our way to Las Vegas.) Coming out of the restaurant, I saw a 1936 Airstream Deluxe coupe in the parking lot. Going back into the restaurant, I found Frankie and a friend of his who was going with him to the convention.

The last time I saw Frankie was at the 1993 NDC Convention in Dayton; he drove a 1935 Airflow 4-dr sedan to that show.

So why the sudden interest in Schmitz?

Bill Noble