For 40 years, the Gold Dust chapter of the Vintage Motor Car Club of America has been a show-stopping sight whenever club members take their lovingly restored vehicles on the road. Enthusiastic smiles, thumbs-up and friendly shouts of “nice car!” are just part of the fun of being in this car club.
The Gold Dust chapter VMCCA celebrated its 40th anniversary on April 13 in Rapid City. Classic vehicles, friendly people and decades of road trip adventures are the heart of this western South Dakota car club.
The Gold Dust chapter welcomes anyone who owns or enjoys classic cars. The chapter was formed in 1984 by Bill and Thomasetta Kuhl of Hot Springs, the late Jack Markitan and the late Maynard Downen. Markitan named the chapter in honor of gold mining in the Black Hills. Markitan owned a 1929 Chandler and a 1939 Packard when the chapter formed, and a sketch of his 1929 Chandler still serves as the Gold Dust chapter’s logo.
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The Gold Dust chapter formed with 48 members and has maintained a steady membership. Forty years later, the club has 54 members, most of whom gathered for the 40th anniversary celebration. Many current members have been part of the Gold Dust chapter for a decade or longer. The club’s president, Kresta Faaborg, is a relative newcomer by comparison who joined in 2019.
“I like going for the tours. We actually use the cars,” said Faaborg, whose vintage car is a 1983 Monte Carlo. It’s the first car she ever owned, and she’s had it for 31 years.
The Gold Dust chapter plans tours throughout western South Dakota from May to October each year. In the past 40 years, Gold Dust members have traveled the entire United States for regional and national tours and events. The chapter has hosted events including the national 61st Revival AAA Glidden Tour in 2006 that showcased cars from the 1930s, '40s and '50s.
Memories of tours, travels and cars they’ve owned was a big part of the Gold Dust chapter’s anniversary celebration. Members shared scrapbooks, photos, memorabilia, tales about their travels and, of course, their cars.
“Everyone is so interesting and their backgrounds are diverse … but we all come together because we love old cars,” Faaborg said. “I like all the people and the stories with their cars.”
Kay Fuhrer, for example, still remembers the panic she felt when she bid on – and won – an auction to purchase a 1967 Ford Galaxy 500 convertible on eBay. She’d never bought anything on eBay before, but the car was like one she’d owned and loved years earlier. Kay said her daughter assured her she’d be outbid. Instead, Kay was shocked to find herself the winning bidder. As its new owner, Kay had to figure out how to get the car from the seller in New Mexico to the Black Hills.
“I couldn’t believe I had done that,” Kay said of buying the car online.
When the car was transported from New Mexico, it turned out to be in excellent condition. Now, about 16 years later, Kay and her husband, Rod, still own it. That was the beginning of Kay becoming the family’s classic car collector. The Fuhrers have been Gold Dust chapter members for 14 years.
While the shared love of cars attracts people to the Gold Dust chapter, the camaraderie and friendships are what Gold Dust members cherish most.
“I think car nuts are real interesting kind of people,” Thomasetta Kuhl said. “They love their hobby. They’re pleased with it and when they talk about it, they’re always interested and excited about it. I just like them. We’ve made a lot of friends.”
Gold Dust members have supported each other through joys, such as congratulating Faaborg on her recent marriage, and sorrows, such as the recent deaths of club members including Maynard Downen.
Thomasetta Kuhl and other Gold Dust members fondly recall a birthday celebration the chapter organized for her weeks after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Several club members drove to Hot Springs to parade past Thomasetta’s house to offer socially distanced birthday greetings that surprised her and her entire neighborhood, Thomasetta chuckled.
“The people are fantastic,” said Randy Schmidt. He and his wife, Patsy, have been club members for 17 years. “There couldn’t be a better bunch of people.”
New members welcome
The Gold Dust chapter is the only chapter of the VMCCA in South Dakota. The Vintage Motor Car Club of America, a national organization, was formed in 1938. Its mission then and now is to promote touring and enjoyment of vintage vehicles through the acquisition, preservation and exhibition of all vintage and historically significant vehicles and associated materials.
At the time they talked about starting the VMCCA chapter, Markitan and Downen belonged to another car club that limited its membership. Thomasetta Kuhl recalls that Markitan and Downen wanted to start a club that didn’t limit its membership and could be open to more people. They were convinced there would be interest in such a club, and they were right.
Over the past 40 years, Gold Dust members and their cars have appeared in countless local and regional parades and car shows, and they’re always on the lookout for new places to tour and explore.
The Gold Dust chapter is continually seeking new members to join them on their adventures. Faaborg encourages anyone who’s interested in learning more to come along on one of the upcoming local tours the club is planning. The next one will be a trip through Custer State Park on May 18. Guests and prospective members are welcome. For more information, contact golddustchapter@gmail.com or vmcca.org.