After the South Bend swap meet, my wife and I drove a little west to the Indiana Dunes area. We spent the night in the town of Chesterton, stayed at a bed and breakfast place in an old railroad station. While chatting with our charming host, we mentioned that we had just come from the Studebaker event. He said he actually knew a member of the Studebaker family who lived nearby, so he called and invited her over. Soon, Heidi Studebaker arrived, as well as some other people. Heidi brought her history books of the Studebaker family. She is descended from Peter Studebaker. She is a mechanical engineer, and interested in the history of the Studebaker cars and trucks. As it turned out, her father Henry and an uncle had also been at the swap meet.
To make the evening even more interesting, one of the other women who dropped in for the little social event said she had grown up on a farm near South Bend. She told the story of how, when she was a young girl (and she's not that old now), the man who lived on the adjoining farm invited her over to see his cars. She said she marveled at the barns full of Studebakers. So I immediately asked her, "Was that Tom Karkiewicz?" She was astonished that I guessed it. [Tom has the white schoolbus full of parts that he drives to Studebaker meets.]
We love these Studebaker adventures, especially the unexpected ones.
To make the evening even more interesting, one of the other women who dropped in for the little social event said she had grown up on a farm near South Bend. She told the story of how, when she was a young girl (and she's not that old now), the man who lived on the adjoining farm invited her over to see his cars. She said she marveled at the barns full of Studebakers. So I immediately asked her, "Was that Tom Karkiewicz?" She was astonished that I guessed it. [Tom has the white schoolbus full of parts that he drives to Studebaker meets.]
We love these Studebaker adventures, especially the unexpected ones.
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