Twin City Idlers, The Beginning

Have you ever wanted to make a little change in this world? Have you ever thought about your friends and others and wanted a little more time with them, maybe just to kick around ideas and help each other if you can?

Well, that is what a group of gentlemen did in the little town of Stanwood, WA. Just a few short years ago, Gordon West, Lonnie Anderson, Dennis Robb, Warren Fiedler, and Jimmy Kounkel were sitting in Stanwood Cafe having breakfast and batting around ideas, thoughts, and solving world problems. You see, these guys had been having breakfast at this cafe every Saturday morning for months. They kept talking about how neat it would be to have a local car cruise and share stories with others. Finally, Gordon said, "Let's quit talking and do something about it!"

Within a couple weeks in April or May 2002 (no one remembers exactly), they were having the first get-together and surprisingly, they had 30 guys show up in their cars. Everyone who showed up thought this was a great idea because it was local, they didn't have to drive too far, and it was something to do. They all just wanted to get together and meet as friends, cruise, talk, share stories, support and help each other, and, of course, who wouldn't want to show off the hard work they had put into those beautiful cars.

One of the first orders of business was to meet as a group and to come up with a name. The main goal was to invite everyone who wanted to participate, but mainly to be an ACTIVE club. Everyone had great thoughts and suggestions and the group decided to renew the old club name. You see back in the 50's and 60's, there was a car club in Stanwood called the "Twin City Idlers". So out of respect for the original founders, the old members, and their cars, everyone agreed on the original name. Hence "Twin City Idlers" was reborn and once again cruising the streets of Stanwood.

The club has been a tremendous success. It has grown at an extremely fast pace for the short time it has been together. The club president says, "It has grown so fast, it is a little scary." The club as a whole has had to adjust to this rapid growth. To keep people interested, new ideas and suggestions keep bouncing off the cafe meeting room walls. It was decided early on that any funds raised though Club activities and dues would be used in the local community, keeping only enough funds to produce a monthly newsletter and a yearly Car Show.

Through this outreach, there isn't one SINGLE member who has benefited - we have all benefited as a group. The club has been able to support numerous local charities including, Stanwood Camano Food Bank, both Stanwood and Camano Island Senior Centers, and others. We have set up an Endowed Scholarship for a graduating Stanwood High School senior who is planning on pursuing an education in anything automotive to help them on there way.

The car club has grown from the original 6 men and their wives, to 120 members and is still growing. The first cruise-in was held in June 2002 at the local Dairy Queen with approx. 40-60 cars. They have had several events which include: B-B-Q's, picnics, monthly cruises, local Parades, the Christmas Dinner, and their first annual Car Show that drew in a surprising 260+ entries. That has grown to upwards of 500+ cars on the last Sunday in June.

If you ask the original guys who got this whole thing started, "Why has your club been such a success?" they will gladly tell you, "because we like to have fun, we like people, we enjoy helping each other, and we love talking about the cars and old times. In a nutshell, we just love life!!"