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Posted By: Knighty FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 06th 2012 11:43 pm
MANY YEARS have passed since I last saw my old friend Dick Rattee.In the beginning Dick was very active in vanning and going so far as to promote a show of his own in his home town in CT. Scott Croft and spent the weekend with him and particpated in the show...The last event I saw him at was the natz in Lebanon PA....Even then he was reverting to his Indian roots and instead of van events he could be found at Pow-Wow's...Years later, as Lucy and I drove home along the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts I spotted his van parked on the grounds. We turned around and went back and had a long visit with him....He was telling me that he had purchased some land in Colorado and just might retire there....We never saw him again, but I always would wonder what happened to him whenever we drove past the Pow Wow area....

Many vanners in New England in those days knew Dick well and his van " FOX DEN " was a constant winner in van shows....I even got into the act and routed out a set of running boards with the van name in old English script.....

Now today, we got a phone call from our son Sean and his wife Peggy that they had discovered this old show van, wanted to buy it, and asked if I knew any history on the van....They live in Muskogee OK and found the van in Texas....A peek at some online pictures showed me that this indeed was Dick's van. They purchased it on the spot and intend to bring it back to it's former glory.....

As for Dick, I have no idea if he is dead or alive, or where he might be, but if anyone out there has a contact with him I'd sure like to know.......
Posted By: Wizard78 Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 07th 2012 9:08 pm
I'm sure the last time I saw him was the 96 Nats in Pa
Posted By: dan Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 08th 2012 12:12 am
I remember Dick and his van very well. The last time I seen him he was telling me about the whole indian thing as well, dont know how to contact him now. I do remember him talking about a daughter, but thats all I know. He is one of those old vanners I think about from time to time and wonder what ever happened to them.
Posted By: HighwayStar Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 08th 2012 2:01 am
Interesting ..hope he's alive and well...would love to see pics of his van.. smile
Posted By: Sean_and_Peggy Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 08th 2012 9:24 pm
We absolutely fell in love with this van when we saw it. It does need a LOT of work - but we can do it. It just needs some TLC! We will post pics soon. Sean drove it the 4 hours home and had no problems - needs a few minor adjustments. He has been working on the hinges, sliding door, engine, fiberglass patching frown and I have already started working on the pretties (curtains, interior) smile Lookin forward to getting it on the road!!!
Posted By: Doc 2% of Canada, EH!!!! Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 08th 2012 11:20 pm
Nice ! A priceless artifact, and a vanner who returned to his routes...A double bonus !

Knightly, download Firefox 12 at www.mozilla.com.
Posted By: nomercy79 Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 09th 2012 4:32 pm
I was in Silver City Vans with Dick Rattee back then in the late 80s. We trucked to alot of runs together. He won alot of trophys with that van. I remember working on it with him alot. Don't know what happened to him. He has a daughter Michelle who is probably in her mid to late 30s now. Hope the resto comes out good. Would like to see it again...
Posted By: nomercy79 Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 09th 2012 4:33 pm
I have some pix of that van way back if needed...
Posted By: NateB Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 09th 2012 4:43 pm
I found a Michelle L. Ratte (Age 39) in Southington, CT doing a people search. Could be Dick's daughter.
Posted By: nomercy79 Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 09th 2012 8:32 pm
That is Dicks daughter. She is on facebook under Michelle Belanger. I am not on FB so tell her i said HI...
Posted By: Phoenix Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 09th 2012 10:31 pm
pics
Posted By: Sean_and_Peggy Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 11th 2012 10:31 pm
I've been trying to post pics but I keep getting "error on page" but I will keep trying! We have already gotten a court order declaring that we are the legal owners and that paper was sent to the State Tax Commission for our title! Also I found the artist of the murals, Robert Gorske in CT and he said he would be happy to do some touch ups and redos for us!!! This is so exciting - get us a title and tag and we are goin on a road trip!! Poor old 72 Ford Econoline in the garage is on hold! But we will get back to it - it is almost ready for primer and paint! I told Sean the other day you know what the cool thing about Vannin is? YOU ARE NEVER DONE - there is always something to add or change, its a fun life!!
Posted By: Sean_and_Peggy Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 11th 2012 11:48 pm
We would love to see the old pics!!
Posted By: Sean_and_Peggy Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 12th 2012 8:05 pm
THe pics are still on Dallas Craigslist - search for FOX DEN!
Posted By: josh_performanceinc Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 12th 2012 8:33 pm
[Linked Image] [Linked Image]
[Linked Image] [Linked Image]
Posted By: Sean_and_Peggy Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 13th 2012 12:04 am
Thank you!!
Posted By: Wizard78 Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 13th 2012 12:46 am
Great score Congrats cheers
Posted By: Sean_and_Peggy Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - May 13th 2012 12:54 am
I just sent an email to a Richard (Dick) and Barbara Rattee - will see if I picked the right ones!! Will let you know!
Posted By: vanmachineman Re: FOUND.....A HISTORIC VAN. - June 11th 2012 1:38 pm
What a small world. Gorske has been around for a number of yrs.He has been battling cancer for some time now. He is doing well. Saw Bob and he had mentioned this.He is looking forward to getting this van again.Really hoping you Vanners bring it this way to have her touched up. Bob just finished up on my Van The Machine.she is still down there. Oh Yah.. Dick.I can remember him he had a van show and poor Knighty came all the way from Ny and Dick put his daughter in the his van and his van took the award.I felt for Knighty & lucy that yr.MANY MANY MOONS AGO. Dick got into Nascar. http://www.ctbikersguide.com/businesses/roadestudio.php http://www.ctbikersguide.com/businesses/roadestudio.php
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