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.......
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.......