Herb Karner

[Guest The Kid]

Herb is my Granddad.

Despite his strong will and sharp mind, his body is wearing out. Perhaps in this crowd it would be more accurate to say that whatever body work he might need, he's got some major engine trouble.

While hospitalized a couple weeks ago one of the docs told the 95-year-old car lover that he was due for his 95,000 mile tune-up. He replied, "I don't just need a tune-up, I need a retread".

As much joy as he has derived from simply being a part of the AACA, my Granddad has been especially proud to have been a participant in the Founders Tours. A lot of us would recognize a lot of you from the post-tour slideshows. He's disappointed that he won't be able to attend the next tour.

Some of you may know that Herb is not a big fan of the internet, but he loves his friends and the written word. If any friends out there would like to use the written word to tell a Herb story, I'll pass it on. I'm sure he'll excuse the medium in appreciation of the content.

Edited August 2, 2010 by The Kid (see edit history)

[Terry Bond]

Wow, where to begin! Herb and I go back a few years through the newsletter end of our hobby. Herb was one of the best at it and I never could understand why he wasn't in our newsletter awards contest when I first began looking at newsletters about twelve years ago. After a few lengthy letters (pre-email) Herb and I became good friends. I guess we both had an understanding of why club newsletters are so important. It isn't about the awards, it's about meeting the needs of the local group, and man did he do that in grand style. Herb often referred to his part of the world as "fly-over" territory - meaning that people just passed over or through and never stopped to "smell the roses." Well Herb, I can tell you that you taught me a lot about the newsletter business. You also taught me to quit bypassing "fly-over" country. We've had the chance to sit and talk a few times over the years, and I'm proud to say that Herb got some pretty nice awards for all his hard work despite not ever really wanting recognition. It's unsung heros like Herb though that have kept AACA going strong over the years, so to him, my heartfelt thanks goes out. He has had a great impact on our hobby through "the written word" of his newsletters. I'm proud to know him.

Terry Bond

[Shop Rat]

Dear Kid, First I want to say how pleased I am that you have taken the time to post about your grandfather. You have to love him a lot to do so.

Second, could you post a photo of him for those of us that just can't recall if we have crossed paths with him? I feel I must have in the span of 1991 until now.