Well gang I guess that we are going to cancel the Rat Fink Reunion in Wendover for this year.

The problem at this time is that we don't have enough Artist/Pinstripers and spectators willing to come up and participate. Therefore, we will continue our search for a more suitable venue for future gatherings.

For those of you who participated in our poll I want to thank you for your feedback.  For those of you that wanted to come I ask that you accept my apology.

Obviously we do not need to have a gathering to find it in our hearts to give generously to those that are less fortunate than us.

For those of you who were willing to donate your art you can still auction it off on E-bay and send the proceeds to the Shirners Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. Please notify us via e-mail and we will make sure to e-mail your auction link to all of our Rat Fink Fans.

For those of you that are interested in participating and bidding on artwork donated, please e-mail us and we will put you on our list. Or alternatively you can always send you donations directly to the Shriners with an Ed "Big Daddy" Roth or "Rat Fink" notation in the memo line of your check.

                                        Send your donations to:

Shriners Hospitals for Children

Fairfax Road at Virginia Street

Salt Lake City, UT 84103

We will still be having our Ed "Big Daddy" Roth Run Whot ya Brung and Rat Fink Weekender in Wendover UT/NV along with our Rat Fink.Party and Kustom Kulture Extravaganza in Southern California in the summer of 2003.

Until then Ilene, Bert and I will attending the Mooneyes Christmas Party

Date: December 14, 2002

Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm

Location: Elks Lodge

13620 Whittier Blvd.

Whittier, CA 90605

Again I want to thank all of you for your continued support. God bless all of you. Have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Sincerely,

Webmeister Moldy Marvin

Comments from our poll:

1.Without Ed's physical presence, this isn't the easiest event to pull off. Why don't you keep it low key
and do it in Southern California, possibly your place in Little Rock--Mike Feinstein

2.I should be able to make it! Rick

3.The only reason for not coming is that I live in Maryland.

4.I live in Maryland also and it would be impossible to make it, man I wish I could!--Mike T

5.Moldy, sorry bro but the yearly trek to Bendover in August is about all I'm good for, I have a few ideas
as to a location, the main goal is to keep it from becoming the commercial pain in the ass that it had
become @ Moon Skip Autoholics 

6.Would really love to come but can't afford the airfare from Oz. - Mad Jack

7.Ain't got no ride street worthy at the moment. I'm just waiting (hoping) for next year...

8.Moldy, Sorry man, I can't make it. Jay -Jay Horton's Private Shop

9.do it anyway, may be sometime somewhere we will see ya

10.Moldy, this is killin' me..the wife planned a trip to Florida for the kids and I'm low on dough..GOD..ED
died and I want to see the spirit of his life live on,I also want to be more involved...Z-Man(cold boy
back east)

11.Hey Moldy, RockLady here...Christmas is a tough time of year in these financially recessive times.
To attend an event that holds no financial gain is tough even when local(within 500 miles)in good
weather. I'm sure that if Ed were still with us, the attendance of his good buddies might happen, but
most of us artists don't really know each other well enough to go out in mid winter when shop work is
slow without being able to realize some sort of financial gain. I know that when Ed first did these
reunions, it was held in So. Cal. at his shop on Atlantic during the early years and usually included
just the local artists and close friends. In my opinion, a warmer climate would be better for the
turnout. No, it shouldn't be as commercial as the RF Mooneyes events have become, but a bit of
public to purchase a few elite items would help some of us defray expenses and justify the Reunion
event. Maybe a "by invitation only" to those that are collectors and are truly there not only for Ed's
memory, but also to purchase their own memorabilia of the event would entice more artists to
attnend? I am close enough to attend, but physically can't do the cold weather thing and financially
just can't make it this year...see ya at the RF Party this coming summer though, maybe even the Hot
Rod Momma event if you are still having it this spring. Jeanne, RockLady Art-Las Vedas, NV

12.dxrviper@aol.com....Maybe a "by invitation only" to those that are collectors and are truly there not
only for Ed's memory, but also to purchase their own memorabilia of the event would entice more
artists to attend? Just a thought DXR

13.Inkfink here ... Being on the East coast makes it tough get out you way but you can count on me to
contribute artwork for the auction. Wish there was a better way to make these things work for
everyone ... howabouta virtual Rat Fink reunion?

14.RoadSavage sez... My work shedule just won't allow the trip this year. I had a blast last year. I
thought it was a fine tribute to take the reunion to NV/UT. Fulfilling the wishes of your friend Ed must
have been painful and joyous at the same time. I appreciate what you've done and I'm sure a bunch
of other folks do too... and someday you'll get a chance for Ed to tell you he appeciated it too..... Or
he might just slap ya on the back and tell ya he was just kidding about drag racing in the middle of
winter in NV/UT. Either way it goes... you've done good. I'm glad I was a part of it. I don't think anyone
would have any hard feelings if you switched the location to your ranch. Might be a little easier
access for travelers, but off the beaten path enough to keep it low key.

15.chris_the_creep@yahoo.com i think it should be in So.Cal.....not because it would be better for me,
but because this is where kustom kulture was born.

16.Think you should Consider moving it back to Woodland Hills. Alot easier to get to...

17.How about a Rat Fink "Power Tour"? Milwaukee, WI

18.Docfranknstein here I would love to go, but I have 3 kids and where I go they go, and I can't make a
trip that far away.if the show was held closer I would surely be there, besides a 70 mile one way trip
to the San Fernando valley seems like a cross country trip in one of my wacked&hacked hot rods.
The Doc

19.l would love to come but l am in England , l am an artist too drawing peoples cars in any style and
drawing stuff for my self just for fun ...Stu.Art www.chinga.co.uk/stu-art

20.If this is for ROTH then it should be held where ROTH wanted it held, Wendover. Please send me
more details on what an artist needs for display. Thanks Ryan Orr www.customs-specialties.com 

21.Hey Moldy!! You know you and Becca can count on me if you need help...makes it a little easier now
that i am in UT... love, Celia

22.I agree that it should be where the BIG DADDY wanted it and keeping it in wendover will make it
more of a reunion and less commercial. Jd Spokane wa.

23.I can appreciate the effort made to keep within "Ed's wishes". I know that the last reunion he
attended got way, way out of hand and I can't help but to think that this particular event was his
deciding factor (moving the reunion). Selecting Wendover, Utah, in my opnion, was a knee jerk
reaction on Ed's part. Moldy told me how upset he was at the shut down of that year's reunion... For
economic's sake, participant's sake and my sanity's sake, I think So Cal is a good place to keep the
reunion. I think Ed would understand, don't you?

24.Moldy I would dearly love to attend and lay my stripes with the best,but sadly I live too far away,and
I'm teaching at that time,I will get out next summer to see you all if poss. Wayne

25.Moldy I would dearly love to attend and lay my stripes with the best,but sadly I live too far
away,(England)and I'm teaching at that time,I will get out next summer to see you all if poss. Wayne

26.Moldy FM,were already here.Hot Rod Randy,Deeana, Patricia,Devan,Sharp Brad,SGT
Carter,PeeWee Crusier,Zach,Mike Slimjim,Dennis,Mr Zee,Slingshot Lars,The Shepard
Brothers,Gene Chevy,Brad P.(10 second Camaro)The Rosevelt Group,The Kerns Boys,Tracy
Truck,Stan+Shanna with Ma and Pa SS,Chevy John and Joe Dodge. No snow or rain,but it will be
colder than today. We'll update you next week live from Wendover!

Below is the original posting on this page explaining the situation at hand.

=============================================================================

As you all know we moved the Rat Fink Reunion to Wendover Nevada/Utah last year. Not a whole lott'a folks showed up but those that did had a great time.

I've had several old time friends of Ed send me e-mail on past experiences of the event. I would like to shed some light on the history of the Rat Fink Reunion and what it is about and what it should be.

Back in its early days the Rat Fink Reunion was a special event pretty much unknown to the public; a place where Ed's buddies in the hot rod and striper scene would get together as part of the magic of the Christmas season.

Ed always planned it the weekend or so before the 25th to coincide with everyone's feeling of giving and sharing and as such it was truly an event of epic proportions even though it had a relatively small turnout.

It was the tradition that Ed loved. Cruising over to the grocery store to get burgers, buns and sodas; firing up the BBQ and then letting the event unfold with a car as the canvas around which the rekindling of friendships and teaching took place.

As the years went on, the beauty was transformed into a cash cow; people lined up to get Ed's signature (perhaps to somehow enhance their net worth). A sadness crept in for the old times. Something that was never spoken but became the backdrop for what could have been. The advertising, the write-ups in mags brought about the change, too.

Last year's event in Wendover was held to fulfill Ed's wishes to move the event away from the commercialism and back into the Holiday sprit. Ed didn't have a plan on how to bring the event back to its roots but by having the experience of Wendover he felt he could regain control of what was really important.

The real problem with the location was the distance that the stripers and buddies would have to travel to get there, particularly in the adverse winter environment of Northern UT/NV.

All of us that showed up had a really great time and it was like a family reunion. The Drag Racing was a lot of fun but Ed never had a Drag Race at the Reunion. We only had two Pinstripers show up. So what about the rest of the artists? Where were they?

We had several artist send stuff for the auction but they still weren't there.

One thing that we accomplished was our Charity Auction. There were only about 40 of us in the room and we still managed to raise some cash for the Shriners Children's Hospital in Salt lake City.

The Big Question is, did we really accomplish the goal of  bringing back the real meaning of the Reunion by moving it to Wendover ?

Sincerely,

The Moldy One