Shannon Davis took a Thursday afternoon drive from Mount Greenwood to Palos Heights.
During the 20-minute commute, she was honked at. She was yelled at by children and adults alike. She received a lot of attention.
The fact that she drove a 1948 Studebaker helped get her noticed on the trip. The fact that the Studebaker was full of large toy Muppets added to the commotion.
Davis, a Tinley Park resident, drove to the Palos Heights Classic Car Show to keep alive a tradition started by her grandfather. For close to 15 years, Mount Greenwood’s Jack Van Eck and his Studebaker and Muppets would try to recreate “The Muppet Movie” poster at the show.
Van Eck died March 29 of a heart attack at age 89, shortly after recovering from an unrelated surgery.
“He had perfect blood pressure and perfect everything the entire time (of the recovery),” said Wendy Van Eck, Jack’s daughter. Then all of a sudden, bam, he had a heart attack.”
Jack took the car all over in recent years, but since the Palos Heights show was one of his favorites, Davis thought it would be appropriate to bring the car this year in her grandfather’s honor.
“This is the show we would always come and sit with him at,” Wendy said. “It’s close to home. It’s in the evening. As soon as he passed, Shannon said ‘I want to take the car to Palos Heights.’’’
But first, Davis had to learn how to drive a stick shift. She started that process a month ago.
“Technically my grandfather started teaching me how to drive a stick shift on a 1971 Volkswagen,” Davis said. “But it kept dying. He would never let me drive (the Studebaker). It was too precious. That wasn’t happening.”
But a friend of Jack’s taught her how to use the Studebaker’s stick.
“It took a few tries in the parking lot,” Davis said. “But I started to actually get it about two weeks ago.”
Wendy said Jack created almost all of the Muppet characters himself.
“He was very artistic,” she said.
Jack, a Reavis High School graduate, told the Daily Southtown that a 1951 Studebaker played a big part in “The Muppets Movie” and he wanted to bring the feel of the movie to life.
While he brought the car to various shows, the Muppets made just a few appearances.
“It’s not always easy to drive with a bunch of Muppets in the car,” he said in 2021.
Wendy and Davis both said that they want to continue to bring the Studebaker back to the Palos show.
The Palos Heights Classic Car Show, which lines up cars in parking lots on Harlem Avenue in the downtown area, has run for the past 23 years including the 2020 pandemic year, when it presented as a parade.
This year’s version drew thousands of spectators in the heat and haze and 600 cars were registered.
One entrant who enjoys coming back each year is Orland Park’s Sam Van Bruggen, who brought a 1927 Model-T Roadster pickup.
Van Bruggen can answer most questions about the car, but one thing he can’t do is guess how many miles are on the classic. He said his parents, Jack and Betty Van Bruggen, drove it all over the country. It also made a trip across the ocean.
“It was manufactured in the USA but it was exported to Argentina,” Van Bruggen said. “It was a car with two seats and in Argentina they converted it into a pickup truck.
“When it came back to America, my dad bought it from a guy in Blue Island, who had it kind of stashed away.”
Van Bruggen, the president of Van Bruggen Signs, Inc., grew up with that car. He owns a few other antique cars including a 1915 Model-T.
The Chicago Christian graduate likes to take the 1915 treasure out to the Oak Lawn and Tinley Park Southwest Chicago Christian Schools to show it to third grade students.
“They learn about the Model-T and I quiz them and they go for rides,” Van Bruggen said. “They love it. It’s pretty much screaming the whole time.”
For some, it’s the highlight of their schooling.
“When the kids graduate and are asked their most memorable thing from elementary and middle school, a number of them will say ‘when we had the Model-T visit,”’ Van Bruggen said. “I have a lot of fun with it.
“For the kids, it brings history to life.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
