Take A Ride on the Way Back Machine!

It was 1968…when Illinois was celebrating its 150^th year of statehood. Towns throughout Henry County were planning various sporting events to celebrate. A meeting was held in Cambridge, the county seat, to coordinate events and insure that one town did not step on another's schedule. Ray Behnke went just to see what was happening. Annawan was having a Rolle Bolle tournament and others had softball, golf, running and various activities. Someone asked Ray, "What is planned for Kewanee?" He had not been involved in any kind of discussion, so, just to throw something out for discussion, he replied "We're going to have a Model T race."

The group was ecstatic — that was such a great idea, especially considering the Illinois historical remembrance. The rest of the crowd jumped at the thought that Kewanee would plan an event of historical significance. He couldn't back out! An off-the-cuff comment suddenly became a plan to proceed.

Being a new event, it took a lot of planning and preparation, but the first Kewanee Model T race became a reality in 1968, with the route encompassing every small town in the county. Timing included rest stops at every town with a timer to clock drivers and record their time in and back out. Local folks often had iced tea, lemonade and cookies for the drivers.

Consider that at that time there were substantially fewer cars on the road. If someone had a car that could top out at 45-50 mph, they had a great chance to be a winner. The first three years a 150-mile race was run on Sunday before Labor Day and on Monday a 50-mile race would go another direction.

Ray had recruited a cadre of Kewanee people as helpers. The early helping crew included George Cernovich, Howard O'Neill and Johnny Boss in the planning and routing for the event. Many others were needed to act as timers, helpers and a myriad of other details.

In the early days of running, a 100 mile event with a Model T that rarely got out of the garage resulted in blown tires, loose engine bearings and many broken parts. Considering this, the route evolved into a fifty mile event on country paved roads around Kewanee.

The first few years, every entrant got a trophy or plaque. Ray Behnke bought the awards out of his own pocket! There was no entry fee; it was felt by Ray that it should be easy to enter and participate. After a few years the Hog Festival Committee was brought on board to fund some of the expenses.

As time passed, Ray was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which crippled his whole right side. That did not slow down his enthusiasm, continuing to soldier on for another fifteen years before cancer caused his demise. Since 1994, Ray's children and grand-children have kept the tradition going, along with much support from the Cernovich and O'Neill children and grandchildren. Now we can see the fourth generation participating. It is such a thrill to see the next generations of younger people keeping the tradition alive!

Eventually, the continuing refinements in the old cars have resulted in speeds that forced us to rethink having an auto race on public roadways. It was decided. to change over to a rally format. The first change was called a poker run with cards drawn at various stops along the route. The scoring became a serious problem.  With nearly 40 entrants and various ways of sorting to make a poker hand, the scoring was a nightmare. That was when the format changed to poker chips with numbers on them. Drawing a chip got the number on the score sheet at each stop. Simple math made scoring more manageable.

With just luck of the draw, speed or skill is not a factor. All cars have a chance whether they are running 35 or 55. This also opened the event to include Model A's. Now we call the Ray Behnke Memorial Rally a "family fun run" covering about eighty miles. We encourage wives and girlfriends to drive and the kids to ride along. Participation by families will keep interest in our old cars and build a solid regard for the historical contribution those autos have made to the American way of life.

We want to express appreciation to Breedlove's Sporting Goods for their longtime support with prizes, trophies and posters. The local Ham operators club has helped with keeping everyone informed about breakdowns or disabled vehicles. They keep us appraised about the progress of all participants. Local merchants and many other supporters have contributed greatly over the years and the event could not have been successful for FIFTY YEARS without the help of so many people.

A big THANK YOU to all who have participated in any way!