History of the Milwaukee Region, Porsche Club of America
As with every region in the Porsche Club of America (PCA), the Milwaukee Region got its start because of the enthusiasm of a core group of Porsche owners who enjoyed the people who owned the cars as much as the cars themselves.
In the early days, Milwaukee Porsche owners were part of a combined Chicago-Milwaukee Region. To form a new region, 12 members were needed. In 1960, the magic number was reached and the Milwaukee Region was chartered by PCA. The enthusiastic founding group planned their activities month to month with the same goal for each event - derive maximum enjoyment out of their 356's and Super 90's.
Reminiscing about the early days of the region, founding member Harold Zimdars, who was a factory-authorized Porsche mechanic in the 1960s, said that the members were so obsessed with "pushing their cars to the limit that they were wearing them out and breaking them faster than I could put them together."
In addition to driving-oriented events, early club activities reflected the social norms of the era with bowling parties and banquets. Minutes from the 1960s indicate that board meetings started after 8 p.m. and generally ran past 11 p.m. A secretary's record noted that one meeting almost spanned two days as the board worked close to midnight before adjourning.
Early minutes also noted the region actively petitioned Porsche-Audi to establish a dealership in the Milwaukee area. Their wish was granted when Concours Motors became the first Milwaukee-area Porsche dealer.By the mid-1970s, Porsche ownership in the area had grown and so did club membership. In 1974, the Milwaukee Region had 75 members and by 1979 the number had doubled. Region members were having a great time. A highlight of the 1978 holiday party was homemade cookies shaped like a 356 model.
The region's newsletter, Steinlifters, evolved from typewriter and mimeographed format to a more professional layout. Steinlifters started running ads in the late 1970s and featured a color cover by the end of 1979.
The region hosted "challenge slaloms" in the late 1970s as well as the "Great Pumpkin" rallye, a regular event in October for many years. The term autocross is now used in place of challenge slalom.
Region members have always taken great pride in showing their Porsches. In 1981, four Milwaukee Region members drove their 911s and 356s to Iola, Wis., to participate in the annual car show that covered several acres in the central Wisconsin town.
In 1982, club membership rose to 160 members - the same year the club had a beer tasting party as part of its social schedule. Sporting events sprinkled the region calendar, too.
Tech sessions were as popular in the early days of the region as they are today. A tech session in 1982 hosted by Jeffords featured a unique combination of topics: quality control and crash testing. In 1984, members viewed Porsche-Audi technical films.
In 1985 energetic members participated in a cross-country skiing event at Devils Lake. This is the same year that the region hosted the "Ice Scream," a timed event run on the ice of Friess Lake in Washington County. Clearly, region members were not content to hibernate during the winter months.By 1986, membership reached 221.
The 1990s marked the start of a new tradition that continues today -- Carrera Chili and Turbo Spaghetti. Members compete with their recipes of chili one year and spaghetti sauce the next. A member typically hosts the gastronomic event at his or her home. Camaraderie is the main ingredient that makes these late winter gatherings so successful.
Membership grew steadily from 1986 to 1995. By 1995, 315 members comprised the Milwaukee Region. Three years later, in 1997, membership revved again, to 431. The year 1997 was also marked by the launch of the region's first Web site. Members were now able to receive club news via the Internet as well as the newsletter.
At the start of the new millenium, membership reached 454.
In the year 2000, a large committee of Region members began meeting in earnest. They had a major task to accomplish-the Milwaukee Region had earned the honor of hosting the 2001 Porsche Parade. No strangers to Parade, in its history, the Milwaukee Region has been associated with several parades. Its first Parade experience came in 1959, when the region was combined with Chicago. The 1959 Parade was at Nippersink Manor, a resort area just north of the Illinois/Wisconsin border. In 1972, the Chicago Region hosted Parade, this time in Lake Geneva, Wis., in the Milwaukee Region's backyard. A dozen years later - in 1984 - Chicago again won the nod from National and hosted this Parade in Appleton, Wis., north of Milwaukee.
In 2001, more than 1,000 PCA members, with approximately 600 Porsches, enjoyed a week of Milwaukee's finest hospitality. Highlights included the traditional concours d'elegance against the sparkling backdrop of Lake Michigan on Milwaukee's lakefront, an autocross in the parking lot of the Wisconsin State Fair grounds west of the downtown area, a rallye in the scenic hills of Wisconsin's kettle moraine countryside and a superb drivers education experience at Road America, a premier track less than an hour from Milwaukee. Gary and Renee Messing, 2001 Parade co-chairs, were assisted by a dedicated team of Milwaukee Region members who executed every aspect of the Parade schedule with the greatest attention to detail.
In 2004, Milwaukee Region members renovated Porsche Park, the dedicated parking area for Porsches at Road America. The renovation included new signage, landscaping, fencing and a picnic area. Porsche enthusiasts throughout Road America's season enjoy Porsche Park. Porsches filled the park in July 2004 for the re-dedication event which also included a concours d'elegance competition.
The Milwaukee Region celebrated 45 years as a chartered region with Porsche Club of America. The milestone was duly noted with an anniversary party at the Miller Inn, the hospitality center for Miller Brewery in Milwaukee. Members and their guests toured the brewery which has been in Milwaukee since 1855 when Frederic Miller, a German immigrant, founded his Plank Road Brewery on what is now Milwaukee's near west side. Following the tour, gemutlichkeit -a relaxed, comfortable feeling - was in the atmosphere as members told stories of the early days of the Region and toasted the region's milestone. The year's annual awards for the autocross and concours d'elegance series also were presented at the anniversary banquet.
The year 2006 marked another historic milestone for the region with the inaugural The Milwaukee Cup Club Race, the region's first undertaking of a PCA staple - club racing. A dedicated group of volunteers worked for more than a year to organize the region's first race, which was run at the Autobahn Country Club in Illinois.
From humble but enthusiastic beginnings, the Milwaukee Region today is proud to count more than 580 members in 2007. This growth has been achieved because of committed leadership and involved members. With that combination, the Milwaukee Region's future is as bright as a meticulously detailed Porsche.