Member Sketch – Dave & Lois Gribler, GT37 Host Committee Chairpersons
We are the Host Committee Chairpersons for GT-37 and are looking forward to hosting our NAMGAR family in Dayton this July! Our association with little British cars began 40 years ago when these cars were still considered viable daily transportation.
Dave’s first taste of the thrill of British cars was riding in a chaperone’s TR6 during a high school church youth group trip. We met as students at the University of Cincinnati at the marching band’s favorite bar in 1972. Lois caught the British car bug when Dave’s roommate offered a ride in his MG Midget.
Something ignited and soon Lois (2nd year teacher) purchased a highway department yellow AH Sprite for Dave (3rd year engineering student). On graduation, Dave took a job in northern Indiana and maintained possession of the Sprite.
After a year apart we decided it would be better to be together in Indiana than be separate and miserable, so we married in 1977. After a transfer back to southwestern Ohio and a home building project, the rapidly rusting Sprite was replaced with a 1972 Midget. Involvement with the Southwestern Ohio Centre MG Car Club began when Lois noticed a junior high school student wearing a MG Car Club tshirt. He was the son of the school librarian who was an officer of the club. Club membership led to association with owners of other MG models that influenced the addition of an MGA to the fleet. After months of watching the classified ads, a 1962 Mk II, rough but in running condition, came up for sale in 1986. The many DPO additions included a vinyl wood grain plywood dash, dog chain door pulls, hand-sculpted Bondo rocker panels, and a homemade electronic speedo. The most useful accessories were the Moss Motors catalog and the NAMGAR application.
We attended GT-14 three years and one child later. Driving two MGs, we covered the 100-mile distance non-stop from Dayton to Indy. Thus began the tradition. Two more MGs were added to the fleet, the 1973 MGB (daughter Joanne’s 4th birthday gift), followed by the still unassembled 1969 MGC GT, bringing the MG total to four.
The MGA has been driven to every GT beginning with GT-14, non-stop in most cases, regardless of distance. Exceptions were GT- 24, when Joanne (10) accompanied Dave to Lake Tahoe and GT-36 when we joined the Rallye to Reno after a 24 hour run from Ohio to Colorado. We drove the 2,560 miles straight through to GT-32 in Whistler, but Lois had to get back to work and flew from Seattle. Dave drove the remaining distance alone, thus had to compromise on the overnight stops. In total, the Mk II has been driven about 34,000 miles to attend GTs all across US & Canada. The most challenging effort was maintaining the streak through a 2+ year long rolling restoration project that began after GT-31.
Lois retired from teaching in 2005 and now works at the city recreation center as a lifeguard, swimming instructor, and volunteer assistant high school swim team coach in the winter months. In the summer months, she works for Cincinnati Recreation Aquatics. Dave retired in 2009 after 32 years in chemical manufacturing operations and continues to do control systems consulting work. We both continue to play our instruments, performing regularly in various bands.
Lois contributes to fleet maintenance, responsible for oil changes and routine maintenance checks on all nine family vehicles. Dave’s basic automotive mechanic skills were nurtured while holding the trouble light while his aircraft flight-line mechanic father made repairs to the family cars.
The enthusiastic members of our local club, the Southwestern Ohio Centre MG Car Club are busy planning for a week of interesting and entertaining events at GT-37 and we are looking forward to seeing you there! If you have not guessed, we will again be driving straight through to this year’s GT!
