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came several lists: known alumni;
those were sent questionnaires but
who had not responded; names which
were known but addresses were not
(“Where Are They Now?”); and the
“Checkered Flag” list of people who
had passed away. As the directory pro-
gressed, all four lists grew. Still acting
on his own, Shaw printed copies of the
directory once a year and mailed them
out to everyone he had an address for
(about 125 at the beginning). Another
list was drawn up, comprised of inde-
pendent racers who campaigned Co-
bras, GT350s, GT40s and Trans-Am
cars, crew members and mechanics.
While not drawing Shelby American
payroll checks, they nonetheless
played an important part in the com-
pany’s history. Also on the list were re-
union supporters and sponsors.
Bernie Kretzschmar, who had
worked in Shelby American’s race
shop building R-Models and Trans-Am
notchbacks, also took an interest in
the directory and pitched in to help
Shaw. Some of the former employees
were a little hesitant to talk to an “out-
sider” like Shaw but when they were
contacted by Kretzschmar they were
much more receptive. When Carroll
Shelby learned what was going on he
threw his support behind the effort.
In the last few years of his life,
Shelby quietly donated $10,000 a year
to the fund. It was used to not only de-
fray the expenses of the annual re-
unions but in some cases to cover
burial expenses or ancillary costs for
employees who passed away without
any assets.
After leaving Shelby American,
the vast majority of alumni settled in
California; most in the southern por-
tion of the state. Some went north and
some to Oregon and Washington. A
few who had come from Ford in Michi-
gan gravitated back there. Because
the majority had been from Southern
California originally and were still
there, it only made sense to hold the
reunions in the L.A. area. Whenever
possible the get-togethers were
planned as part of one of COCOA’s
open track weekends at Willow
Springs.When SAAC held conventions
at California Speedway, Shaw planned
a reunion there. Having a large num-
ber of cars – especially Cobras and
GT40s – provided an excellent back-
ground for the reunions, which con-
sisted of a lunch, plenty of social time,
the obligatory group picture and at-
tending SAAC’s dinner and evening
program. For the club, it meant having
a long list of potential guest speakers
to choose from. Other venues were also
used, such as a large car show at
Woodley Park in Los Angeles, Shelby’s
facility in Gardena or at the NHRA
Museum in Pomona. The once-a-year
event kept Shaw and Kretzschmar
hopping.
Bob Shaw had attempted to fold
the 2015 reunion into the August
Monterey Motorsports Reunion at
Mazda Raceway. The 50th Anniver-
sary of the GT350 would be an obvious
tie-in. However, there were already a
lot of activities planned for the week-
end. The track had a large footprint
and massive crowds are always part of
the scene. Shaw quickly realized that
trying to insert a Shelby employee re-
union into this event, which would re-
quire a catered sit-down lunch for as
many as fifty or more geriatrics and
their spouses and families would be a
bridge too far.
He was lamenting his problem to
Drew Serb and lights went off over
both their heads simultaneously. Serb
was looking for some way to celebrate
the Cobra Experience’s first anniver-
sary and Shaw needed a place for the
17th reunion. The only pinch was that
the Cobra Experience was five hours
north of Los Angeles and all of the po-
tential reunion attendees were in their
70s and 80s. Expecting them to travel
to the event, deal with airlines and ho-
tels and everything else necessary
would surely restrict the number of
participants. That’s where the idea of
sponsors took hold. If Serb could wran-
gle people he knew to contribute to a
travel fund which would pay for air-
line tickets, hotels and transportation
he and Shaw were sure they would
have a full house.
And that’s exactly what happened.
The Shelby American alumni were
treated like royalty. A couple of vans
were contracted to pick people up at
the airport and take them directly to
the hotel. They were picked up at the
hotel and dropped off at the Cobra Ex-
perience for the Friday evening din-
ner. After dinner they were driven
back to the hotel. The following day
there was an open house at the Serb’s
homestead. Included was an open
house of Serb’s Cobra repair and
restoration facility, a huge building
that was just a short walk from his
house.
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Winter 2016 55
The cast steel welding table was originally used in the Lance Reventlow’s Scarab shop. When Shelby took over it stayed. It also
stayed with Butler ever since Shelby’s Torrance shop shut down. The blue tig welder is a 1964 Miller, which was used at Shelby
American. The trophy was presented to Ron Butler as race mechanic of the year in 1964..