20 10-4 Magazine / July 2025 The 2nd annual Nor-Cal Spring Fling in Red Bluff, CA was one really hot affair – and I mean hot! Sure, the trucks, vendors, auction items and food were hot, but Mother Nature trumped ‘em all with unseasonable temperatures in the mid-100s for most of the weekend. But hey, a little heat never stopped us, or a bunch of other people, from raising some much needed funds for our friend Rene “Frenchy” LaChance. Held once again at Tehama County Fairgrounds on May 30 through June 1, 2025, this was the second “Spring Fling” but technically the fourth show put on to help Rene, who was a popular trucker in the area back in the day before being injured in an accident that left him paralyzed (mostly) from the neck down. This event is held to raise money for his ongoing medical expenses. The first two shows were put on by another fellow who is no longer affiliated with Rene or the show. Stuart Loewen of Nor-Cal Customs took the helm last year, and this year he got a bunch of help from Phil and Faren Miller, along with a bunch of hard-working volunteers. Driving up the day before to beat the heat, we stayed at the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning on Thursday night, then rolled into Red Bluff fresh and ready to get to it late Friday morning. Bringing out our entire show setup including our TFK semi-trailer, pulled by Maggini’s “Godfather” 1962 Peterbilt (driven by our friends Roger and Annette Ghidelli) and our golf cart, we set up the 10-4 Magazine booth on one side and the “10-4 Lounge” on the other – a shady place with chairs and tables for people to relax and hang out. We also set up the bar in the trailer, along with snacks of all kinds, and played some good tunes. Friday was a pretty quiet day, with the temp peaking at about 104 degrees, as trucks slowly rolled in and got parked and a few vendors set up their displays. Sadly, we are sure that the blazing heat kept a lot of people from coming out, but we refused to let it get us down and instead embraced the weather. Truck Show Report: By Daniel J. Linss On Saturday morning, we stopped at the nearby Dollar General on the way to the show and bought a little plastic kiddie pool, along with several big bags of ice, and then filled the pool with that ice once at the show. It didn’t take long for that ice to melt, but boy did that cold water feel good on our bare feet. Most of the day, we sat with a big group of friends, at the back of our trailer, and enjoyed some cold beverages with our feet in the water. It was quite the fun gathering spot. The temps on Saturday peaked at about 106 degrees! A few days prior to the show, on May 26, was my wife’s birthday (Miss Shannon), and Faren and Annette were BRAVING THE HEAT
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy