Mick was born down in Southern California, in a small town called Corona, but at age 2 his parents moved him to Shingletown in Northern California where he still lives. Shingletown is located about 30 miles east of Redding, and from the name you would guess correctly that it is in the heart of timber products country.

Mick attended the proverbial one room schoolhouse, one teacher, eight other kids for 4 of his grade school years and then he attended high school in Anderson, located just south of Redding. He graduated and Uncle Sam said “I need you now” so the Army trained him in 1944, at the Fort Knox Armored School where he was taught the art of tank warfare. He was supposed to be in the famous Battle of the Bulge, but transportation problems getting there kept him out of it. He spent time in Europe and was heading for the Pacific Theater when the war ended.

While Mick was born in Southern California and grew up in the Northern part of the state, Jan did the reverse. Her mom and dad were from the Shingletown area and moved to San Pedro where her dad found work. She grew up and graduated from school in the Los Angeles area. In 1947 her folks bought a ranch near Shingletown and returned to their roots.

Back home Mick met Jan, who he always refers to as Babe, in the same one room schoolhouse he attended as a kid. It is 1947, and this time it is a dance, they were married a year later. They were only married for a year when Uncle Sam called him back for the Korean Police Action (War). He had joined the reserves so he could keep his armored tank status, but Uncle decided that he should be in the heavy weapons infantry this time. He learned to use the water and air cooled machineguns and Browning Automatics. He was in Korea for 5 months when he got wounded, it was May 31st, his injuries severe enough that it cost him his eye, and he was in the hospital for a year. Six years ago, and 48 years late, at Jan’s insistence, he finally received the Purple Heart.

In 1947, Mick and his older brother, Bill, and the two wives went into the logging business. His brother ran it while Mick was away and so in 1951, he rejoined his brother in the Sutter Brothers Logging Co. They shut the business down in 1973, and sold off the equipment. Mick says that in all those years he and his brother never had one argument about anything at all. Jan had the responsibility for keeping the books, and she did most of the hiring and generally ran the office. Mick says he did the firing. One year they had 125 employees, but not all at the same time. In the lumber camps it was not unusual for men to work for a day or two and leave. This was also the time when most often there were no contracts, a handshake was enough to seal a deal.

The Sutter Brothers Logging Co. worked the forests to the east of Redding, delivering to a mill in Anderson. Being a family run operation they all did pretty much what was necessary. Mick handled most of the procurement, and equipment repairs, but also supervised the lumber camps with his brother when necessary. The logging business is a tough business, but both Mick and Jan have maintained a wonderful sense of humor.

After the business shut down Mick and Jan were sort of retired, but not really. Starting in 1965 with a wonderful trip to Australia they did more traveling, and their lives took many side trips. Mick got involved in car parts stores then carpet stores for a few years, did some real estate developing and a sub-division, built a hydroelectric plant on the stream behind their house, just generally having fun as an entrepreneur.

It was just before the shut down that their interest in old cars really began to grow. Mick and his father went to look at a ‘46 Packard Limo that had been in storage for years, and decided to buy it. After restoring it they were hooked on old cars. In 1985, Bill Jasper invited them to go along on a tour with the CHVA. They had so much fun they joined. It was in that same year that they went on the National Tour driving the Packard Limo, Mick became Smedly the chauffeur and Jan was Mrs. Gotrocks riding in the back, they dressed appropriately for their roles. They have had so much fun with CHVA that they now belong to the Mt Shasta Region, Classic Uniques and the Redwood Region all at the same time.

It was on the first National Tour that another couple was driving a 1956 Continental Mark II, and Jan said to Mick wouldn’t it be nice to have a car where we could sit side by side. Jan really liked the Mark II because it was very different looking. She happened to see an ad for one nearby and they bought it. This was the second car in their collection of cars that reached a peak of 10 before they started cutting it back to the current number of 4. The guiding principle for selecting an old car was simply they loved it, and so it has been difficult to part with them.

With the exception of the ’46 Packard Limo and the ‘34 Chrysler Roadster they have not had to restore the cars. All of the cars have been drivers, and while they show them they don’t expect to win. They would rather have a car that can be driven than a 100 point car that has to be hauled.

They live on 5 acres with plenty of undercover storage, so collecting cars became a fun pastime for them. The stories they tell about the acquisition of various cars reflect their zest for life and the enjoyment they get from the old car hobby. If you listen carefully it becomes apparent that Jan has been behind most of the choices for old cars.

Mick and Jan have been members of the Packard club and the Classic Car Club in the past, they still belong to the Lincoln Continental Owners Club (LCOC) and the Walter P. Chrysler Club (WPC Club). Still the one they have the most fun with is CHVA because they like the idea of enjoying all kinds of different makes, plus they have made some of their best friends through CHVA.