OSMAN SHRINE MIGHTY MITES
612-562-8423
2003 to date - The history of the Mighty Mites
R to L Ray Morrissette, Dean Funke, Ron Larson, Bob Johnson, Art Lemke and Bob Beuc
2004 Shrine Circus
2003 Imperial Shrine Convention comes to Minneapolis.
The Osman Drum & Bugle Corp is assembled in the area of the Parade Stadium, in South Minneapolis, waiting for the evening Parade to start. A man approaches the group pulling a small car and says "I'm looking for a Shriner to drive this in the parade tonight". The group snickers and responds, "it does not look like it will carry any of these guys". His response, was, "will someone give it a try, it will support everyone up to 425 pounds, right hand throttle, left hand disc brake". Ron Larson steps up to give it a try. It responds immediately and Ron is having a great time. He turns it over to more members to try, and the seed has been planted for a new unit at Osman.
The man that approached that day was Bill Lawson, who runs EZ Burger Co. LLC dba Scooter Sports. Bill had a booth at the Imperial Market Place and wanted to get exposure for his product. He informed us that he had sold mini cars to various Shrine Temples around the country, but none in the Midwest. There were three body styles available; a 1932 Ford Roadster, a 1936 Ford Cabriolet, and Micro Cup cars. They are powered by a 32.6 cc two cycle, weed whacker motor. They are chain driven, and had a single disc brake. They are 36 inches in length and weigh 44 pounds.
Ron Larson approached Osman Temple about forming a new unit.
The first car was purchased in 2003, it came assembled and was shipped via Fed Ex ground. Before it arrived the box had been dropped on it's end and the new body had been badly cracked. This led to all future cars being shipped in two boxes, one for the body and one for the car.
Initially, there were four members that all came from the Drum & Bugle Corps. By 2004 when the Circus picture was taken, the group had grown to seven and were now know as the "Mighty Mites".
Why were the cars that awful color?
The Mighty Mites were told that they could have any color and it could be metal flake. The group wanted the bodies to match the Fez and be burgundy metal flake. As you can see, it didn't quite make it. The group was very disappointed, but it got us noticed even more and the kids loved the color.
Three of the six members in the Circus picture have passed away. But the Mighty Mites are still having a great time entertaining kids and adults all over Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The Mighty Mites have continued to grow and prosper. We now have 25 members and 14 cars. We are always looking for new members that want to have a wonderful time entertaining the public and raising funds for our charities.
Contact the Mighty Mites, we are eager to talk to you about membership!
2003-The Idea
Tim Beck*
Bob Beuc **
Dean Funke *
Bob Johnson *
Ron Larson *
Art Lemke
Ray Morrissette * *
Frank Spevak
Inaugural Parade Roberts WI - June 6, 2004
Tim Beck
Bob Beuc
Dean Funke
Bob Johnson
Ron Larson
Art Lemke
Frank Spevak
* Deceased
Members Prior to Inaugural Parade
* Drum & Bugle Corps - Founding Fathers
