About the Monarchs Rod & Custom Car Club

In the late 1950's, a small group of Boonville teenagers formed the Monarchs Rod & Custom, giving them a reason to hang out together with their cars. It wasn't a well-organized group, just a chance for them to hang out and work on their cars. They worked up a design, made some club jackets and license plates, and had a good time. As the 60's moved forward and the Vietnam War escalated, the members moved on with their lives and the club dwindled.

As a grade school-aged kid growing up in the late 1950s, Mark Hendrickson remembered seeing the group around town. He would see the cars with their license plates parked at places like Wilkinson’s Machine Shop near the corner of 2nd and Oak in Boonville. Because these guys had the coolest cars in town, there was no doubt in his young mind that these had to be the coolest guys in town.

Around 2017, Mark decided it was time for the club to make its return. He started asking around to find former members of the club. After coming up short for some time, he asked lifetime Boonville resident Charlie Gunn about the club while out to lunch. Not only did Charlie remember the club, but he was also a founding member!

Mark and Charlie left that meeting determined to find other members, reproduce the jackets and license plates, and rebuild the group. They found Jim Addington, a member who was living in Sparta, Illinois, and had the original plate and jacket, they found the original manufacturer of the plates and had jackets reproduced in Evansville. At that point, the Monarchs Rod & Custom was a club again.

New members were recruited, Boonville NOW asked them to start a car show in Boonville, and the rest is history. Today, membership is rising and the annual Rockin’ Around the Clock Car Show has been a success every year!