IOANC
Ad and Lud Indihar
It is my pleasure and privilege to present our featured spotlight on IOANC members Ad and Lud Indihar. Their story also includes how they acquired Ad’s ’63 Silver Turquoise Poly Crown Southampton 4 door hardtop, and Lud’s Wedgewood Blue ‘64 Crown Convertible. Lud is also 2nd owner of his Imperial.
 
Ken and I traveled to visit and interview Ad and Lud at their beautiful home in the Milpitas hills. Lud shared that over 40 years ago, he drew the plans and built their 2200 square feet home himself. Ken says, “Lud cut the wood and swung the hammer. (No contractors here).”
 
Here is the rest of their story.
 
Ad and Lud met on a blind date. As fate would have it, they fell in love. Their dates consisted of going to the movies. The bus was their main transportation in those days. They married in February 1945. Ad and Lud will be celebrating 64 remarkable years of marriage, February 2009. Wow, how time flies!
 
Lud served in the Army Air Corp in their early years together. After his Military Service, he attended and graduated from the University of Kansas at Lawrence, Kansas. His resume was impressive. He took employment in New York and later transferred to Livermore, Ca. From there they moved to Milpitas, Ca. With his specialized knowledge he accepted employment and retired from Lockheed Space Division. He has the auspicious honor of having some of his designs still floating in space.

Ad worked at Boeing in Kansas when she met Lud. She quit after they were married, and they started their family. She was a stay-at-home Mom, until all their four children were in school. Ad shared that it was finally time for her own career. She graduated from San Jose Medical Assisting school and retired after 27 years working for Doctors.
 
They are proud of their 4 children, Jerry, Michael, Debbie, and Phillip. They have 7 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren on the way.
 
Among their many talents, Lud and Ad were also pilots. Before their discovery of the Imperials, they owned a plane which they would fly home to Kansas to see their family. Ad fondly remembers their flight across country to visit the New York World’s Fair in 1964. Although they made a decision to sell their plane, they still have vivid memories of their trips. 
 
Both Ad and Lud enjoy working with their hands. Ad showed me all the beautiful ceramics she made. I was totally impressed with both their skills handling fine detailed work. Another of Ad’s many hobbies is creating miniature interior decoration for her dollhouses. Presently Lud is just finishing building a dollhouse for Ad to decorate. He also enjoys building model ships. They both enjoyed square dancing, and though they don’t dance now, they still attend club activities.
 
So, HOW did their love for Imperials begin? In the 70’s, Lud’s best friend bought an Imperial, and Lud wanted one, too. He found his ‘64 Crown Imperial in the classifieds of Hemmings, but they had to fly to Texas to get it. Ad’s only criterion was that the car be in excellent driving condition to get them back to California safely. Not long afterward, they saw an ad for Ad’s soon-to-be-owned ‘63 Crown Southampton. It was a significant acquisition because the original owner was also a woman. Ad is proud that Imperial has been “Women Only Owned”. Ad recently had the upholstery re-done to its original state. It looks fabulous.
Faithful IOANC Pioneers, Lud and Ad joined the original Imperials Club founded in 1977. Ad served as President twice while Lud always provided background support. Lud recalls that the founders of the original Imperial Club met at a stop sign somewhere in San Francisco. They decided to organize an Imperial Car Club. 32 years later, members of IOANC still enjoy the original idea of driving tours and a common interest in our beloved Imperials.
At the last 2008 Mopar Alley at Ohlone College, Lud and Ad both entered their Imperials, and took 1st and 2nd place in the Imperial class. Over the years, they earned many well deserved awards for their beautiful Imperials.

I asked both Lud and Ad to share their favorite Car Club memory. They thought for only a moment, and replied that it was the 6th Annual Long Beach State Meet in 1989 held at the Queen Mary. They recalled that there were 100 registered Imperials, and 99 showed. Lud recalls there were many very unique Imperials at that meet. He won First Place in his 1964 car class category. It was a crowning achievement for him.

Thank you, Ad and Lud, for your incredible Support and Contributions through the years.
Ad's 63 Crown
Lud's 64 Crown Convertible