Print, Photographic

Photograph. Black and white photo of a man who is wearing a costume and is portraying the Vernor's Gnome. The Gnome (Ron Bialecki) is standing beside the front end of an old fire truck that is parked on Woodward Avenue just south of Larned. He is holding a radiator cap while an assistant (Father Vaughn Quinn) is pouring water into the top of the radiator. The American Natural Resources Building can be seen in the left background and the Guardian Building can be seen in the right background.

A typewritten note on the verso shows "Sunday, May 1, the day of the 7th Annual March of Dimes Walkathon, SUPERWALK '77, turned out to be a bright sunny day.....making the participants thirsty. Father Vaughn Quinn, Director of the Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center, feeds water to his 1925 American LaFrance fire truck with the help of Ron Bialecki, the Vernor's Gnome. Vernor's, Inc., sponsored SUPERWALK '77, and their tangy familiar beverage was a welcomed relief to all SUPERWALKERS. In order to obtain water for the fire truck quickly at the City County Building, water was taken from the drainage tanks of the Vernor's dispensing truck by Bialecki. It was a great day! More than 35,000 people participated in the Detroit Belle Isle walk raising $650,000 for March of Dimes goals. Father Quinn's fire trucks.....four of them.....were a cheering sight along the route. One held the Poster Children and their parents, another the Clowns of America, a third the Red Garter Band, and th fourth had a sound system playing Honorary Chairman Bob Seger's music with Playboy bunnies riding along."