- Racing, designing, fixing and collecting automobiles has long been thought of as things men do.

However, women have been a part of it since the beginning from early cross country road trips and racing to inventing and designing many of the features on today's cars women have been inspired by the freedom of the road.

Women on Wheels coming up next on Inspire.

(soft music) - [Announcer] Inspire is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart using furniture to inspire conversation and by the Blanche Bryden Foundation.

(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to Inspire.

I'm here with my co-host Betty Lou Pardue and Leslie Fleuranges.

America has a passion for automobiles and the culture that surrounds them.

We all have a few cars and trucks embedded in our memories.

- Today we put the pedal to the metal and get revved up for Women on Wheels.

- We also learn how two passions combined for an ornamental experience.

Here to talk about Women on Wheels, are Deanna Flanagan and Ann Palmer and we're so glad you're here.

And I love this because Ann, you have loved cars for a long time, what inspired you?

- First of all I'm delighted to be here 'cause there's hardly anything I like to talk about better than cars.

(women laughing) And it's hard to say what inspired me but I know, it might have been in utero I'm not sure because my earliest memory, I was probably about six and we were somewhere and I said, grandma, what's that car?

'Cause it looked different to me.

And she said, oh Ann, they all look alike to me today.

And I kinda I didn't say anything but I went ooh, - Ooh (women laughing) - What?

Grandmother thinks cars look alike?

I didn't wanna tell her anything but, so I know I was interested that far back.

- That young.

- As I got older, I began to really catalog cars and I know I have to tell you up front, I don't know even how an engine works and I don't have to.

- It's all about the style.

- No you don't have to.

- Now, the noise is important.

The noise of that engine and I am a addicted to the sound of a good engine.

And if I ever owned an electric car which I'm not sure I ever will, I would put a Porsche engine recording on it.

(women laughing) - 'Cause there is no sound.

- There's no sound.

- To the electric ones.

- No sound.

- It throws me off.

- It's such a loss.

- Yes it is.

- For the car people.

- So from loving cars to actually working in the automobile industry, Deanna, tell us a little bit about the SCCA.

- So the SCCA or the Sports Car Club of America is an amateur organization made up of 50,000 members across the country and a few overseas as well.

And we also are a sanctioning body for amateur race events as well as a few professional events.

We are a not-for-profit member organization so basically all of the activities that happen within the SCCA are put on by our members who are all volunteers.

We have 115 different regions across the country, so those are kind of like franchises, they're subsidiaries of the organization so they are the ones that host our competition motor sports events and like I said, the members really do the work.

We have a small national office located here in Topeka about 35 employees, but it's really our members who are boots on the ground delivering this.

- That's amazing though.

I mean a national office right here and you're born and bred Topeka, what got you interested in automobiles?

- So my path to the SCCA was a bit unconventional, the national organization had been located in Denver for several years and in 2002, they relocated here to Topeka and most people in the SCCA find their way as a participant or their families had been involved in the club for years and years, and my job career path brought me to the SCCA.

So they were hiring for a number of positions and my aunt was hired as the receptionist, she gave them my name and 20 years later, here I sit (women exclaiming and laughing) involved in overseeing our road racing program in the country so yeah, it's been quite a journey.

- Speaking of racing, you said that you got to be in one of the race cars.

Talk about that and how fast you went.

- Okay.

So yes, I've had a number of opportunities to get behind the wheel, I've done a couple of professional driving schools and yeah, I mean, it's just an indescribable thrilling experience being strapped into a car and the back staight of Road Atlanta is pretty high speed and so my top speed for that school was about 130.

(women cheering and clapping) That was good, - My kinda girl - I Can live with that.

Didn't feel like buying a Mustang that day so thought that was pretty good.

- So tell me Deanna, so I am famous among my friends and family for driving way too fast.

One of the things that I love about Kansas versus New York is that I can go 85, 95 zoom down I-70 at any given time.

- You should not tell anybody that.

I just shared that, she didn't say that.

(women laughing) I just said that.

- No no.

- However, that's a straightaway so when I'm doing these roundabouts in Topeka, I noticed that you have to kinda move with the car in order for you to turn correctly do you guys teach people how to drive as well as have them in the cars?

- We have schools, we have various different programs, down to autocrossing which happens in parking lots and tarmacks of airports and then we also have track events that do happen on purpose-built race tracks, and at all levels, there are schools and coaching that help teach people just how to drive their cars...performance driving and become one with it and that being slow in the car is actually how you go fast.

So you wanna make slow movements, small movements, as few movements as you can to keep best control over the car.

- So we're gonna learn more about driving fast, but if somebody doesn't want to drive fast and they want to appreciate the beauty of the car more Ann-- - That's good segue though, go ahead.

(laughs) - Let's get in there too like, you actually have a photographic collection of hood ornaments.

- I do.

- Please explain.

- I also like to drive fast.

(women laughing) - But, again, I've had a lifelong obsession with cars.

But probably about 15 years ago I'd been to a couple of car museums a long time ago and I love 'em, but this was in Reno and it was the Harrah museum, Harrah's which is a famous museum.

And I had my camera, I'm a photographer, and I went in and I was overwhelmed because it was filled with cars, jammed with cars, they're not a museum that cares about placement and all of that, and I didn't have a lens wide enough and I couldn't back up enough to take a picture of a car so I thought okay, this is your opportunity you're never gonna get it again.

So I thought okay, wheels, steering wheel, bumper and then I thought, oh my gosh, Ann hood ornaments so that's when I started.

There were a few hood ornaments before 1920 but not a lot.

A lot of the early cars simply had oil gauges, that might have been attractive but they weren't hood ornaments.

So the '20s and the '30s, a little bit into the '40s but the '20s and '30s were the heyday of hood ornaments and they are works of art.

And this was art deco and particularly in the '30s very much art deco ornaments and interesting, I'll give you all a little test.

In of all the cars in all the countries that I have ever seen, there is only one car that from the beginning, in the teens to now have the same hood ornament or at least badge, if they don't have hood ornaments, anybody know what that is?

- Mercedes.

(women cheering and clapping) - You got it.

That's right unchanged.

Many of the others had a variety sometimes at the same time and I learned how to photograph 'em and I give programs on it and about three years ago, someone approached me, they did open a new car museum in Manhattan I'd like to give publicity to again, if you like cars, there's something for everybody.

And they were looking for an expert in the '20s and '30s they had the muscle car, they had the exotic experts, the old, old cars and so they chose me and I was delighted if anybody here or in the audience, it is a first class museum.

- Well, I can't wait to get there and this has been a fascinating conversation.

Who knew how much fun we could have talking about cars but we're gonna take a quick break when we come back, we'll keep the conversation rolling so don't go anywhere.

(upbeat music) - Today we're gonna be talking about moles in your lawn and in your garden.

A lot of us have problems with moles and I've heard some pretty funny solutions including juicy fruit gum or flooding the moles to get rid of them in your yard unfortunately those things are not effective.

There are some chemical controls that are effective, but many of them are restricted to homeowners and can only be used by licensed pest control companies.

So today I'm gonna talk to you about what a homeowner can do if you have moles in your landscape and you'd like to get rid of them.

The most effective homeowner control for moles is gonna be traps.

And there are a few varieties of traps, I have two here in front of me that are extremely effective, some that use tines that actually go down into the ground to pierce the mole and killing it, and others that have jaws sort of a clincher similar to what you would think a mouse trap would operate as.

Both of these take care of the issue under the ground so that it's nothing that you have to see or deal with but setting them can be extremely difficult.

The first step if you're gonna set a mole trap is gonna be finding a run that the moles are using regularly.

So every day when moles go out to feed they're burrowing through your yard and they have sort of a zigzag pattern.

Those are feeding tunnels and they're looking for food but they're typically not gonna use those same tunnels again.

What you wanna look for is their primary run.

Usually the primary run is gonna be a straight line.

Sometimes it's up against the base of your home, your garage or a fence so look for something that looks much straighter than their burrowing runs.

Then you wanna go out and with your foot or with your hand collapse part of that run and then come back the next day and see if the mole rebuilt it.

If they rebuilt it, that's how you know that that run is being regularly used and that's gonna be a good place to set your trap.

The next thing you wanna think of when you're setting your trap is not to collapse too much of the run.

You have to collapse part of it so that the mole will stop and that's what sets off the trap.

But if you collapse a portion of the run, the mole is gonna fix it, the vibrations will come through to the trap, it will collapse and the mole will be nowhere near where it needs to be to be killed by the trap.

So you wanna take actually just the side of your hand, the side of your palm and that's the only amount that you wanna hit on the run to collapse it's only about an inch or two wide.

If you use your shoe or a shovel or anything like that, it's gonna be much too wide.

So use the side of your hand to collapse part of the run, set your trap up in that area, and when the mole comes through you're much more likely to be successful killing the mole in that small area that you've collapsed.

Now that being said, it still may take several attempts and more than likely you're gonna have several moles in your yard so be persistent, be patient and soon you will have good control using traps on moles in your yard.

Finally, I just wanna say that if you see moles in your yard and you're not sure whether or not you wanna control them, consider that moles are a natural Kansas animal, they do do a lot of beneficial feeding on grubs and things that we don't necessarily want so if you have a small amount of mole activity in your yard and it's not bothering you feel free to leave them as they are as I'm sure they would appreciate it.

(upbeat music) - We're back with Deanna Flanagan and Ann Palmer.

Ladies in the last segment we talked about hood ornaments, going fast, the love of cars, tell me Deanna, with the SCCA you said that you were on a career path is there career path in car racing for women?

- Oh, a hundred percent.

There're so many aspects to motor sports it's not just driving.

It takes teams of people to actually get a car on track and get the driver in it so from race engineers to mechanics, to team managers, to-- - Pit crews.

- Pit crews yes, absolutely.

Even on the PR and social media side just promoting the sport.

And then of course, putting on the events being a race official and a quarter worker which is the best seat in the house besides being in the car you are steps away from the track.

Your job is to communicate with the drivers in the car through flags and so that's a really important job.

So yes, I mean the possibilities are numerous and yeah, obviously it's a pretty male dominated industry and sport, but we see every year more and more women getting involved in it.

- How are you guys communicating with women that, hey, this isn't a male only sport?

- Yes.

Social media is huge, of course, there is a series called the W Series that is just a female series.

They provide financial support to get women that have driving talent in the cars so it's not just about having the financial resources, there are other women commissions both in North America as well as internationally that really work to inspire and empower women and show them that there are these opportunities.

- I want to know about hood ornaments.

It's probably like trying to choose a child you can't choose your favorite but I'm gonna ask you to get close.

What would be your favorite hood ornament that you've ever taken a picture of?

- I'll give you two.

My favorite hood ornament, and interestingly enough, I always say my and people think I've bought them I say no it's the "royal we", but the museum has just bought a 1937 Cord C-O-R-D.

Many people who know cars still have never heard of a Cord which may have been the most luxurious, most beautifully designed American car built before the war, before World War II.

But like many luxury cars, they could not survive the depression because they were costing $5,000 when in the depression people were making a $1,000 a year.

- Yeah.

Couldn't afford it.

- But the Cord hood ornament which I love Art Deco and it's a C with double lines through here that just screams Art Deco and I love that and I would invite everyone to come see our new Cord which is gorgeous.

The second one, which is a little more exciting, a lot of silent film stars had great big cars in the '20s and Rudolph Valentino was one.

And he bought three Voisin, French cars when he was in Paris.

And brought two of them back and I wonder often how he did it was it by boat?

Did they go to South America?

(women laughing) I dunno.

But he brought it back and then a friend of his, who was another silent film star had one made for the front of this Voisin and it is about this tall and it's a spitting cobra with ruby eyes.

- Wow.

(women laughing) - There were standard hood ornaments and there were, Lilie Glass for example, made several custom hood ornaments.

I've got one with an Egyptian woman in that pure beautiful glass I mean, they are gorgeous.

- I want you to do a book.

Please.

-That would be a beautiful coffee table book - Yeah, absolutely.

You mentioned Deanna, different types of races.

And so if we're not gonna go fast, fast, fast, tell us about a race I read something about it's not about how fast you go, it's about calculating the time to get there, doing checkpoints, what kind of race is that and why do we do that?

Why you do that?

- So that is a road rally of which SCCA does hold road rally events.

And it's really about driving with a purpose and it is a team sport so you have a driver and a navigator and you have a set of instructions and it tells you where to turn, but not explicitly.

So they'll use landmarks or mystery style clues, different things like that to-- - That's fun.

(women laughing) - You have to interpret yes.

So the goal is to follow those instructions, make the right turns and show up at a specific point at a specific time.

- So cool.

That sounds like something they did in the '50s or the '40s but they still do it today?

- They still do it today yes.

- And what kind of cars are used?

- It's just street cars.

I mean, I think maybe there might be some historic vintage rallies, but most of the ones that we're involved in are just your street cars so it's really easy for anybody to get involved and do those kinds of events.

- How cool.

You guys are so fascinating and we wanna get that in as the Midwest Dream Car Collection.

Midwest Dream Car Collection in Manhattan.

That's the name of the museum 'cause I figured you wanna do that and thank you, Deanna and Ann, I wanna get in the car and I'm gonna check it too.

(women laughing) And by the way, KTWU has Women on Wheels coming up June 11th so I hope that you bring your car or just not look at 'em.

So after a short break Danielle and Leslie and I we'll be back to talk about a little bit more of this and do some little cruise control, hang on we'll be right back.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Janet Thompson Jackson and I'm so excited to be a part of Inspire today.

Are you one of those people who feels like, I just don't have time to work out.

I want to, I would, if I could, but I just don't have the time.

Well, today I am going to show you some yoga moves and just some general movement that you can do while you're sitting in your chair.

You can do this in a small space if you don't have access to a yoga studio or if you just don't feel comfortable going to a studio.

Let's sit down and get started.

(gentle music) Simply you can start with one leg lifting, lifting, and using your core lifting.

Using that core to lift your leg, see how much you can lift.

And then if you really get to the point where you can sit on the edge and then you have to go back a little bit and then we're lifting and we're lifting and we're lifting and again, we're using that core.

So those are some exercises that you can do if you're in just a very small space, if you're in your office, if you're in your living room or dining room at any time you can incorporate these throughout the day.

Oh, there's one that I wanted to show you that I almost forgot and that is seated pigeon so let's just do that really quickly.

It's just crossing your legs and the reason I wanna do this one is that you can be in a meeting and no one knows you're doing this.

Cross your legs with your ankle over your knee, and this may be enough of a stretch for many people.

This is all you have to do and you're feeling that.

What you're gonna feel it in the hip of the leg that you're crossing.

So this may enough.

If you need a little bit more, you can gently push your knee down very gently and if you need a little bit more of a stretch, then again at the waist after engaging your core, start to come forward a little bit.

Oh, and I'm really feeling that in my hip, my hip is saying, thank you, you're giving me a little bit of love I needed that.

And then do the same thing of course, on the other side.

Again, this may be your stretch right here, or you may wanna just gently push down on that knee or again, with your chest lifted, think about your chest coming down to your leg, not your stomach.

Chest coming down 'cause I'm keeping it lifted and I'm still pushing a little bit and feeling that stretch and that is something really, sitting down tightens our hips so much this is something that we really should be doing every day.

All right I hope some of that is helpful for you and get moving, whatever you do, just get moving.

I'm Janet Thompson Jackson and I hope I've inspired you to get up and move.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) - And we're back.

And ladies, we had a great conversation earlier about women on wheels and we've been truly inspired by automobiles since their creation so what are your chances of actually getting on the track or actually taking up a hobby that has something to do with automotives?

- I wanna do the road rally because that sounds fun.

I mean, just making sure you're there on time and the following the clues is kinda like a mystery.

- Yes I do too.

So I have to be honest, I wanna go to driving school.

- Do you really?

- I do.

I do.

- Oh, you already gotta start on it so mean you might as well go ahead and get professional training.

(laughs) - I mean, I would like to be able to drive fast with skill.

So, that's what I'm interested in doing.

- The thought of the day was drive slow, go slow to drive fast.

- I remember hearing that.

- Right .Right.

- And learning all-- - And that's good-- - the fundamentals, - for you.

- And even though you admitted to speeding, you have not said the make-- - Well, we don't know-- - or the model of the car.

- anything like that.

- So we don't know that.

(women laughing) Okay, so here's another thing that Jay, the producer of this did a lot of research and he was talking about all the women throughout history who have done so much like inventing the windshield wiper, and also Emily Post that some of us grew up with 'cause she was "Miss Manners" basically, She wrote in a little book how a woman could drive herself, she didn't have to have a man with her, she could actually drive the man, and she never had to be his chaperone.

So I think women were going strong in the '40s.

- Absolutely.

- Did she talk about necking in the back seat?

(women laughing) I mean, probably didn't have that covered but hey, Emily's post talked about everything else I mean, might as well bring that up but I'm fascinated now because I think it was Ann that was talking about all the hood ornaments.

- Oh yeah.

- And one of my favorites is a Maybach so I would love to actually have my own, not just a picture.

But that's like my goal but I mean, they actually, a lot of people are stealing the ornaments and so they actually fold into the hood, the Maybach's to itself.

- Oh my God.

- Go girl.

- I'm serious very intelligent.

- Also don't forget to fold it back in.

- Exactly fold it back in.

- So we'll have to get a picture of the Maybach.

- But I think your idea to get Ann to do a book is a great idea - She should.

A coffee table, but with a lot of the pictures done - She has so much history, so much history.

- It's fascinating.

- She's a walking encyclopedia and I'm thinking, how wonderful for a woman to have all this knowledge, she does presentations and you can go visit all the museums I think it's wonderful.

- I think it's wonderful too, we need to do that.

- Let's do it.

- Yeah I think we should.

Let's do a road trip and Leslie's driving.

- Yeah.

- Whoo!

(women laughing and clapping) - We'll get there quick.

(women laughing) - That's true.

- I'm all over it.

Well, listen, that's all the time we have for today we sure hope you've been inspired by today's conversation about women on wheels.

Don't forget, you can watch this program again at watch.ktwu.org.

- And if you are so inspired to learn more about our guests and the women making moves in our community, be sure to visit our website, www.ktwu.org/inspire.

- Inspiring women, inspiring you on KTWU.

Thank you for watching.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Inspire is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart using furniture to inspire conversation and by the Blanche Bryden Foundation.