Lookingglass Corvette Club was formed in late 1976 by four Corvette enthusiasts-Pokie Wildhaber, his brother Jim Wildhaber, Dave Hommert, and Bob Kruse, all from the Highland area. They proceeded to contact all Corvette owners they knew, and told those people to do the same, and an initial meeting was held to see if there was sufficient interest to form a club. The first formal meeting consisted of approximately twenty couples, who became the club's charter members. Of those, still active with the club are Pokie & Suzie Wildhaber, and Dwight Faitz.
During the first formal meeting, officers were appointed, club by-laws were drawn up, and a name was selected. Lookingglass was offered and accepted, as Highland and its surrounding area was known in plat books as Lookingglass Prairie. Meetings at that time were held at Family Inn in Highland, Illinois. In April of 1977, the first official club event was held--a scenic cruise up the River Road, with dinner at Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton, Illinois.
In 1984, our new meeting place became the Ramada Inn in Fairview Heights. This allowed the club to be more visible to the metro area, as well as St. Louis, thereby attracting more members. The club flourished, and our membership grew from approximately 20 couples to nearly 80. In 1997, our meeting place moved to Schiappa's in O'Fallon, Illinois. Our sponsor is Jack Schmitt Chevrolet, which has locations in Collinsville, Illinois; O'Fallon, Illinois; and Freeburg, Illinois.
Lookingglass Corvette Club's membership has consisted of people whose Corvettes have achieved top honors such as Bloomington Gold certification, NCRS top flight awards, Duntov award, Gold Spinner, and Triple Crown at national shows, as well as numerous best of class and best of show trophies at area car shows. As a club, Lookingglass has taken top honors in "Glasspack" two consecutive years (1993 and 1994), having the most cars participating at Bloomington Gold (the biggest Corvette convention in the world), and also received the award for best club display in 1994. Several members have also won the "Judges' Choice" award with their cars at Mid-America's Fun Fest.