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December 2010 - Volume 27 |
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| Welcome to SPEEDSTER! |
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season from our entire Staff here at National Headquarters! Check out our Merchandise site and browse our wide variety of items for a last minute gift for that auto enthusiast! |
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| Announcments |
We recently sent out an email about our 2011 membership renewal. It was extremely successful and most people thanked us for the reminder. However, email communication is an art and we could have handled this idea a bit better. In our quest to complete our renewals early and to avoid wasting the club's money (your money!) we totally forgot about the number of regions who collect national dues and do not remit to the very end of the year. We could have eliminated those people from the mailing with a little more legwork. Also a few people took exception to the wording which is upsetting to us as we have used it for years with no complaints. We will make changes though in the future as we do not want a single member unhappy if at all possible.
Steve Moskowitz
Executive Director
Antique Automobile Club of America
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AACA Annual Meeting CPR Course
We will once again be offering a CPR certification class at the AACA Annual Meeting, held at the Sheraton Philadelphia Center City Hotel, February 10 - 12, 2011.
The CPR course will be on Friday, February 11, 2011 during the annual meeting.
This class is a credentialed American Heart Association (AHA) Course. To be held in the Logan's 1 Room on the Sheraton loby level at the bottom of the escalator. The Class will begin at 12:30 PM and last for approximately 3 hours.
Please help us by passing the word to your fellow members and friends! Pre-Registration is required.
The club is splitting the cost of the program as we feel it is important to have more people who attend AACA events qualified with this special skill. Your cost is only $25.00
Those completing the course will have the credentials mailed to them from the AHA training center two to four weeks after the program. The course is video driven with AHA certified instructors facilitating the hands-on CPR skills practice for each participant, using mannequins.
To register please use this form http://www.aaca.org/meets/brochures/2011_Annual_Meeting.pdf
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Fall Meet at Hershey Pre-registration
Pre-registration forms for the Car Corral and Flea Market at the Eastern Fall Meet at Hershey are scheduled to mail out next week. In order to submit the form you must have your 2011 AACA dues paid. To renew your membership please call 717-534-190.
Thank you! |
| Member Contribution | Pavement Hapenings 
By Member Docair Jerry Malkes
November was a wonderful month. I received my
10 year member pin with the wonderful Greater New York Region of the Antique Car Club of America. Time went so fast and I can hardly believe it. In celebration of my 10 year partnership with the GNYR and the AACA, I again went to the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Going there with my honey, Sharon, made this trip so enjoyable. Sharon knows how to turn a key and start an engine but doesn't know the difference between a serpentine belt and a seat belt. The trip to the Museum developed a keen interest in her. She now feels the same as I do, that the antique collectible cars are so beautiful and all are works of art. It was fabulous seeing these cars through the eyes of a "newbie" to this great hobby.
I don't even know where to start in telling you about the Museum's collection. We felt very much at home because the first vehicle we saw parked in front of the museum was the Hershey "Kissmobile." The Museum "spans almost a century of American motoring from the 1885 Chicago Motor Benton Harbor to a 1977 Chrysler Cordoba with (Ricardo Montalbon's) "fine Corinthian leather seats." We saw everything from a 1924 REO Funeral Hearse, a 1935 Autocar Tank Truck, Stearns-Knights and my favorite a Pierce-Arrow from 1917. The museum had Model A's, Model B's but Sharon fell in love with a 1941 Chevrolet Special Deluxe Convertible Coupe. When we visited the Museum they had two special exhibits. They had "Roads to Rails Train Display" and the "Ash and Maple Marvels (Wood Bodied Cars 1914-1953)".
Many displays were in front of beautiful murals from a 1920's Pennsylvania Covered Bridge, 1900's Battery Park of New York, 1930's Miami 8 Art Deco, 1950's Drive-In Movie Theatre, and even a 1940's Gas Station complete with those rubber hoses that announced a car coming in. My "TV girlfriend" Betty White's Cadillac exhibit was also stationed here. The auto museum also has a fantastic collection of bus transportation that makes you want to hop on and travel. There is even a photo opportunity with a Model T that I am so familiar with learning to drive a restored 1929 Model T Touring in New York.
I had to go to the 3rd floor where the Regional and Chapter Display Case was housed. There I found our Greater New York Region Chapter that made me so proud. We noted chairs in the scenic overlook mezzanine. We asked and the employees said there was a wedding tonight at the museum. Imagine getting "hitched" near a 1910 Maxwell Model Q Touring Car? Even the view from this third floor was inspiring. We wish the best to this lucky couple.
That week was terribly busy coinciding with Veteran's Day on November 11th. Paul Parnes, Vice-President and Editor of our GNYR/AACA and newsletter organized a parade of vintage cars to participate in New York City's Veteran Day Parade. We met on Union Turnpike in Queens with about 90 cars. What a pleasure it was to see friends from the GNYR, Long Island Dreamboats, Southside Boys, Back in Time Cruisers, the Antique Chevrolet Car Club of America and other wonderful organizations joining in our trek into the city. We were escorted with New York's Finest and a 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne Police car (allowed to using it's red dome light) thru the Long Island Expressway and a tube tunnel to 5th Avenue. It was a glorious sight and shall always remain in my mind and the 100 photos I took.
The United War Veteran's Council, chartered by the City of New York produced this parade. This was the largest Veteran's Day Parade with 25,000+ participants and 600,000+ spectators. This parade marked also the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Every year this parade is developed for the recognition for our Armed Forces, including this year's featured branch, the U.S. Air Force. I was particularly overwhelmed by the number of spectators holding signs and saying "Thank You." Many people were also crying and holding pictures of lost sons, daughters, wives, husbands, and fathers from past military engagements. I truly feel lucky to live in this great nation of the United States of America.
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| Member Contribution |
The Plymouth
By Member Jack Bowser
I was 16 and living in Princeton, NJ. I found a 1947 Plymouth at the local Chrysler/Plymouth dealer and took my Dad to see it. It was just what I was looking for and was even the dark blue that I prefered. I talked my Father into taking it for a test drive with me which the dealer agreed to allow us to do so off we went for my first ride in my dream car.
Dad had a good friend who owned the local gas station so we took the car there during our test drive in order for him to look at it and evaluate its condition.
He asked us what the dealer was asking for the car. When we told him $400.00 he said that was too much and that he would sell me his car for $200.00 before he would let me pay the dealer his absorbent price.
He disappeared behind the station and a few minutes later appeared with the identical car that we were looking at. It was even the same blue color but with a lot less mileage and in better condition. Since he parked the car behind the station I never knew he had a blue 1947 Plymouth.
After returning the Dealers car we returned to the service station to buy my Dad's friends car. He insisted on putting new tires on it before selling it to me so I had to wait until the next day to consummate the purchase of my Plymouth. I enjoyed that car during my Junior and Senior Years of High School. After graduating from High School I came to Chicago to continue my education and my parents insisted that I didn't need a car in Chicago so it was sold before I came to the big city.
Approximately 50 years later I found another 1947 Blue Plymouth and purchased it and still have it in my collection today. My first one was a Club coupe (with a back seat). The new one is a Business Coupe (without a back seat).
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| Library & Research | |
Pre-War Literature Donation for the Library!
The AACA Library received an early Christmas present last week when we took possession of a large donation of pre-war automotive literature. The material was donated by the estate of Charles Wells, a Chevy Chase, MD resident since the 1910s. Mr. Wells and his literature donation will be featured in the next Antique Automobile but as we begin to sort and examine his donation and we are finding some incredible items and we have to share the news! The following pieces are just a few items that we didn't have and will be added to our collection soon. Next time you visit us in Hershey, be sure to ask to see the literature file for your favorite vehicle; there is a good chance it contains some new treasures. Duplicate items will be sold at our literature auction in October so make your travel plans now!
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| Trivia | |
 1. The first super highway in America opened up in 1940. Where was it?
2. What are the names of 18 automobiles that have born the names of US Presidents (although not necessarily named after them)?
3. Name four auto company chief executives who served as members of Presidential Cabinets? |
| AACA Museum | |
And the winners of the AACA Museum Raffle prizes are...
-David Rothman from Garnet Valley, PA won the 47" LED LCD
Television
-Mac McCoy from Toledo, OH won the Garmin Navigation System
-Don Wine of Hanover, PA won the Lowe's Gift Card
Our sincere thanks to everyone who purchased raffle tickets in support of the AACA Museum!
Upcoming events at the Museum:
- Roads to Rails Model Train Display - Runs Daily through January 2, 2011.
- Santa & Mrs. Claus will be at the Museum on Friday, November 26th from 1:30 - 4:30 PM
- Ash & Maple Marvels: Wood Bodied Cars 1910 - 1953. Theis exhibit runs through January 31, 2011
- NEW Herbie the Love Bug from "Herbie Rides Again" is now on display in the main gallery on loan from the Sweigart Museum until April 24th.
The AACA Museum will be closed on December 24 & 25 and January 1, 2011. The Museum will also be closed on December 8th for a private rental function.
www.aacamuseum.org |
| Trivia Answers | |
1. The first super highway in American opened up in 1940. Where was it? In Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Turnpike, a toll road, was 160.8 miles. The first modern expressway was begun the same year in Southern California, the Pasadena Freeway.
2. What are the names of 18 automobiles that have born the names of US Presidents (although not necessarily named after them)? Adams, Carter, Cleveland, Ford, Harding, Harrison, Jackson, Lincoln, Monroe, Pierce, Roosevelt, Taft, Washington, Madison, Johnson, Wilson, Kennedy, and Hoover.
3. Name four auto company chief executives who served as members of Presidential Cabinets?
-CE Wilson, From General Motors to Secretary of Defense under President Eisenhower.
-Roy Chapin, from Hudson to Secretary of Commerce under Presdent Hoover.
-George Romney, from American Motors to Secretary of Housein and Urban Development under President Nixon.
-Robert McNamara, from Ford Motor Company to Secretary of Defence under President Kennedy. |
| Speedy's Notes |
2011 Raffle! 75th Anniversary Merchandise
We have lots of unique 75th Anniversary Merchandise available on our online catalog. Plenty of great gift ideas for the friends and family. Visit the merchandise website and start shopping!
Join in the discussions and check out our topics on the AACA Forum
SPEEDSTER Archives
Read and print newsletters. Visit the links provided in each section for more information. Use the articles in your region publications and updates. Join our mailing list and please share issues with family, friends and future AACA members! SPEEDSTER Archives Here. |
| Calendar Spotlight! | |
 February
17-22 - Founders Tour (1932-1986 vehicles) in Lake Mary, Florida, sponsored by AACA Florida Region. Call 407-327-0740 for more information.
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| Member Contribution | We want to hear from you!
We want to get to know our regions, members and their cars better! So please send us a short story (200-500 words) about your vehicle, region or event for consideration to be published in SPEEDSTER. Be sure to include photos!
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The Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is the country's premier resource for the collectible vehicle community. Since its formation in 1935, the Club, through its national office, publications, and membership, aids individuals, museums, libraries, historians and collectors dedicated to the enjoyment and preservation of automotive history.
Contact Information for Speedster Newsletter:
AACA Headquarters
501 W. Governor Road
Hershey, PA 17033
Phone: 717-534-1910
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