Your AACA membership runs on a calendar year from January 1 through December 31. That means you only have one month left to renew for 2015! If you have already renewed your membership for 2015, thank you!! If you have not renewed your membership yet, please take a few minutes to do it now. Renewing your membership only takes 5 minutes and can be done one of three ways...

• Renew online - fill out the secure online form and pay with your credit card
• Renew by mail - fill out the form that came with your November/December issue of Antique Automobile magazine, provide payment in the form of a check made out to AACA or your credit card information and then mail it to AACA, 501 W. Governor Rd., Hershey, PA 17033
• Renew by phone - call AACA Headquarters (717-534-1910) and any of the staff here would be happy to take your renewal over the phone with credit card payment (office hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time) 

HURRY! The AACA is still accepting applications for our three scholarships - the AACA Automotive Technology Scholarship, the AACA Young People's Award Scholarship and the AACA Scholarship. Click here to view requirements and download application forms.

All applications must be submitted by December 1, 2014. 

Send to: Earl Mowrey, VP Youth Development Programs, 423 North Montour Street, Mountoursville, PA 17754 or jagspeed120@comcast.net.

The AACA Membership roster is now online! You can go to www.AACA.org and sign in to either the Meets &Tours section or go to Members Info to access the information. Both of these areas require your membership number and pin number.

You can use the online roster in a number of ways. The search feature allows you to find members by last name, city or state. You cannot print out an entire roster. We have chosen to start out this way and put a high degree of security into the site. The methodology we have used will thwart people from using the roster in inappropriate ways. We also do not include phone numbers or email addresses for the same reasons and to protect the personal data of our members.

While many have expressed an interest in having a roster listing cars, etc., we have heard the majority still do not want that type of information available online. So at this time, we will keep the roster information minimal and containing the exact same information as our previous printed rosters contained.

Remember the AACA roster is not available for any commercial purposes and is copyrighted by the Antique Automobile Club of America. It is available for our regions, chapters and members only.

The AACA Library is well-known for its extensive collection of automotive books, manuals and sales

Click here to download a PDF of the complete letter.

literature. During our cataloging adventures, we have also had the great fortune of encountering one-

Evidently, Keaton had written to Stearns for advice on getting his son started in the automobile industry, and Stearns was the perfect authority on the subject. He built his first car in 1896 at the age of 17 and founded the Cleveland, OH-based F. B. Stearns and Company just two years later. His cars were built for the more affluent, but sold reasonably well. Fifty cars were made in 1900, and that number quickly rose to 2,415 in 1914.

Despite his success, F. B. Stearns' reply to Keaton was less than optimistic. One cited reason was the instability of the industry. In the early 20^th Century, there was an explosion of individuals and small companies looking to strike it rich making and selling cars. Much like the Alaskan Gold Rush of the 1890s, thousands tried to make their mark and thousands failed. Competition was far too fierce for everyone to become the next Ford or Studebaker.

Stearns also stressed his doubts about the seriousness of youth looking to work in the industry. In his own words:

For your own information I would say that in my estimation far too many young men from eighteen to twenty-two years of age are desirous of entering the automobile business, not as a life-long occupation or trade, but simply because of the features which enter into this business that are lacking in practically every other line of business. Naturally, I refer to driving cars, using them for personal pleasure, night work and the elements of excitements, all of which tend to work against bringing out the best that there is in a man. Many times the love for this sort of occupation is mistaken for business enthusiasm. I am merely mentioning this to you because I think as a parent you would like to have my views on the matter.

Stearns' perspective is interesting to note since he had gotten his start as a teenager, not to mention that he was only in his thirties when he wrote this. 

As serious and hardworking as Stearns had been, his company eventually suffered the same fate of manufacturers he warned Keaton about. Sales began to dip from 1922 onward, and John North Willys purchased the struggling business in 1925. 1925 would also be the last profitable year for Stearns automobiles, and the stock market crash of 1929 laid the final nail in the coffin for this luxury brand.

Although the Great Depression signaled the end of F. B. Stearns Company, it didn't stop F. B. Stearns himself from pursuing other interests. Before the crash he had been hard at work on creating a 2-stroke overhead cam diesel engine, and the U.S. Navy later purchased his design. He also discovered a passion for organic farming, an interest he continued to cultivate until his death in 1955.

Are you interested in reading Stearns' advice or learning more about his company? Stearns may be long gone but the memory of his life and prestigious cars lives on here at the library through sales literature, trade journal articles and this unique letter. Any additional information or material pertaining to this historic manufacturer are also welcome. To find out more, give us a call or visit us in person. We'd love to hear from you!