The Valve Clad-d-der

Transcription

1 San Jacinto Region Vintage Chevrolet Club of America November 2015 Volume 26 Issue 11 Meetings: First Monday Night except as noted. 6:30PM Eat and Socialize 7:30PM Meeting. The San Jacinto Region November meeting will be held at Trader s Village, 7979 N. Eldridge Parkway, Houston, TX, Monday Nov. 2. Election of 2016 officers, AutoRama, Christmas Party and the March TV Swap Meet will be discussed at the meeting. Clint has agreed to bring pulled pork for sandwiches. Others are bringing, sides and necessities. If you plan to eat be there by 6:30 PM. Secretaries Report Sheila Bradford Minutes of the October 5, 2015 Meeting, San Jacinto Region VCCA After dinner at Hickory Hollow in the Heights, Director Clint Allred called the October meeting to order. We welcomed a new member, Louis Baumann. He has retired from the boat business and is now restoring a 1953 Chevy Convertible. Secretary s Report: The minutes of the September meeting at the National Museum of Funeral History on Sept. 11 th were approved as written and published in the Valve Cladd-der. Treasurer s Report: As of this meeting we have 5 new members. Chip reported newsletter expense of $48.40 for October which is primarily for postage for those who want their newsletters by snail mail. Chip was thanked for serving as interim editor while we look for a replacement for Phil McGraw. Ray Pierson reminded us that because of our tax exempt status we need to invest in a charity. It was suggested that we look into the San Jacinto Jr. College auto restoration program. Bob Kelly is very familiar with this program and will be working with Ray and Bill Bradford. Activities Report by Bryan Felt: The next national VCCA Tour will be the Southern Fall Tour, headquartered in Newton, Kansas. Chip mentioned that the oldest vehicle on this tour would be Bob & Eleanor Lafler s 1915 Baby Grand. One highlight of the tour would be a tour and lunch in a salt mine. He would like to talk with anyone who might have missed registering for the SFT right after the meeting.

2 Another event of interest locally is the Texian Days at the George Ranch Historical Park on October 23 rd and 24 th. The next tour of our San Jacinto Region will be the Ship Channel Boat ride on Sat. October 31 st. To attend please sign up with Trish or Bryan Felt and provide your identification exactly as shown on your driver s license. We will meet for lunch at Brady s Landing at noon and then drive to the boat dock in time for our boat departure at 2:30. Bryan will also be taking a count for lunch. Don t forget to reserve! Next on the agenda was a report on AutoRama by Gary Groschke. He is in need of one more vehicle for this event, so please call him right away if you are interested or need more information. At our meeting at Trader s Village on Monday, Nov. 2 nd all members will have the opportunity to sign up to help in shifts during this exciting event. Be sure to call Gary right away if you are unable to come on Nov. 2 nd. Clint & Kathy Allred are providing dinner at 6:30 and the meeting will begin at 7:30 PM. In other New Business, Bryan mentioned that the Christmas Party is scheduled on the 2 nd Sunday in December in the Ballroom at the Houston Yacht Club. Mark your calendars for December 13 th. Thanks to Trish for arranging this popular event! Carolyn Couch moved that $10 for each region member be given out of our treasury to defray some of the expense. This motion was seconded by Ann Rasch and passed. Also, there was discussion about the 55 th Anniversary Meet of the VCCA to be held on the south shore of Lake Tahoe from August 7-12, See articles in the G & D. The 2016 Slate of Officers is as follows: Clint Allred, Director, Sheila Bradford, Secretary, Chip Sweet, Treasurer, Ray Pierson, Assistant Director, Carolyn Couch, Board Member, and Activities/Tours Bryan & Trish Felt. Congratulations again (!) to Bryan Felt who is serving as VCCA Area 6 Director on the VCCA Board. Attendance at the October Meeting: Chip & Cathy Sweet, Sheila Bradford, Malcolm Crawford, Clint & Kathy Allred, Bryan Felt, Gary Groschke, Patrick & Terri Lindquist, Ray & Carolyn Pierson, Bob & Carolyn Couch, John Old, Louie Baumann, Linda Holter, and Hans & Ann Rasch. Respectfully submitted, Sheila Bradford, secretary. Page 2

3 AutoRama Gary Groschke has the vehicle lineup set for the SJR display at AutoRama, November He needs members to help setup on Tuesday, 24 th, move-in Wednesday, 25 th teardown Sunday 29 th and manning the booth during the show. Good news is if you work a 3 hour shift you get in free. If interested contact The prime spots go fast. He will also have a signup list at the November 2 meeting. Upcoming Events and Tours (Bryan Felt) October 31 Ship Channel Tour - Houston November 2 Meeting Trader s Village, Houston AutoRama George R. Brown Center December 13 Christmas Party Houston Yacht Club See last page for registration form Houston Ship Channel Tour October 31, :30 pm We will meet at Brady s Landing at 12:00 noon for their wonderful lunch before the tour. Brady's Landing Restaurant, 8505 Cypress Street, Houston, Phone: (713) Directions Take I-45 from the North and West to I- 610 East, Exit on TX 225 (LaPorte Fwy going West. Right on Broadway, Right on Cypress to Brady s Landing Page 3

4 Directions From Brady s Landing travel back to I-610 North, Take Exit 28, Clinton Drive, from the I- 610 East Loop. Turn right on Clinton and proceed west, past McCarty, to Gate 8 on the left. A security guard and signs will direct you to the Sam Houston Boat Pavilion. In The Rearview Mirror 12 th VCCA Southern Fall Tour October 12-16, Newton Kansas As Stephen and Theresa Jones travelled from New Jersey to Newton Kansas they were asked at nearly every stop why were they driving a 1953 Chevrolet Convertible from Southern New Jersey to Kansas. On their arrival in Newton they were asked Why did you come here? Maybe the following will help answer those questions, beside the obvious that Dorothy and Toto were there and so was Laura Ingalls Wilder. At least they had been there. Was that enough to entice clear thinking folks to travel over 1300 miles toward the center of Kansas? Don t think so Kemo Sabi! So the $ 64,000 question is why? Let s try to find out. Well now Regionaires just sit a spell and read the tale as it unfolded. Once upon a time there was a magazine called the Generator and Distributor. It was distributed on a monthly basis worldwide to a select group of old Chevy nuts. That even included New Jersey. Within several of its issues was a listing of an upcoming Southern Fall Tour to be held in faraway Kansas. No that is not a town name but a description of distance. Seems a fella by the given name of Jones picked up an issue and as he was paging trough it came upon the afore mentioned SFT listing. Being an adventuresome sole he asked his spouse if she might want to go on a trip? Being a seasoned VCCA er her answer was in the affirmative. Not be clairvoyant the author cannot know exactly the rationale of that day. Suffice it to be. So they packed up their stuff and moved to Beverly. No, No! that s another story. They loaded precious belongings into the blue 53 convertible. By precious it is meant valuable maybe not in economic terms but for sure quantity. Not too many belongings as the space available is limited in a Chevy Page 4

5 Convertible. At the agreed upon hour they departed their cozy New Jersey home for a westward trek. They planned to take roads less traveled to avoid some of the hazards of the trail (semis) and be able to stop on a whim when something attracted their interest. Their travels ultimately brought them to the Red Carpet Inn Newton Kansas and that ain t no fig (maybe fib?). When they arrived the parking lot was partially filled with trucks, trailers and old Chevrolets from several states (as evidenced by the license plates). In fact it proved to ultimately be nearly ¼ of the United States: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Merriland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Oh, yes and New Jersey!, (that s 12 for you math whizzes). There were red ones, white ones, green ones and even blue ones; the oldest a centenarian. Yes, folks that is a 1915 Baby Grand from Nebraska. And this year participated on three VCCA tours. Think you can do that when you re 100? The official events began with mid Monday morning distribution of tour packets and embroidered caps in a spacious lounge area of the Red Carpet. A message board with daily schedule stood proudly to one side. The board showed a 2 PM Early Bird Tour and 6 PM Pizza & Ice Cream. Do you like worms? Not me! I do like ice cream. The Early Bird Tour proved to be a lot about the ground and what you get from it but worms was not one of them. The equipment used to prepare, till, harvest and process farm products was. Back to ice cream. Now let me tell you folks that VCCA Tourists can t survive without their ice cream. If not daily at least a couple of times a week, despite some physicians objecting. Yum, Yumm, Yummm That evening tourists filled their bellies with calories becoming more calm and sedate. They were aroused by a toot and blaring of a portable PA system. Head Tourist, Ron Eyers reminded each of the next days early departure preceded by an even earlier Navigators Meeting. The hotel would even open the breakfast area 30 minutes early. We were going to a salt mine. Didn t Siberia have a salt mine? Did people come back from there? Did they enjoy the visit? Tuesday morning the crisp cool parking lot air was disturbed by the vibrations of a fella blowing into a brass device. Could have waked the dead. That was apparently was good enough incentive for folks to proceed inside and congregate in the large shelter. Page 5

6 No not a tornado shelter just from that noise outside. Again Ron addressed the assembled mass. We in fact would be going to the salt mine we would even stay for lunch. Some 10 of the tourists said they were not going to the mine but visit some Amish people instead. They would meet up with us at the Cosmosphere. Is that another description of Heaven? Read on to see! The ride to the mine was relatively uneventful. One car ran out of gas but several gas cans magically appeared from trunks and trucks. We arrived at the Stratica Museum in time to get a ticket and view some displays explaining about the wonderful salt mine. We were given colored tickets and told they could only accommodate 28 people at a time. Seems the capacity of the enclosure would only hold 14 on each of the two levels. Yes, they could handle handicap scooters and had wheelchairs and scoters down below. 650 feet below. They announced 10 o clock and all us with white tickets proceeded into a small room to view a video. Next issued hard hats and herded toward a large steel cage. They called it a lift but it looked more like a drop to me. Just saying it ain t no lift if it goes down. The assured us that there would be lights in the mine and facilities too. Not a single person balked. The door closed with a clang. Never been in jail but seen enough scenes on tv to recognize that clang. Once down some 650 feet the door opened to a mostly white well-lit area. Off to the left was a long tunnel with flat ceiling, walls and floor. Could this be valhala? Or??? Our lift operator directed us to the left and explained that once things entered the mine they never left. Hope that is not people too. There were corridors branching of with displays of mining operations, old rusty equipment, videos explaining the process. We could examine them until our turn on the dark tour tram. We were promised lunch after the ride. The lunch was pulled pork and chicken, delicious. As we were finishing they told us those interested in going back up needed to get to the lift. We did posthaste. Once on top we could reflect on one fantastic tour of a salt mine. Who would have thought that there was a salt mine so far from the sea? And it was a two way trip! The Cosmosphere was not a sphere as far as I could see. The shape was Page 6

7 more of a modern building with straight walls and sloping roof. It is once inside that you understand why it was given the name. Now in the Houston area we have the Johnson Space Center supposedly the main hub of USA space efforts and major coordinating facility for international space exploration. The tour if the JSC is nothing compared with the Cosmosphere. The building contains not only original and mockup USA space equipment but also USSR and their German predecessors. It is a not to be missed place for anyone that looks to the heavens and wonders. Got to see it to believe it. Wednesday proved to be an interesting day. At the navigators meeting, it was explained that we would split into two groups of equal size. Group A led by Ron Eyres would proceed to the Pioneer Balloon Factory. Group B led by Dan Clossen traveled the same route to BG Products. The box lunches were to be transported by an air conditioned Surburban to preserve the quality and eatability. Some of us suspected that the driver and assistant won the lottery and the ride in air conditioning. BG Products is a formulator and packager of automotive chemical products. Most are sold or distributed to automotive professionals world-wide. A few are available to the general public hence the reason that most of us were not familiar with the company. The line up at BG products. Page 7

8 Pioneer Balloon is one of the largest balloon manufacturers in the world manufacturing nearly one billion Qualatex latex balloons per year. The plant in El Dorado, KS prints standard and custom designs on inflated balloons. After printing the balloons are returned to the original deflated shape by warming in an oven. Never would have figured that!. The two groups returned for a short rest before it was time to line up for the group photo. Though the site was spectacular with the Newton sculpture in the background and slightly sloped layout, it was a challenge to position over 40 vehicles in a relatively small space. Melvin Ivy pictured lower left center and his assistant did a masterful job directed by photographer emeritus Beula Ivy. The busy day concluded with a dinner at Bethel College and presentation by VCCA member and Tour participant Gus Montalto on Western History with emphasis on Newton Kansas and William Henry McCarty (aka Billy the Kid). McPherson was the destination for day four. A nature stop at the McPherson Airport found a few adventuresome Tourists investigating the hangers instead of the facilities. Wonder if they are not coffee drinkers? This time when separated into two groups they Page 8

9 were nearly equal sized. One group proceeded to the restored Opera House, the other to the McPherson College Automotive Restoration Facility (pictured on previous page). It is the only four year auto restoration bachelors degree awarding institution. Lunch for both groups was the College Cafeteria. Ya, know what you are thinking Yuck. Not yuck but amazingly YUMMM! particularly when topped off with soft serve ICE CREAM. Next was a short tour of the collection of vehicles, and automotive collectables at Rick and Karen Mann s. Pictured to the right is the lunch line at the Mann s. After a stop at tour master Ron Eyres the tourists assembled in the hotel for the ladies craft show/sale and parking lot swap meet. The tour ending meal at the hotel was the official end to the tour. The Ken Regier family entertained including a pre-teen that could strum and pick with the best of them. Was that enough to get folks from Southern New Jersey to Kansas? You Bet. The final tour day started with a visit to Lawrence Smith s collection of million $$$ vehicles. Bentley dealerships don t have as many of the luxury brand as Mr. Smith. He also has one of each of the seven Corvette C series cars (C-1 to C-7) so Chevrolet was well represented in the collection. After that a stop at the Richard & Diane Mann homestead with an extremely rare 1925 Chevrolet snowmobile conversion. It was used to deliver mail in Wisconsin. Yes in the winter as they have snow in Wisconsin. A cadre of San Jacinto Region members traveled to Newton, Kansas for the VCCA Southern Fall Tour. The Tour started by Roy & JoAnn Chambers and Clay & Judy Perrine in Amarillo, Texas in 2004 has proven to be a popular fall event for owners of Chevrolets including a bunch from the SJR. Bill & Sheila Bradford 41 Cabriolet, Bob & Carolyn Couch, 41 Fleetline, Ron & Linda Holter 49 Fleetline, Bill & Barbera Mancuso 54 Hardtop, John Matejka & Milt Yoder 51 Hardtop, Ray & Carolyn Pierson 53 Two door, Clay & Judy Perrine 50 Sedan, Hans & Ann Rasch 28 Truck, Chip & Cathy Sweet 31 Phaeton represented the San Jacinto Region. Page 9

10 Officers, Board Members, and Committee Chairs for 2015 VCCA-SJR Director: Clint Allred (713) Asst. Dir: Ray Pierson (281) Secretary: Sheila Bradford (281) Treasurer: Chip Sweet (979) Membership: Carolyn Couch ( ) Activities: Bryan Felt ( ) Editor: Chip Sweet ( ) Website: Bob Kelly ( ) < Facebook: Malcolm Crawford ( ) Board Members: 2015 Brad Boyer 2016 Gary Groschke 2017 Mike Howard Committee Chairs: Swap Meet: Auto Rama: Gary Groschke Christmas Party Trish Felt Classified For Sale 1956 Bel Air 2 DR HT Turquoise and Ivory Asking $33500 Contact Bob Sears rwsearspe@comcast.net FOR SALE 1930 Chevrolet Universal, $9.500 or best offer? I hate to sell, but I need to let something go. Have solid cedar benches for sale $1200. Call Ray (936) or (763) mnray62@gmail.com Acknowledgements Photos in this issue courtesy of Sheila Bradford and Cathy Sweet Page 10

11 Letter received acknowledging a donation in the Memory of Phil McGraw in the name of the San Jacinto Region by Betty Lenninger. Page 11

12 VCCA 26 th Annual San Jacinto Region Holiday Party Sunday, December 13, :30 4:30p.m. Houston Yacht Club, 3620 Miramar Drive Shoreacres, Texas Bring the family and the Old Chevy for a fantastic Party! 1:30pm Arrival and socializing (cash bar available) 2:00pm Buffet luncheon (see menu below) 3:00pm December Region meeting, installation of officers Farewell Have a safe trip home! Menu Mixed Green Salad Seafood Newburg and Prime Rib Potatoes a gratin and Rice Pilaf Green Beans Almondine and Vegetable Medley Hot Rolls and Butter Bread Pudding and Fruit Cobbler Coffee and Tea $18.00 SJR/VCCA Member $28.00 Non-Members and guests Please bring wrapped gifts for preschool aged children, marked for girl, boy or either. These gifts will go to St. Vincent s House in Galveston where 70 children are cared for. You don t want to miss this great event - the food is awesome and plenty of safe parking! You must reserve and pay in advance since our Region is subsidizing a portion of the costs. Send in your check payable to: SJR-VCCA by Friday, December 4th. Call Trish Felt at with any questions (or trishsphoto@yahoo.com) Detach & Mail with your check now! Trish Felt * 9614 Caritas Circle * Houston, Texas Name(s): Address: SJR/VCCA $18 each = $ / 2016 = $ each = $ Total enclosed: $ Page 12