OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ROAD RACE LINCOLN REGISTER Encompassing 1949 through 1957 Lincoln Automobiles
31st ANNUAL EASTERN NATIONAL MEE The Eastern National Meet of the Road Race Lincoln Register, held in Milford, CT September 11-13, is nov just a fond memory. This was the first time your editor was able to attend this meet, which is in it's 31st yea This is arguably the most active group in RRLR, and seeing them interact it was obvious that some long term friendships have been formed. Our chairman for this meet was Allan Wilcox, he had worked hard to make this an enjoyable event. Thursday the 11th was arrival day; our group started to gather in the hotel lobby. Upon my arrival one of the first members I ran into was my old friend Pen Grove out in the parking lot. Pen introduced me to Allan. It seems the generator on Pen's '56 Capri had quit charging and the two of them were off to find a new one. Once I got settled in my room at the Holiday Inn Express, I ventured down to the lobby where some of thi attendees had gathered. This was your editor's chance to put some faces to some of the members I only knew by name. Everyone was friendly and welcoming to me and very complimentary of the new Viva Carrera. One of the first members I met was Dick Rogers, and he very kindly offered to chauffeur me around all weekend in his '54 Capri that he has owned for over 50 years. After a while of catching up, man^ of the attendees decided to head out for dinner, I was invited to join them but the long drive from Tulsa had really tired me out. I choose to retreat to my room, eat my last baloney sandwich and go to bed early. Good thing I got some rest because Allan had a busy Friday planned. Our first adventure was a drive to Automotive Restorations in Stratford, CT. From the outside it was deceiving how large a facility we were about to explore. Kent Bain met us inside and told all about this restoration business, and what a business it is for the auto enthusiast. Kent lead us on a tour through the different areas of restoration. There was a fabrication room, paint prep room with a paint booth, and an engine building area. The employees were friendly and quick to answer our questions. Eventually we were allowed to wander around the facility at our own pace. The cars ranged from foreign to domestic, modified to bone stock; what an impressive restoration business run by very nice people! Our host Ken Bain tells our group about the 2 restoration shop before the tour begins
We move into the shop; after Ken gave us the tour we were free to roam around and check things out This Jaguar was in the middle of getting rewired After the Automotive Restorations tour; Allan lead us to the Blue Sky Diner for lunch. The food was great, it was rewarding getting to know the various eastern members. It was fun to see the parking lot full of Road Race Lincolns as well. When lunch was over, our group headed to Booth Memorial Park and Museum. This facility sits on 32 acres in Stratford, CT. and was created by the Booth Brothers, David Beach and Steven Nichols. As we arrived, volunteers were waiting to divide our group into smaller groups to tour the various buildings on the site. The group I was in toured the main house first The docents who volunteer at the main house are very knowledgeable about the history of the Booth family and the house itself. One of the first things we learned is that the house is considered "the oldest homestead in America" since it was built on a foundation started in 1663 and continuously occupied. The brothers initiated a building and collection program that resulted in the present day Booth Memorial Park that was willed to the town of Stratford in 1949. Besides the main house, there are many interesting buildings sprinkled around the grounds. Like the main house, there were volunteers ready to explain the various structures and their purpose and history. If you are ever in the Stratford area plan a visit to the Booth Memorial Park, you will be glad you did.
Our group now had some free time to head back to the hotel to rest up and prepare ourselves the car show and pizza truck night held at out host Allan Wilcox's home. I met up with my "chauffeur", Dick Rogers, when it dawned on us that we really didn't know how to get to Allan's place. So I plugged his address into my trusty iphone GPS, and Dick and I took off and were led right to the Wilcox home. The car show was already filling up not only with Lincolns but other cars that had been invited. As we were getting settled, the main event of the night showed up, The BIG Green Truck. Based on a late 40s International two ton truck with modern mechanicals and many modifications, it was converted into a wood fired pizza truck. After the guys got the truck in position, it wasn't long until the fire was roaring and before too long, many types of pizza were coming out of the oven. While waiting for the pizza we roamed around look at all the cars that had arrived. Besides our Lincolns there was a very eclectic assortment of cars to look, and some very nice people to meet. Allan had thoug everything for the evening. A very bright light lit up th car show after the sun went down, as well as a large in the back yard with plenty of tables for people to sii and enjoy the food.
Once up to speed the Big Green Truck really popped out the pizza with many toppings to choose from, I even tried a crab pizza, which was delicious. Later in the evening a box of ice cream cups appeared which made for a nice ending after all that pizza. Allan really put on a nice event, everyone enjoyed the cars, the people and, of course, the pizza! A big thanks to the Allan Wilcox and his helpers for putting on this fun evening. Two competitors to our Lincolns? A '52 Packard and a '53 Oldsmobile on hand to check out between slices. 5
TINE ^)LLEY MV/f USEUM 17 Rt*er Street 1vl EasfHavert. Cr<-65f2 Saturday morning there was nothing scheduled, and after the busy Friday it wa: kind of nice to have a little free time. The fi activity was to travel to the Shoreline Troll} Museum which is located in East Haven, C This is where we would spend the rest of t day Saturday. Besides the three mile roun< trip trolly rides and tour of the various buildings housing around 100 different trolleys, there was a car show with our car finishing up with a catered meal at the museum. The trolley ride was very interesting, the Shoreline Trolley is recognized as "the oldest continuously running suburban trolly line in the USA". The ride is a three mile (round trip) ride through the scenic Branford salt marshes near Long Island Sound. The trolley is operated by a conductor/tour guide who starts off explaining how the trolley car works plus giving some history of the eastern trolleys systems that were used by many cities in the 1800s until today (when very few are left). The ride takes you to the trolly storage and repair area; the conductor then invites passengers to follow him on a walking tour were we get to see the impressive collection of trolleys cars from all eras. The trolly that was waiting for us was Georgia Power Company 948. Built in 1926 by the Cincinnati Car Company, this car made its restore debut at Shoreline in 2011 after many years of restoration, it is the most recently restored member of the fleet. The car was beautifully restored and was fun ride with the sounds of the track and the electric motor moving us along.
Our conductor also walked us through the various buildings housing the trolleys, some restored some waiting to be restored, by the way, the folks that work restoring these cars are all volunteers. Toward the end of the walking tour out conductor showed us the latest acquisition, which really is not an antique. It is one of two cars discovered underneath the World Trade Center after 9/11. They were discovered in sort of a cast iron tunnel and were not damaged by the collapsing buildings. Car 745 was donated to the Shoreline Trolly Museum after it was determined that the 9/11 museum did not have the space for it. It is quite a moving exhibit and fortunately there were no passengers found in these cars. But the fact that car 745 survived one of the worst tragedies our country ever faced was quite amazing. conductor begins our tour of the various buildings housing trolleys from all eras Lots of rolling stock to see and enjoy trolley on display has a history that was interesting to hear about form our conductor Walter Blankenship, Ed Tondryk, & Jim MacBride look forward to the trolley ride The ceremony of car 745's arrival at the Shoreline Museum, August 10, 2015
On our group got to see PATH car 745 where it now resides under cover in one of the couch buildings, was amazing to find this car at the bottom of the World Trade Center totally intact. Not only were there outdoor exhibits inside the museum were many artifact related to the American trolley history, even a couple of interactive exhibits. Our group was free to roam around at our leisure and check all the displays between trolley rides. They trolley museum was a hit with ou, group. We were allowed to ride as ofte as we wanted. In the museum parking lot, our car show was underway with mostly Lincolns in attendance but a fev brand Xs showed up. This show was a judging show, winners determined by the voting of the registered attendees. The winners would be announced at a meeting to be held later back at the hotel. There was a nice showi of cars other than our own group, even a beautiful '57 Cadillac Eldorado made an appearance. Later in the evening a catered meal was provided inside the museum, the food was excellent. This alsc gave our group a chance to look around at the artifacts displayed inside the museum. The Shoreline Trol Museum is a place for young and old to learn about the early days of American transportation, if you are ever in the area put this on your list of things to see..
'67 Continental convertible shows off it top mechanism It's not a Lincoln but this beautiful '57 Cadillac Eldorado showed up, color combo was outstanding After dinner, our group headed back to the hotel where a meeting had been scheduled in the hospitality room. At the meeting, the winners of the car show were announced, they were: Best Open Car and Best of Show- both went Walter Blankenship with his 1954 Capri convertible. Best closed car went to Jim Dunn, 1955 Capri sedan; Best Mark II was awarded to Peter Mann, LCOC. Best Modern Mark was won by Phil Schuch with his 1979 Mark V, LCOC. Best modern Lincoln went to a non member with a 1982 Lincoln Town Car. Martyn Cadd and Allen Whilcher won the longest distance traveled (from England!) while yours truly won the longest distance driven (in a late model from Oklahoma). Allan commissioned this beautiful cake This quilt was put together from John Howard's by his daughter After the awards we discussed the upcoming Lincoln Homecoming at the the Gilmore Museum August 10-14, 2016. RRLR has been asked to host this important event, and I brought up how important it is that we have a big turnout. We will need participation from our members to put it on (look for a schedule of events in this issue). Allan had a local grocery store make the beautiful cake with 31st Eastern Nation Meet logo on top. A quilt with John Howard's t-shirts from many previous meets was displayed. Allan wants to thank his helpers, Linda Lewis, Bob Yurick, Walt Blankenship, Jim Dunn and Pen Grove's daughter for their assistance in making it a great meet. This was a great get together of our eastern members. Since this was the 31 st annual, it was easy to see these folks enjoy each other as well as the Lincolns. I truly enjoyed myself and appreciate the friendly reception I received. This is a great group of Road Race Lincoln lovers! 9