Tioga Transmission The official newsletter of Tioga Region Antique Automobile Club of America P. O. Box 607 Owego, New York 13827 Www.tiogaregion.com
August 2012 As most of our members know, Bill Clark is a member of Iroquois Region as well as the editor of their excellent Antique Auto News, their monthly newsletter. Bill is also the proud owner of not only a renown collection of Metropolitans, but an outstanding 1955 Studebaker Speedster. The ’55 is an excellent example of the tri-color cars of the fifties and also one of the few remaining examples of an automobile that once was a respected and sought after make. Like so many of the makes from the past, Studebaker has become what is now called an orphan make. The company went out of existence in the early 1960’s after being one of the oldest makes up to that time. Bill happens to own one of the best
Congratulations to Bill Clark looking and rare Speedsters I have seen. He also Received a Grand National Senior Award this year at Shelbyville. The picture of his Studebaker was taken by me at the Northeast Auto Museum in Norwich, New York this spring. I am sure the car will be back in this venue when winter happens, but I hope also that Bill will bring this outstanding example of mid fifties automobile to our car show this August 26. Bill is an outstanding member of
the collector car hobby and a top honored editor of A.A.C.A. newsletters. It was Bill who helped me to understand the fundamentals of newsletter writing. This even before we met for the first time! Congratulations to Bill for the quality of his work not only on his outstanding cars, but also for his dedication to the hobby and the Antique Automobile Club of America. See You at the next car show!!!
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July Meeting The July meeting was held at the Newark Valley Railroad Depot on July 16,2012. There were fourteen members present. Several members met first at the ice cream shop on route 38 before the 7:00PM meeting.
Saturday the 4th with our collector cars. We will then travel to the Beds 4 Kids location, 100 Elm Street, Owego to survey the field and better understand how the show will set up.
rice and Ann Stoughton’s 1946 Ford 4 door. We chose to make this car our feature car since last year this distinction was taken away by the flood.
We plan to attend the Family Day at Castle Gardens from 11:30 AM to 2:00PM on
and a final decision made by the members present. Our featured car is Mau-
for ice cream at our stop on route38.
The heads of each work There are many changes crew for the car show that Leonard Hilldale is were listed and advised to The plans for the car show planning for his location make their plans for the were the main subject of that will be an influence to process needed to make the evening. Since there our car show. It is our hope the show a success. were many questions about that we will see the overall Our August meeting will the set up on the new loca- plan and be able to incortake place at the Trout tion, we decided that we porate them in our set up. Ponds Park in Newark Valwould make an effort to We were also given a pre- ley, New York on August 20, have the members who view of the new Dash 2012 at 6:00PM. This is our were interested meet at plaque by Mat Vaglica and pot luck picnic dinner and the field after the get tohad the choice of three each member will bring a gether at Castle Gardens versions. The different se- dish to pass. We hope to on August 4,2012. lections were discussed get together a little early
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A Surprise Gift A couple of months ago I was surprised to have one of the older female members of my church hand me a small envelope that contained the coins you see reproduced on this page. I was able to recall the four coins at the bottom of the page as advertising giveaway tokens from the Sunoco gas company. These coins were given to all customers who came into Sunoco in the 1970’s. There were at least two different collections and the three coins on the left were from the second collection while the one on the right was from the first. The two coins on the right
top of the page are a little more interesting as well as more mysterious as to their origin. .Although the other coins all measure one inch in diameter, the Dodge coin is one and a quarter inches across. The Dodge coin seems to be from 1954 and, I am guessing, must have been given to customers of Dodge Dealerships in 1954. I, of course, might be wrong in this guess but it seems unusual that there would be any other explanation where the year would be so designated. The reference to forty years certainly fits with the
1914 beginning of Dodge as The Dodge Brothers. Dodge, of course, was bought in 1928 by Walter P. Chrysler and became their second line car just one step above the base Plymouth that was new for 1928. Chrysler also introduced the DeSoto in 1928 giving them a car for all price ranges with the Chrysler Imperial being the answer to the top of the line luxury cars of that era. The copper coin is a mystery to me as it just does not seem possible that it could have come from Stutz! Any Ideas?
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Looking Back I believe it was the spring of 1961 that a specially modified tractor trailer arrived at The Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. This truck had a paint job that would make a modern Carnival truck proud. The bold lettering proclaimed “See Hitler’s Car!!!” Who knows how much money was made by the owner of this truck as it toured the United States, but I was one of the eager throng who paid a dollar to enter the tight space to see this wonder. The tight passage in the trailer and the long line of spectators prevented one from taking more than a brief look, but it was soon evident that the heavily mutilated car inside would not soon be driven on the highway. Someone had taken a saw and a torch to the whole car. Holes cut into the body revealed a heavy armor plate inside the smooth Mercedes body, and this
plating had been cut to show the thickness of the armor. Even the tires had been cut to show that there had been extra steel belts added to make the tires impervious to most bullets. A hole also had been cut into the floor level to show that the car was protected from mines placed on the road. The Black Body had been treated to a hasty and hand painted swastika in white paint. Had this actually been the car that Hitler traveled in? It could have been, but one has to ask was there only one car used by this leader of Germany during his reign of terror? I know by now you are asking why has Bob included this story in our newsletter? Today as I logged on to the “Net” I was treated to an article about a New Jersey man who in trying to have his Mercedes restored and found that his car also had ties to the
monster who caused World War 2. As the story went, The man’s grandfather somehow managed to bring the car home when he returned to the States from the war. The car supposedly came here aboard a U.S. Navy ship after being painted black. I’m not sure why the color made any difference in this story. A while back the man bought the car from his grandfather for $100,000.00 and wanted to restore it, so he took it to a shop where the restorer began to order parts from Mercedes in Germany. When the manufacturer asked for a serial number for the car it came back as belonging to Hitler. Since the car was a special manufactured during the reign of the Nazi party, it seems that the pedigree is probable. As a result of the history the owner has turned down an offer of one million dollars!
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Looking Back (Continued) The car in the story on the last page is a cabriolet while the car I saw back in 1961 was a four door sedan. The car from 1961 definitely would have been a typical staff car from the Third Reich, however the car from the modern story would have been more of a parade car.
The main question now is how many other cars will be found that have a connection to Hitler? By the way, the story of today’s car finalized that the car actually was not that of Hitler, but one of his top Generals. Isn’t it interesting that we
can have so much interest in a car from over seventy years ago that has been suggested to have belonged to such a despicable man? I wonder if we could find a car that could be traced back to Franklin D. Roosevelt?
Our French Azilum Tour Saturday July 14, 2012 was a perfect day to tour. We met at The Big Dipper in Apalachin and proceeded south on Pennsylvania Avenue to our first stop, Cabin Country Gift Shop, where the picture on the right was taken. As you can see we numbered fourteen with eight cars represented. The members from right to left are Howard and Emily, Bob and Lois, Jerry and Barb, Ralph and Gloria, Charlie, George, Ken and Vera, and Cheryl and I.
on route 6 to look over the Susquehanna Valley where French Azilum is located. Lunch was at the Wyalusing Hotel, then on to the historic site of French Azilum.
From the gift shop we traveled to the scenic overlook
Ice Cream finished the day!
Our guide, Danielle, not only was knowledgeable but also had a great sense of humor that made the tour even more interesting. A brief stop for fuel in Wysox, Pennsylvania was followed by a quick stop at Pickering Winery also in Wysox.
With such a beautiful day we all envied Jerry and Barb i n their convertible! Most of us didn’t even have air conditioning in our cars and the slow speed did not bring much of a breeze.
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The Castle Gardens Family Day. Thirteen members of the club brought seven cars to the senior center. These cars were joined by two that had connections to the residents of the center. The pictures on page two are the cars that attended with the exception of Cheryl and my 78 Monte Carlo. It was a real thrill to see Ray’s 1929 Reo back on the road!
once an instrument is learned the musician can continue to make pleasant music all his or her life. Several residents of the facility came over to the cars to admire and reminisce about their cars they had owned in their lifetime.
The 1957 Chevrolet that came was owned by the son and daughter of one of the residents. This car was Castle Gardens provided an an example of a slightly excellent picnic for the modified car with loud duresidents, their families els and tuned engine. The and we members of Tioga owner was a fifty someRegion. There was also a thing couple. three piece band that provided not only background The real surprise came in the form of the 1939 Demusic but also proof that
soto that arrived without our knowing. Several of us then spent a significant time trying to determine who brought this beautiful example of a pre-war automobile. The real surprise was revealed almost too late as the driver had already gotten the car running and in gear before we were able to get to him. The car actually belonged to one of the residents and was being driven by his teenaged grandson! We hope this vehicle will be at our car show as both Howard and I gave a personal invitation for that occurrence.
A Sad Note We were saddened to learn of the passing of Russ and Margaret Edwards Daughter, Susan M. Kemp. The young woman was the victim of cancer and left behind a family that consisted of her husband and
two daughters. The family asks that a remembrance might be made to the American Cancer Society in Susan’s name or to an educational fund for her girls at Visions Federal Credit Union, 24 McKinley
Ave., Endicott, New York 13760 in loving memory of Susan M. Kemp. We send our regrets to Russ and Margaret.
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A Request For Help Lois Holmes has found a need that she requests our help to fill. There is a need for old useable suitcases within the homeless veterans community of the area. These suitcases are being collected by a veteran and taken to a local veteran home for distribution to those in need. They also
are looking for used bicycles in good working condition. If you can help with either of these items give Lois a call at 607-748-9657 and she will help co-ordinate the delivery to those in need. I am not sure how the suit-
A Visit With Old Friends Jim and Helen McCloe were home the day that Cheryl and I happened to be trying to sell ads for the car show book. Since we were that close it was just natural for us to make the stop to see these great people. As we drove up the drive Jim was outside close to his Chevy but had his usual big grin of welcome on his face. In typical form he greeted us both with an invitation to “come on in�. Inside the door Jim called to Helen that they had company and she needed to
come see who. Soon we saw Helen coming through the hall with a walker. She had just had the boot removed from her leg after breaking it this spring. In their usual good humor, they both sat for a friendly visit in the kitchen of their lovely home. Of course, they offered refreshments and were a bit reluctant to have the picture taken that is here reproduced. Both asked that they be remembered to all their friends at TRAACA.
cases will be used, but there is no doubt that we need to help those who have done so much for their country. This might just be the way to clear out some of the clutter in your attic or basement while helping those who made our country strong.
Musings I have been thinking about the changes in the collector car world over the years. The very first car show I attended that I believe was sponsored by an AACA club was in the late 1950’s. The cars were all from no later than the early 1930’s. Each car had to be driven not only onto the field but also to the field. If there were trailer queens then the trailers were parked somewhere out of sight of the show field. The owners of these early automobiles also dressed in period clothing for their cars. I even heard a story of the best of show car being determined by the period correct union suit worn under other vintage clothes by the car owner! True or not that happily is not done today! Today we try to make the car the star of the show while we remain comfortable in our modern clothing. The cars now strive to represent themselves as they came from the factory or at least from the showroom. Not only that but most of the cars on our show field were not even in the design stage during those early car shows. What then will the car show of the future be like? I hate to think of it but surely we will see a time when the cars shown will be those from Japanese, Korean, and Chinese controlled builders rather than ones that wear a bowtie, or blue oval. In less than twenty years the tuners of today will be the pampered collectors. But the main thing is to remember that the collector car hobby, though evolving, is and will be alive and well as long as we have roads to travel and places to go.
The car show and the collector hobby lives!