SHORELINE ANTIQUE AUTO CONNECTION
Showing our colors to remember September 11, 2001 - Let's Roll!
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on the Connecticut Shoreline!
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Date of creation of this web site: 26 October 1998 - Date of latest update(s) of this web site: 15, 16, 28, 30 November, 10, 14, 25 December 2007, 4, 12, 14, 25, 28, 31 January, 9, 10, 15, 18, 19, 21, 25, 27, 29 February, 7, 11, 17, 20, 26, 30 March, 4, 10, 11, 14, 21, 26, 30 April, 2, 8, 10, 11, 16, 20, 21, 23, 31 May, 1, 4, 13, 16, 20, 29 June, 3 July 2008 (today's highlights in red)
*6/29/2008 Brief Updates
- Mixed bag of stuff from this end... On the one hand, let me say
that it's great to be able to have the opportunity to mess around
with old cars, go to old car events, and so forth--but on the
other hand, there are many life responsibilities that have
nothing at all to do with old cars, but which take vast
precedence over everything else. Such has become my lot--not that
I haven't had a lot of things sucking up my free time previously,
but it's even more real now. I certainly plan to continue to stay
involved with old cars as much as possible--but I also have other
responsibilities in other areas that are going to take me away
from doing a lot of the "fun" things that I would like
to do. But we soldier onward... One recent positive development
that combines a bit of both the "old car" and
"non-old car" worlds for me is our Boy Scout Troop's (Troop
441 of Stony Creek) upcoming involvement with spectator
parking at the "Time Machines 2008"
antique auto event, Sunday, July 27th, at the Guilford
Fairgrounds - ref.: http://www.geocities.com/tbirdsofconn/timemach.html
. I'll therefore be running around out in the spectator parking
lot with other Scouts (including my son Matt)
and Scout Leaders for most of the morning--and then hustle back
in to the car show around noon, to do my normal VW class judging
(plus socializing, and picture-taking). Thanks again to our
friend (& TM2008 Show Chairman) Fred Klaus
for soliciting (& facilitating) our Troop's participation...
Another fun old-car-related thing that I was able to participate
in most recently was a little informal get-together of some
members of the old "Shoreline Antique Auto Club"
(from which sprang the current "Shoreline Antique Auto Connection"
web site project, as a matter of fact), that included some
local-area old car touring, plus some socializing afterwards. It
was most enjoyable. Click HERE
to see a group shot (photo by Kathy Hand, using
my camera--thanks again Kathy), from when we stopped by the
Coginchaug High School athletic fields in Durham (where our club
originated the "Time Machines" car shows-now, of
course, being very successfully run by the CT Area Classic T-Bird
Club). That's Don & June Hansen's
super-nice, all-original '67 Ford Mustang Convertible
partially visible in the view, by the way... In other updates,
relating to the small image at the upper right, I wish to direct
your attention to a small feature page we just completed,
documenting a bit of our experience having visited the very
enjoyable "8th Annual Car Show"
produced by the F.O.R.D. Club, that was held, Saturday,
June 7, 2008, in Meriden. The photo
subject is a strikingly beautiful custom 1933 Ford Pickup
Truck that was on display at the event, and if you click
directly on the image, you'll be transported directly to the new
feature page - or you can also use the actual page hyperlink,
which is: http://members.aol.com/cgextras/FORDMeriden2008.html
... Finally, just a quick note of "Thanks" to our
friends Jack and Maureen Tary who just sent us
some great photos from this weekend's Wallingford/Gaylord
Hospital antique car show that they were able to
attend-sure looked like a fun gathering-and we do look forward to
working with Jack's images to be able to share them with all of
our readers... Ok, I think that pretty much covers it for now. I
hope you're able to fit in some fun stuff here and there amidst
all of your serious life responsibilities--we'll keep trying for
the same at this end...
*6/16/2008 Brief Updates
- I hope you got the chance to get out and do a bit of old car
stuff this past weekend. Speaking for myself, I kept busy with
house chores on Saturday (6/14), but on Father's Day
(Sunday, 6/15), I kept a promise to myself and
drove the old '50
Bug out to the Branford Town Green, to participate
in the 2008 Branford Festival Classic Car Cruise.
I was rolling toward town at about 10:45am or so, and noticed
that several roads leading into the center were blocked by police
(such as Damascus Road), obviously due to the Branford
Road Race that was underway at the time, and so I had to
detour a bit, coming up on the Green from around the back of the
Blackstone Library, and then down South Main, before a police
officer allowed me to drive up Taintor Drive (the little road
that passes between Town Hall and the First Congregational
Church) to get to the front Green. On my way, I noticed there
were no show cars arranged at the rear green, back in the
"bowl" behind Town Hall--obviously the overcast skies
had kept a lot of the old car folks away. There was a serious
traffic jam at the other end of Taintor, though--the Branford
Road Race was evidently in the process of finishing (official
finish line was right on Main Street in front of the Green), and
there were crowds of people everywhere--but I found a space on
the grass to cut over to Town Hall Drive, and I ended up getting
parked almost right in front of Town Hall (click HERE
to see a quick shot). Anyway, I was able to get registered, then
took some time to hand out Time
Machines and Jazz
Festival flyers--and also take a few shots of the very nice
array of cars on and near the Green, amidst that very lively and
crowded scene--so, do stay tuned for a photo feature, whenever
we're able to put something together (I've also just sent an
inquiry to the organizers, so perhaps we might have some
"official results" to include--that'd be very cool).
Anyway, right after the awards were announced, the rains started
to come down, and so I decided to get going on my way, as most of
the other old cars were doing. It was a wonderful time, though,
being able to participate in this wonderful Branford tradition,
and we salute the Branford Festival (http://www.branfordfestival.com/)
folks for running another positively great Classic Car Cruise for
2008!...The other thing I wanted to highlight this evening
pertains to the IMAGE AT THE UPPER RIGHT, which is from the 3rd
Annual E.J.K. Car Show that was held at Xavier
High School in Middletown, CT, on Sunday,
June 1, 2008. Though we didn't drive an old car up to
Middletown that day, my son Matt and I were very
pleased to be able to make it to the show (which was the rain
date, since it had originally been scheduled for the previous
day, 5/31, but pushed back due to threatening forecasts), and
happily had brought the camera along, to be able to record a few
images from that most enjoyable event. We've put several shots
& descriptions together for a new feature page recently
completed, covering our visit to the 3rd Annual E.J.K. Car Show,
which is located online at: http://members.aol.com/cgearannex/XavierEJK2008.html
- or you can also click on the image to open up the new feature
page. The photo subject of the small image, by the way, is a
super-kool, flathead-powered 1946 Ford Coupe,
owned by Wayne Adams, from Lebanon, CT. As you
can see, the Adams '46 sports a bit of a rake, in "classic
hot rodder style"--this, along with several other
outstanding old cars are shown & described on our new feature
page, so please do check it out at your leisure.
*6/13/2008 Brief Updates
- I had a great time visiting the F.O.R.D. Club's 8th
Annual Meriden Car Show last Saturday (6/7).
It was a wonderful day and a great location for a car show--and
many very beautiful specimens on display indeed. I even noticed
another fellow Shoreliner there, Orlando Amato,
with his magnificent red '62 Thunderbird roadster (subject
of the small image at the right). Anyway, the entire Meriden
event was a wonderful photo-op, and of course I took a few
pictures...with the thought of putting some onto a web feature
page. Thinking it might be nice to get some feedback, if
possible, from the organizers, about the event, I wrote to our
friend and F.O.R.D. Club official Jack Danovich,
and he wrote back with a nice response--here are excerpts from
his note dated 6/11/2008: "...Thank you for coming
down to the show, really appreciate you stopping by and taking
some photos. I would be very glad to put something together for
you--thanks for asking...Orlando's awesome red 'Bird ended up
with the Best Of Show Trophy at the show--well deserved and an
absolutely stunning automobile...We ended up with 79 cars through
the gate, not the largest show for sure, but we were very happy
with the turnout and the quality of the many great old and the fe
new cars there, especially on a 'pleasant' 94 degree June day. We
probably have a 50/50 split on folks that return from the
previous year and new faces that come in for the first time,
which is pretty cool...Our Dino's gig (webmaster's
note: that's the F.O.R.D. Club's Sunday night cruise in North
Haven--see the "Cruise Nights" section of our Calendar
page ) was cancelled due to the thunderstorms that
rolled in right around 4:00pm in our area--we will try it again
next week (rain date) and are there the second and forth Sundays
through October. Hope top see you there sometime..."
Sounds great, Jack, and thanks! So, readers please stay
tuned for an upcoming feature page with some images from the 6/7
Meriden event, and also be aware that the "Dino's"
North Haven Sunday night cruise originally scheduled for
6/8 will be happening on 6/15
instead....Otherwise, it's looking like another busy weekend
coming up for me--though I do plan to drive the '50
Bug over to the Branford Festival Classic
Car Cruise on Sunday (6/15)--maybe see you there!
*5/31/2008 Brief Weather-Related Update -
Please note that the E.J.K. Car Show at Xavier
High School in Middletown that was
scheduled for today (5/31), has been moved to its rain date,
which is tomorrow (6/1). Quoting from Kalber family member Danica
Levesque (danical61@yahoo.com),
in her e-mail dated 5/29: "Hey everyone...Due to the
rotten weather on Saturday, we have moved the show to Sunday,
same time, same place. Hope to see all of you there. Make it a
great day! Danica..." For other details about the
E.J.K. Car Show (this year's being the 3rd annual), please
look at the original 5/31 listing on our Calendar
page . We strongly support the E.J.K. Car Show, and the
wonderful cause it benefits: the Xavier High School Scholarship
Fund that has been set up in remembrance of the late Eric
J. Kalber... And also very briefly, we've created a
small remembrance of a particular 1964 VW that was a significant
car in our family's history, and the wonderful nickname of which
we've been given permission to borrow for our '50 VW. The page is
called: "Sue's 1964 VW Bug - The Original
'Thrashwell Snailbee'," and is located online at: http://members.aol.com/commongear/Thrashwell.html
... *6/1/2008 super-brief update:
Very happy to report that I had a copy of the New Haven
Register newspaper article in which Sue and Thrashwell
were featured--it was the front page of the
"Living" section (Section E) of the Sunday, February
24, 1991 issue, and the title of the article was "Love
Me Fender" (by Jim Shelton with photos by Michael
Kiernan), and was about, as you can probably guess, people's
attachment to their cars. I've done some scans of the article,
and will be adding a couple of shots to the Thrashwell
page next chance I get (*6/4/2008
update: The complete article text has been
transcribed and added to the Thrashwell
page!)--and for now have added at the ABOVE RIGHT a reduced
size image of Sue and Thrash from the actual newspaper article
(printed in color yet--pretty cool!), and I'll also hyperlink the
photo to the feature page. Anyway, hope to get the Thrashwell
page updated soon with all of that... Last brief mention here is
that I also just got back from a quick run up to Middletown,
where my son Matt and I took in some of the E.J.K.
Car Show at Xavier High School, and we had a great
time there (also took some pix, so stay tuned for a future
report)... All for now...
*5/23/2008 Another Couple of Brief-But-Important Updates - Just added to the Calendar page as of this afternoon is an updated event listing for the 2008 version of the Madison Boys Soccer Car Show at Hammonasset--it's going to be happening on Saturday, June 14th, so please do make note of that, and check the Calendar page for all the details. The organizers also sent us an electronic copy of the kool display ad they're going to be running soon in Bargain News, and so if you click HERE, you can see a slightly reduced version of it. We had a super time attending the '07 version, and hope we can make it for '08...Otherwise, it appears we are staring down an upcoming Memorial Day Weekend of fantastic weather. I will unfortunately be missing the Sunday car show at Quinnipiac (due to a Boy Scouts camping commitment--I am an Assistant Scoutmaster for our local Troop), but Mrs. Webmaster says she may make it out there with her '73 Pinto Squire wagon, so watch for them! Given our Scouting activities schedule (including two local Memorial Day parades to march in on Monday morning), it's looking like the Old Lyme car show may also be in jeopardy for me--but I'll try my darndest to get out there, at least for a little while, if I can manage it... Finally, let's also try to keep in mind this weekend the reason for Memorial Day--that being to remember and honor our military men & women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. So, have a good Memorial Day Weekend, and God Bless America.
*5/20/2008 VERY IMPORTANT EVENT DATE
REVISION UPDATE - Please refer to our Calendar
page for updates about the upcoming Vinal Tech Cruise
Night in Middletown, which was
originally scheduled for this Thursday, the 22nd, but, due to
weather considerations, has been moved up to next
Thursday, the 29th--thanks to Vinal SkillsUSA team
advisor Michele Leahy for the heads-up about this! And while
we're at it, please also note that we had also been running a
listing for a June 7th event at Old Saybrook High School, which
has since been found to be in error (and thus has been
eliminated)--however the good news is that there is an Old
Saybrook High School Car Show happening on June
15th (thanks to Maureen Tary for that update!)--again,
please see the Calendar
page for more info... Finally, just wanted to mention that we
are indeed still working on our mini-feature on the May 10th
Morgan School Car Show, and hope to be publishing an update here
shortly when it's ready for viewing. *5/21/2008
Brief Follow-Up Update - Happy to report that we
found a little extra time this afternoon to work on our report
from having visited the Morgan School "Lucky
13th" Car Show on Saturday, May 10th,
in Westbrook, and have finished up our
"first draft" (since there are always changes
and corrections we find we have to make later on--not to mention
that we also may possibly have some post-event feedback from the
organizers to add to the page...hint, hint...). Anyway, as you
can see, we added an accompanying graphic at the upper right,
which is one of our photos from the day--featuring none other
than the super-detailed and super-eye-catching 1971 Chevy
Nova "Pro-Street" machine of Carey
Carnot--what an outstanding vehicle! Anyway, we
certainly invite you to check out our report, which is viewable
online at: http://members.aol.com/foxcraft/Morgan2008.html
- or just click directly on the Carnot Nova graphic image, to
take you there. Hats off once again to all the Morgan School
students and their advisors for setting up this most enjoyable
(& socially responsible) Shoreline antique car gathering once
again for '08!... Last but not least, we've finally gotten around
to updating the new location and contact info for one of our
favorite local-Shoreline-area auto repair establishments, "Import
Specialist," now of Branford, CT--check our "Shoreline
Resource Guide" page for info!
*5/10/2008 Brief Updates
- Looking back at how today went, I feel bad that I was only able
to take in a small portion of the Morgan School's
"Lucky 13th Car Show" at the Tanger
Outlet Center in Westbrook--that is due to the fact that
I also had to attend a funeral in Branford. As it was, I
also ended up leaving the funeral before the start of the
reception, and so also missed out on important parts of that
event as well. So, I guess it was a lesson learned about how,
when you try to do too much in one day, you can end up completely
disappointed. I did, however, take a few pictures of some of
the many beautiful old cars while I was able to be out in
Westbrook (for a total of about 45 minutes, due to yet
another commitment I had back at home), with the idea of
eventually putting together a little feature page--so please do
stay tuned for that (thankfully the organizers issued windshield
cards, so I was also able to get some names & basic
descriptions to go along with the photos). It was so gratifying
to see how nice the day turned out to be, weather-wise, after
having looked at "weather.com" the previous day and
having seen showers predicted pretty much throughout the
day--I think Mother Nature was watching out for the Morgan School
folks! I also recognized a few cars from previous shows,
including Jack Danovich's red '65
Mustang all the way from Meriden, and also Bill
Arute's and Maureen Tary's respective VW
Bugs ('72 & '67, both from more nearby towns). The image
at the right is a cropped portion of one of the pictures I
was able to get at the Morgan School show (incorporating a
super-nice old Mustang and a bit of patriotic flavor), and if you
click on it, you will bring up a larger version, that hopefully
gives at least a bit of a feel for what a nice old car turnout
there was. As always, we salute the Morgan School students and
their advisors for the great job they do with this event... And
maybe God was at work in my life a bit yesterday also in that I
had decided that I had better drive a modern car, rather than
take the old '50
Bug out and try driving it to Westbrook, since, as I
was driving the car around the neighborhood this evening, it
died on me, and I had to tow it home! Always something with
old cars. Ah well, I had nothing better to do the rest of this
weekend than try & diagnose yet another dead car (yeah,
right!)... Hope your weekend is going better!... And a Happy
Mothers Day tomorrow to all moms reading this... *5/11/2008 Super-Brief Followup
- Happy to report that today went better on the old car
front--had some time to spend tinkering with the ornery old '50
VW--got 'er running again--even managed to take in a
little shakedown trip into downtown Guilford on
this bright & sunny Sunday--click HERE
for an image of that idyllic scene... Onward and upward!
*4/30/2008 Brief Updates -
I guess you might've been noticing my talking-up the Boy
Scout Troop 441 Friendly's Fundraiser in Branford,
on Wednesday evening, April 23rd. I am pleased
to say that it appears to have been a huge success for the Troop.
As of the Troop meeting the following evening, it was reported by
our Troop Committee Chair that the total that the Troop will be
receiving from Friendly's is still being calculated, but it
sounds like it'll be a decent sum, which will definitely help out
with the Troop's acquisitions of needed equipment. Our good
friends from the Blood, Sweat, and Gears Car Club
(who run the popular Friday evening summertime cruise at the
McDonald's in Milford, right by the Post Mall - http://www.bloodsweatandgearscarclub.com/
) showed up with some of their super-kool old cars, helping to
build a truly eye-catching display on the outside of the
restaurant (click on the IMAGE AT RIGHT of some of the kool BS&Gs
cars to bring up a group shot of the friendly BS&Gs
people!), and
they, along with many other friends, also helped out greatly by
enjoying some delicious Friendly's fare that evening. Also, per
our Troop Committee Chairman, there were some very special
monetary donations made that evening, that went well "above
and beyond the call," as far as generosity goes--and I know
those folks will be receiving special thank-yous from the
Troop...but I also know that at least two of these
"super-benefactors" were our friends John
from our favorite local auto garage, "Stony Creek
Auto Service" (417 Leetes Island Road, Branford, CT
06405, 203-488-7868), and Jerry from the
well-known, Branford-based "Heritage Taxi"
(www.besttaxi.net or
203-466-6666; you've seen their blue Lincoln Town Cars around the
area, I'm sure). We also need to tip our hats for the significant
publicity help from our local newspapers, The Branford Review,
and The Sound,
and also the St.
Therese Church Bulletin (who ran a very nice announcement
for us in the Sunday 4/20 edition). Thanks again for everyone's
wonderful support for our local Boy Scout Troop!... Finally, this
evening, please also check the Calendar
page for a unique and interesting-sounding old car event soon
upcoming on Saturday, May 17th, in New Haven...*5/2/2008 Update - that
May 17th downtown New Haven event listing on the Calendar
page has just been further-updated with more important
info...
*4/26/2008 Super-Brief Update - Several updates to the Calendar page this evening--new & updated listings, including an interesting May 17th event we just ran across for New Haven (all second-hand info right now, but we've written to ask for direct confirmation...), and also, the Jazz Festival Antique Auto Parade & Display is on for Sunday, July 27th, in Moodus...
*4/21/2008 Brief Updates -
First and foremost this evening we wish to highlight this very
important piece of upcoming event information--regarding the 2008
version of the Vinal Tech Car Cruise. We had found it
earlier this year listed at the school web site as happening on
Sunday, May 18th, however, we were browsing the school's
"SkillsUSA" team web page again recently, and noticed
the date for this Middletown event apparently
changed to Thursday, May 22, 2008. Sure enough,
when we wrote to the SkillsUSA team advisors, it was confirmed
that the new date of Thursday (evening) 5/22 was indeed the
correct one--revised from the earlier date. We've attempted to
highlight this updated info as clearly as possible on our Calendar
page, so please do go there and scroll to May 22, 2008 for
all the details. We thank the Vinal Tech SkillsUSA team advisors
for their prompt and courteous help with clarifying the event
info, and we do hope to make it there again this year (having had
such a great time at the '07
version)!... I also wanted to briefly thank the CT Area
Classic Thunderbird Club folks for once again supplying me with a
large quantity of "Time Machines 2008" official
car show flyers. As you know, this big event (now, we
understand, legitimately vying for the title of Connecticut's
Largest Antique Car Show), scheduled for Sunday, July
27th, 2008, has made the "big move" from
Durham to Guilford, and so it's more important
than ever to get the word out. Anyway, last week, our good friend
(and hard working Time Machines car show chair) Fred
Klaus met me after work one evening to transfer the big
box of flyers (click HERE
or on the small accompanying graphic to bring up a scan of this
year's Time Machines flyer front cover), and we're starting to
affix our stickers (see the 3/20/2008 update below), in
preparation for, we hope, many opportunities to distribute them
at car events early this season... Speaking of which, we were
very pleased to get out to the WPLR "Spring
Classic" food benefit car show in Orange
yesterday (4/20/08), driving the old '68
VW, and yes, with Time Machines flyers to hand out! It
was somewhat overcast and chilly while I was there, but still
looked to be a healthy turnout (I was car #82, and I'd guess they
made at least 90 total). Click HERE
for an overall panoramic-type view of some of the many beautiful
old cars that were on display. Hats off to the WPLR folks for the
great job with this event that raised important funds and
nonperishable food donations for those less fortunate... Finally,
if you're in the Branford area this coming Wednesday
evening (4/23/2008), between 5 and 8pm,
please consider stopping at the Leetes Island Road Friendly's
Restaurant (Exit 56 off of I-95), since anything
purchased there, during those hours, benefits Boy Scout
Troop 441 of Stony Creek!
*4/11/2008 Brief-But-Important Update - In a broacast e-mail dated 4/10/2008, event chair for the Madison Boys Soccer Classic Car Show scheduled for this weekend John Shirley wrote: "Classic Car Show at Hammonasset State Park Postponed to May...Car Enthusiasts - Due to weather forecasts for this weekend, the Classic Car Show at Hammonasset State Park scheduled for Saturday, April 12th, is postponed to May. When the exact date is known, everyone on this distribution will receive an update...Please forward to those you know who may have been planning to attend, and thanks again for your interest. John..." Obviously, we'll update our Calendar page listing once further info about the May reschedule is received...
*4/10/2008 Super Brief Update - We wish to tip our hats to the folks at Shore Publishing, LLC's "The Sound" (www.thesoundnewspaper.com, P.O. Box 1010, Madison, CT 06443, 203-245-1877, news@shorepublishing.com), for their very nice blurb on page 13 of the April 10, 2008 edition, mentioning the opportunity for Antique Automobile participation in the upcoming Branford Memorial Day Parade (happening Monday, May 26, 2008, in downtown Branford). Click HERE to see how it looked as-published! As you know, we receive gracious invitations from the Branford Veterans Parade Committee (T. Yester Chairman) for antique automobiles to be a part of the annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day Parades in town, and we, in turn, do our best to try and get the word out, not only through our Calendar page, but also by preparing & sending antique auto-focused press releases to local newspapers. We greatly appreciate the assistance of The Sound for spreading the word!
*4/4/2008 Pretty Darned Brief Updates - Hey, we're working to get those "Friendly's" flyers out around town--keep your eyes open for 'em! I'm referring, of course to our flyers for the Wednesday, April 23rd Boy Scout Troop 441 Fundraiser Night at the Branford Leetes Island Road Friendly's Restaurant, happening between 5pm and 8pm, that evening only. A quick note of "Thanks!" is also due to the friendly local businesses who have so graciously helped Boy Scout Troop 441 out by displaying our event flyer in their windows and/or customer lobbies, including: Gabel's Wine Shop (located in the Super Stop & Shop Plaza, 22 Leetes Island Road, Branford, CT 06405, 203-488-1072), Import Specialist Foreign & Domestic Auto Repair (located in the Branford Business Center, 540 East Main Street, Unit 17, Branford, CT 06405, 203-488-9954), and of course, Stony Creek Auto Service (417 Leetes Island Road, Branford, CT 06405, 203-488-7868). We've also tried to get the flyers out and about onto various public bulletin boards, and such, so hopefully folks will find out about it. AND our Troop Committee chair has approved my driving an old VW there that night to park out in front of the restaurant, so watch for us! And while you're checking the SAAC web site's Calendar page for additional details about the 4/23 Friendly's Fundraiser, please also be sure to take a gander at interesting car events happening a couple of days earlier (specifically: Sunday, April 20th), both in Orange and Waterford! Fun stuff upcoming! Over and out for now..
*3/30/2006 Brief Update -
What a fun way to get psyched-up for the upcoming old car season!
I'm referring to the automobilia auction up in Wethersfield
yesterday. Granted, a lot of the reason Mrs. Webmaster and I were
there was because of the "Terry Shuler Collection" of
rare Volkswagen historical items (not that we were looking
to buy, but it was fun to see the stuff "in person,"
PLUS several other of our long-time old-VW friends were also
planning to attend, which was frankly an even stronger incentive
to get ourselves there). In all, it was a fun way to spend a
brisk March morning. The image at the RIGHT is a shot of the
group of VW folks we caravanned there with, including (standing
left to right): Greg M. (Greg's '63 VW also
forms the backdrop), Bill S., and Roland
M.; the big goofy looking guy in the foreground trying
to make himself look smaller is yours truly; and
Mrs. Webmaster is kneeling next to me (photo by
Roland, via his time-delay camera shutter); click HERE
or directly on the image to bring up a higher-resolution copy of
this shot. For another great Roland shot from that morning, click
HERE
to see Greg's beautiful turquoise '63 Volkswagen Beetle
crossing the river from Glastonbury into Wethersfield. Thanks
Roland for the great shots!... The other thing I wanted to make
sure to mention today is the upcoming Boy Scout Troop 441
of Stony Creek, CT Fundraiser Night at Friendly’s.
Our local, newly-formed Boy Scout Troop #441,based at the nearby
Stony Creek Firehouse (and of which my son Matt and I are
members), will be hosting a fundraiser night at the Leetes Island
Road Friendly’s in Branford (just off of
I-95, Exit 56; right by the Super Stop & Shop), on Wednesday
evening, April 23rd, from 5 to 8pm. A
percentage of anything purchased at that Friendly’s, on that
day, between those hours, goes to the Troop. As you can
guess, a new troop needs lots of equipment, for camping and
what-not other Scouting activities, so it’s important for us
to get the word out, hopefully for a good turnout. I’ve
added the event to the Calendar
page, so you can check there for additional details. Boy
Scouts is an organization that contributes greatly to the
positive development of young men. Thanks for your support!...
Finally, please do check out the two latest new recommended "Local
Car-Related Links" on the SAAC
Links page, just added: 'Round Town Cruisers,
and Coachmen Rod & Custom - great to welcome
our friends from both fine organizations!
*3/26/2006 Super Brief Update - Just heard about the 2008 version of the Madison Boys Soccer Car Show at Hammonasset State Park in Madison, which will be happening Saturday, April 12th (rain date = Sunday April 13th)--please see our Calendar page for additional info! We've also just added several upcoming Norwalk events happening on certain monthly Wednesdays, plus weekly Wednesday cruise nights, also in Norwalk--all thanks to updates received from our friends at the Coachmen Rod & Custom car club. All for now!
*3/20/2008 Brief Updates
- "First Day of Spring"? Sounds good
to me! The old car season will be upon us before you know it, so
I hope you're getting ready for it. Speaking for myself, I'm
pleased to report that my old '68 Bug is now
once again up & running, following a somewhat extensive
laundry list of repairs and maintenance to various mechanical
systems that I was able accomplish over the winter (including
installing and firing up the rebuilt engine that our friend Gordi
Davis in New Hampshire rebuilt for me last year). Can't
wait to start piling up some more air-cooled VW miles. I also
have eight freshly-sandblasted antique VW wheel rims sitting in
my basement, waiting for primer (which I'd be doing right now if
it weren't so windy outside--oh well, it'll be soon); always
enjoy having some projects like that "on-going" to have
some fun with... I wanted also to make a special mention today of
Mr. David Cardone of "Cardone &
Daughter Automotive, Inc." in Westbrook, CT,
who recently wrote in with some updates on their top-rated,
long-running local auto repair operation. If you refer to the
"PARTS/SERVICE/RESTORATION" section of our Shoreline
Resource Guide page, you'll be able to read Mr. Cardone's
updates, and also see an accompanying image of their cool company
logo, from a car they drove to a Madison car show last Spring.
Thanks again Mr. C.!... Finally, I wanted to insert here a scan
of one of the stickers I had made up recently, to stick onto all
the Time
Machines 2008 flyers that we'll be having fun
distributing at various area car shows & cruises this year,
leading up to The Big Day, Sunday, July 27th, in
Guilford, CT (see also our 2/28/2008
"Brief-But-Important Update below). Usually the stickers I
put on the Time Machines flyers only refer to my antique VW hobby
project, "Common
Gear Antique Volkswagen Society," which
sponsors the VW class in the Time Machines car show every year.
This year, however, we've decided to add also an SAAC
"plug" on the stickers (though as you can see, the
"Herbie" graphic still does reflect our antique VW
interests a bit). So anyway, if you see a Time Machines flyer in
your car this year with one of those stickers affixed, you'll
know who put it there! Click HERE
or on the image to bring up a higher resolution view of the
sticker... Finaly, please also check out the Calendar
page for just-added info about this season's very popular "Ray's
Seafood & Grille" Wednesday night cruises in Westbrook
run by our friends the Shoreline Recycled Teenage
Cruisers, plus several other fun-sounding upcoming
events as well... All for now!
*2/29/2008 Brief Updates - In addition to having gotten the Golden Age of Trucking Museum's fun-sounding 2008 cruise night series (specific Tuesday evenings in June, July, August; at the Museum in Middlebury) onto our Calendar page , I also wanted to make a special mention of our friend, the noted automotive journalist and historian from Eastern Connecticut, Kit Foster. You may have read previously here or elsewhere about Kit's excellent weekly-updated online automotive column, "Kit Foster's CarPort," which is located on the internet at: http://www.kitfoster.com/ . While browsing the CarPort this past Wednesday (2/27/2008), I noticed Kit's feature was the new "smart car." In addition to reading Kit's interesting article about the cars, I also thought about the smart car that I recently saw parked down in Stony Creek village, one afternoon earlier in the month, when I was checking my mail at the post office (and took the opportunity to snap a quick picture of). Just for kicks, I sent the photo along to Kit, and he very graciously added it as a hyperlink at the end of his piece--very cool! Kit updates his column every Wednesday with a new installment, but if you want to make sure to see the specific feature about the smart, you can go directly to: http://www.kitfoster.com/2008/02/smart-money.html ... In another Kit Foster-related news item, I was also looking through the just-received Old Cars Weekly (www.oldcarsweekly.com), February 28, 2008 edition, and noticed a mention on page 10 that Tom Brownell was stepping down as editor of the popular "Q&A" column due to serious health reasons--and also that none other Kit Foster is to be taking over the column. We have always enjoyed Mr. Brownell's writings, and sincerely wish him the best--he will indeed be missed. With his unquestioned credentials as a world-class automotive historian and writer, we can't think of a better-qualified person to carry on Mr. Brownell's "Q&A" torch than Kit Foster, and will certainly look forward to Kit's future columns for O.C.W..
*2/27/2008 Super-Brief Updates - More Calendar page updates as of this evening--including one of our all-time early-season Shoreline-area favorites: The Morgan School Car Show, upcoming Saturday, May 10th, at the Tanger Outlet Center in Westbrook! Very cool! Also, we are pleased to present the confirmed 2008 cruise night listings from our friends at the Blood Sweat and Gears (their Friday McDonald's Milford cruise) and also the F.O.R.D. Club of Wallingford's Sunday Dino's North Haven cruise (of which I just heard confirmation from our friend Jack Danovich--thanks again Jack)... Finally this evening, please also check the "Unclassifiable" section of our Shoreline Classifieds page for an interesting & fun-sounding local old car solicitation from our friends at the Shoreline Arts Alliance...
*2/25/2008 Brief Updates - Yes, I realize that the Calendar page is starting to get kind of bloated, as we add more and more 2008 events to it--with the '07s still all there also (especially confusing once you start looking at the cruise night listings, of which we are gradually finding/receiving more that are confirmed-for-'08). Anyway, rest assured that we have noticed, and will probably be moving the obsolete '07 listings onto an archive page--which will make the Calendar page that much easier to use. Anyway, latest update is confirmation of the '08 Ocean Beach Park Monday night cruises in New London (one of our favorites!), and we just heard that the Blood Sweat and Gears Friday night McDonald's/Milford cruises (another favorite) are also going to be back for '08 (still to get that one onto the Calendar page)... I did want to take this opportunity, however, to address an issue we raised back in the 1/4/2008 update about 20 vs. 25 years for Connecticut EA plates. Our local old car friend Fred Klaus chimed in with his first-hand experience (quoting from his e-mail dated 1/11/2008): "...DMV allows Early American plates on cars 20 years old or older. I know that for a fact from my involvement with the CT Council of Car Clubs and I put Early American plates on my 1987 Mustang GT last October..." There you have it--and thanks for the note, Fred!
*2/18/2008 Brief-But-Important Update - Very big news for the Shoreline area is that the big "Time Machines 2008" antique auto show and flear market has moved to The Guilford Fairgrounds! The date is Sunday, July 27th, so mark your calendars now! We've just updated our Calendar page with official info direct from Car Show Chariman Fred Klaus of the CT Area Classic T-Bird Club (organizers of the Time Machines car shows), so please do go and check that out for additional details (scroll to July 27, 2008 on the page to find it). What an exciting way to celebrate the 30th Anniversary Time Machines Show!
*2/15/2008 Brief Updates
- Are you getting as excited as I am about the upcoming 2008 old
car season? The more progress I make on my winter old car
projects--combined with the advancing season (daylight savings
time is only one month from now--look it up for
yourself!), and incoming news about 2008 car event plans--the
happier I am! Why, just today I heard from a representative of
the 'Round Town Cruisers - http://www.roundtowncruisers.com/
- with exciting news about their 2008 Trumbull/Marisa's
Restaurant Monday night cruises (and just got 'em added
to our Calendar
page), and it got me to thinking how cool it will be to stop
by there and check out their event some time this summer (not far
from where I work, so quite convenient)...In other news, unless
you were out of the country the past couple of days, you
undoubtedly have heard the "buzz" about the Grand
Re-Opening of Middletown's O'Rourke's Diner, which took
place at 5:00am(!) on Monday of this week, February
11th, 2008. Our friend and big-time O'Rourke's fan Greg
Mattesen has already been in for breakfast, and reports
O'Rourke's is as great as ever! That's great news indeed and
we're so happy for Brian O'Rourke and all his
family, friends, co-workers, and supporters, for this wonderful
achievement--and we wish them all the best in the future (and I'm
looking forward to a trip up there soon myself for a "corned
beef hash fix"!)...And finally, speaking of upcoming '08
events, I was doing some recent googling about something
airport-related, and came across the Simsbury Airport web
site (http://www.simsburyairport.com/),
whereupon I noticed that the date for the 2008 Simsbury
Fly-In has already been set (that is: Sunday,
September 21st, 2008 - check our Calendar
page for details we managed to transcribe). Now, I realize
that Simsbury isn't quite a "Shoreline town," but I
have to tell you that the 2007 Fly-In, that my son and I attended
this past September, was one of the all-time coolest old
car things we'd ever done! So, I decided to get to work on
preparing a report about our experiences attending the 2007
Simsbury Fly-In, and came up with some words and pictures--also
some related references where you can go for more info--and put
it all together on this new page for the SAAC site, called: "A
Shoreliner's First-Time Experience of the 22nd Simsbury Fly-In,
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007, Simsbury Airport, Simsbury,
CT," and it is located online at: http://members.aol.com/cgearannex/SimsburyFlyIn2007.html
- or you can also click on the small picture here at the upper
right, which was a truly unbelievable 1943 Howard DGA
from Florida that happened to be in attendance at the
'07 Fly-In. As always (especially with my first drafts of new
pages), beware of typos--and feel free to let me know about any--I do
not mind fixing them! All for now...Come On SPRING!
*2/10/2008 Brief Updates -
Wow, I think I saw a news item on TV yesterday or the day before
indicating that O'Rourke's Diner may in fact be
open for business within the next couple of days--that's great
news indeed. It's been a long road back I'm sure for Brian
O'Rourke, and we sincerely wish he and his staff all the
best as they begin the next chapter in O'Rourke's Diner history!
You might wish to check the O'Rourke's News web site for
additional details: http://www.orourkesdiner.com/
... And staying with the 'Middletown theme' today, I also wish to
mention that we've just completed a first draft of our report on
the Second Annual EJK Car Show that was held
this past September 8th, 2007, at Xavier
High School, in Middletown. I was so
happy to be able to make it to that event, with my kids, and
having our camera with us, we were happily able to shoot several
pictures from that wonderful day at Xavier. As you know, this car
show was named in honor of the late Eric J. Kalber,
who was a 2004 graduate of Xavier, and who lost his life in a
2005 car accident. Eric's family has been extremely gracious in
helping us document the event--and we are so happy to to be able
to do our little part in helping spread the word about this
event, and the young man it remembers. Thanks to Eric's family,
we've even been able to recently update our Calendar
page with the date of the 2008 EJK Car Show,
which will be held Saturday, May 31st--so you
can hopefully make plans to attend and support the Eric J. Kalber
Scholarship Fund at Xavier High School. Anyway, please be sure to
view our report on the 2nd Annual EJK Car Show at Xavier,
online at: http://members.aol.com/cgearannex/EJKXavierShow2007.html
- or you can also click on the image at the upper right, which
was one of the photos I took at the event. It really was a great
time and for a great cause... Otherwise, I hope you're continuing
to make progress on your wintertime old car projects--as I am
happy to report I'm doing also--with all the "brakes
stuff" now finished on my '68 Bug, and now
onto the engine swap--wish me luck! The search for 16"
wheels for the '50 Bug has also finally yielded
a full set of four, with the final one having just arrived from
the west coast--so you know I'm going to be anxious to get that
refinishing project underway, as soon as the weather starts to
warm up a bit...come on SPRING!
*1/28/2008 Brief Updates
- Latest updates from Greg M. on O'Rourke's
progress indicate that the diner may reopen as early as some time
next month (that's February '08)--unbelievable! The
restored neon sign (see the 1/4/2008 update below for
"pre-restoration") has been re-fitted to the exterior
of the building--and it looks great, per a couple of pictures
Greg sent us--here is an overall view of the restored sign hung
outside of the building (and if you
look closely you'll also note the new neon tubes running along
the top edge of the building--boy is it going to look great
lit up!...date of this picture was 1/27/08), and here is a close-up of the nicely restored sign itself (date of this picture was 1/28/08--when it was sunny
and great for picture-taking!). Apparently the diner interior
restoration is also progressing very rapidly. We're so happy to
hear of how well O'Rourke's is coming along, and thanks again to
Greg for the updates & images... The other item I wanted to
mention this evening is the new online report page we've prepared
to document our experiences attending the most wonderful Old
Car Cruise at the North Branford Dairy Queen, this past
summer, on Sunday afternoon, August 5, 2007. Our
local old car friend Lou Panico had told us
about it, and it turns out our mutual old car friend Joe
Sandella was the organizer! Anyway, it was a lot of fun,
and working on this report has been almost as fun as the event
itself, due to being able to look back and learn more details
about it, with the help of Lou and Joe. We call the report: "Checking
out the North Branford Dairy Queen Cruise, Sunday afternoon,
August 5, 2007" and it's viewable online at: http://members.aol.com/cgearannex/NBfdDQCruz5Aug07.html - or you can also simply click on the little graphic
image at the upper right, which is a scene from the August 5th,
2007 North Branford event. As always, there are a couple of
little tweaks here and there I want to accomplish on the page,
and there are probably also a typo or two, but it's essentially
finished and ready for viewing. Thanks again Lou and Joe for all
your help with this project--and thanks again to Joe and his
family for all their work to make the event happen in the first
place!
*1/12/2008 Brief Updates - Wow, from Greg Mattsen's more recent reports about O'Rourke's Diner restoration progress (see the 1/4/2008 update below), it sounds like things are really rolling, and that the diner will be open again sooner than we think! I will try to add a couple of new highlights from Greg's updates here next chance I get ...*1/14/2008 addendum: Here are excerpts from Greg's O'Rourke's report of 1/5/2008: "...I took a ride over to Middletown today to check out the progress on O'Rourke's. They had taken down the temporary plywood shelter around the glass block corner, and I was interested in checking out the interior progress. Things are moving right along over there...Outside, the windows and glass block have all been replaced, and it looks like the ductwork on the roof is pretty far along. You may also notice from the photos that the O'Rourke's Diner sign out front is missing; hopefully it's out being restored...I think they must be ready to start tiling the interior soon...." Thanks for the report, Greg--readers will be interested to note that Greg also attached photos--here are a couple: Greg's '64 VW "Herbie" Beetle parked out front, and a detail shot of the restored glass block northwest corner--looking good!... In addition to several new events-just-added this evening to the Calendar page, I also wanted to report that my off-season projects happily got a huge boost last week when a good friend helped me with some old-VW wheels needed for some new projects for my own cars. As a result, I also now have a good illustration of the visual differences between a 16" x 3" early split-window Bug wheel, and a later 15" x 4" Bug wheel (be sure to click on that hyperlink). I'm still on the hunt for at least one more 16" x 3" Bug wheel, so if you can help me out, please drop a line. Otherwise, the 15" Bug wheels project is moving ahead, with a successful re-clipping session today--next stop, the sandblast guy...
*1/4/2008 Brief Updates -
Happy New Year one and all! According to AACA's definition of "antique"
(that being anything 25 years old or older) the 1983 model
year vehicles are now "officially antiques." Someone
who is evidently involved with old cars in Connecticut (they did
not identify themselves beyond their first name), however, has
e-mailed us recently saying that Connecticut DMV will allow
"EA" registrations on vehicles 20 years old and
older. So far I've found no corroboration of this, but I'd certainly be interested in
hearing any others' direct experiences along these lines...
In other news, our friend Greg Mattesen recently
passed along some happy news about what's happening with O'Rourke's
Diner on Main Street in Middletown,
which had sustained a bad fire in late-summer '06. Greg sent
along an e-mail dated 12/15/2007, with some observations and a
couple of attached photos, a cropped version of which I've
inserted here at the upper right (and if you click on it, it'll
take you to the dedicated page we constructed a short time back
with a compendium of O'Rourke's news & updates from right
around the time of the fire). Here are a couple of excerpts from
Greg's note : "...There's been a lot of work going
on at O'Rourke's Diner over the past month or so. I've been
noticing various contractor vehicles parked in front, and in
speaking to Brian O'Rourke he indicated that things are moving
along quickly now...Brian told me that the original sign will be
restored, including restoration of the neon (yippee!), and there
will also be some neon on the diner itself again...Brian expects
that the rebuilding will be complete early in 2008, but he thinks
he'll need about 2-4 weeks to get set up inside once the actual
restoration is done...The Hartford area radio station Lite 100.5
has already started to advertise that they'll be broadcasting
from O'Rourke's on St. Patrick's Day (a tradition for them), and
hopefully they'll be able to..." Very exciting,
Greg! To see a couple of the outside shots Greg took from
mid-December, click HERE
(a view from the south looking toward St. John's) and HERE
(a view from the north, facing roughly southeast) ... and
don't forget to use your browser's "back" button to get
back to this page... Greg's report appears in more detail in a
recent update to the popular "Roadside Online"
diner-enthusiast web site... In other news, our old VW friend Joe
Alackness from PA has been working overtime lately
managing the Chalmers Registry (dedicated to
enthusiasts of Chalmers Automobiles), and also producing the
Registry's excellent newsletter--a copy of which he sent us. In a
followup note dated 12/14/2007, Joe wrote: "...I
worked really hard on this one. Its going out to a lot of extra
people with Chalmers Automobiles. You know they are not cars! We
are going gangbusters for our 100th anniversary celebration
(webmaster's note: happening this summer in the Detroit
area, I think). Have a nice holiday, Joe A..."
Sounds good Joe! Anyone wishing to contact the Chalmers Registry
can go to their web site: http://www.chalmersregistry.com/
... Finally, just wanted to mention updates today have also been
made to our Calendar
page , Links
page , and Animal
Appreciation page as well!
*12/25/2007 Brief Christmas Updates - First of all, Merry Christmas one and all,
and please don't forget those less fortunate. It was quite
considerate of Mother Nature to provide that nice "day of
melting" this past Sunday, when our driveway finally
transformed back into a driveway--from the absolute skating
rink it had been for about the last week or so--and
thankfully just in time for relatives' & friends' holiday
visiting (i.e.: those likely less familiar with how to maneuver
cars on skating rinks). Coincidentally, I am enjoying today a
"Christmas present" of sorts--a
Connecticut-automotive-history-sort of Christmas present, to be
exact. A short time ago I received an e-mail from Marcy
Fuller, who identifies herself as Fred A. Law's
great-granddaughter. In her e-mail, Marcy provided a
most wonderful treasure-trove of very significant historical
information relating to the early automobile industry in
Connecticut, also the origins of the Connnecticut "EA"
(Early American) license plate graphic, and especially about the
extremely significant accomplishments of her great grandfather
Fred A. Law. It was a certain very early Connecticut EA plate,
#133, to be exact, that originally got me interested in studying
CT EA plates (featured in the associated graphic shown at the
right--yes, it's shown affixed to the back of our beloved 1950
Bug--and yes, we know the "50" tab is technically
incorrect and all...). Anyway, if you click on the #133 EA plate
graphic image, it'll take you directly to the newly-created page,
"Marcy Fuller on her
Great Grandfather Fred A. Law, and the origins of the Connecticut
EA Plates Graphic," located online at: http://members.aol.com/saacregion/MFullerFALawCTEAs.html . We sincerely wish to thank Marcy Fuller for taking
the time to share her most interesting family history! As always,
we
welcome any input about this or any of
our other feature pages--even if it's only to correct a typo or
two (we are no strangers to typos). Thanks!
*12/14/2007 Very Brief Updates:
Ok, I'll keep weather comments to myself! But I do wish to draw
your attention to the new feature page we just completed (typos
aside, that is, since we always seem to find them
after-the-fact...please feel free to point any out so we can
correct 'em--thanks!); it is entitled: "Old Cars at
the 2007 Great Connecticut Traditional Jazz Festival's 'Antique
Auto Parade & Display,' Sunday, July 29th, at the Sunrise
Resort, Moodus, CT." We had an especially good time
putting this page together, coming up with, we think, an
interesting and detailed presentation about what went into the
making of the event--plus lots of details about the event itself
(which was typically fantastic!). To get to this new feature, you
can click on the accompanying image at the right, which features
a stunning row of Model A Ford front ends from JazzFest '07 - or
you can use this direct hyperlink: http://members.aol.com/foxcraft/JazzFest2007.html
. Please let us know what you think! A couple of other new items
I want to mention are a transcript of a really fun-reading
article about our New Hampshire old car friend Gordi
Davis, that was run in the Keene State College
newspaper--which we've posted on our News
Highlights page...also a very kool-sounding new
old-car event for May of '08 up in Worcester,
MA, that our friend Ian Targonsky (of
"100% Kulture" fame) is organizing, just posted on our Calendar
page...and finally, a very interesting-sounding (and
nice-looking) vintage VW "Thing" for sale in
the CT Shoreline area, just posted in the 'for sale' section of
our Shoreline
Classifieds page... Ok, I think that about covers it for now!
*12/10/2007 Very Brief Updates:
Into December now, and it appears (judging by the low temps &
gloomy gray skies ) that Mother Nature wants us to realize what
season it is! Well, of course it's also holiday season--a
time to get together with family and friends--and perhaps try to
fit in a bit of progress on your wintertime old car project too!
Speaking for myself, I made just a bit of progress tonight on my '68
Bug, which is now deactivated and off of the road. I got
one of the four braking system flex hoses installed--three more
to go, and then plenty of other stuff to follow... As far as
progress on the old SAAC web site, I am also happy to report that
we're coming along nicely on preparation of a full report
documenting old car participation at last July's "Antique
Auto Parade & Display at the Great CT Traditional Jazz
Festival"--lots of pictures and related materials
to process, but we're chipping away on it and hope to have
something to present soon--the Jazz Festival being one of our
most-enjoyed old car-related events of the season, every
season... Speaking of fun summer events, we also just added a
"placeholder" listing for Sunday, July 27th,
2008, to our Calendar
page, to let you know when--if & when the town approves
it--the big "Time Machines 2008" event
will take place. Be cautioned that the event is still completely
up in the air until the town of Durham gives its approval to the
CT Area Classic Thunderbird Club to run it again--but ASSUMING it
happens, it'll be July 27th, which is the fourth Sunday in
July... Here's a unique one: Our local old car friend Jack
Tary wrote us an e-mail recently, and attached a rather
unique picture. Quoting from his November 30, 2007 message: "..Here
is a photo of a Crosley? that has been up in that tree since I
can remember. It is located on Rt #80 in Killingworth. I wonder
if other people have noticed it? Jack.." Click HERE
to see the picture Jack attached--can you believe it?! Thanks
Jack for the VERY cool picture!.. Finally, the accompanying photo
here was selected to add a bit of "Christmas Spirit" to
this update--it's from several years back, and features three of
our collies (two of the three now no longer with us) posing in
the back of our old '70 VW Squareback (also no longer with
us--living with new owners in Virginia, I think). If you click on
the picture you'll bring up our family pets page, which we call "Jarvis
Creek Critters," and there is a new section
added with a higher-resolution version of this picture, along
with more background information about it... Ok, that's all for
now. I wish all of you a happy, healthy upcoming holiday season
(and some good progress on your off-season old car projects as
well)!
*11/30/2007 Very Brief Updates:
Please be sure to take a gander at the Calendar
page for some new cold-weather events just-added, including
the "Fantasy of Lights" that's going
on now at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven--an important
fundraiser for the Easter Seals Goodwill organization, who do so
much good work in our community... Also, we received an
interesting inquiry about a classic car storage facility
proposal--please see the Shoreline
Classifieds page for more info (within the
"unclassifiable" section)... Finally, we also had some
fun recently getting a page of info together (as a joint
production with our other hobby web project: "Common Gear
Antique Volkswagen Society") about our 1950 VW,
which we've owned since 1987, but haven't driven a whole heck of
a lot since then--we are aiming to get the old '50 reactivated
for some driving fun in '08, and putting this page together has
helped us with our enthusiasm--I hope you'll enjoyu the feature, "Our
1950 Volkswagen Model 11c, Deluxe Beetle," located
online at: http://members.aol.com/commongear/1950VWMain.html
- or you can also click on the accompanying image here at the
upper right, which is a cropped and stylized version of a photo
of our '50 Bug in the Saturday, August 14, 1999 Town of Durham
300th Anniversary Parade (click HERE
to see a scan of the original photo--and that was Bob Ruggiero's
'32 Graham behind us in the parade)--a memorable and fun
occasion. All for now--best wishes for the holiday season!
*11/15/2007 Brief Updates:
Yes, I admit I did not make it to the Branford Veterans
Day Parade, this past Sunday, November 11th. I'm not
happy to report that, as I always do like to do my part to help
honor our country's veterans, but I did have some important
family things to attend to, that prevented me. It was very nice
to see our local Branford-oriented newspaper, "The Sound,"
feature a front page color photo from the Branford Veterans Day
2007 observances, however, in the issue with today's publication
date (11/15/07)--I scanned the feature and you can click HERE
to see how it looked. Coincidentally, the accompanying picture on
today's Sound cover features a particular 1945
U.S. Army Jeep that also participated in the 2007
Branford Memorial Day Parade, from Monday, May
28th, about which we just completed a feature page
documenting the antique auto participation (and our overall
experiences being there and being a part of it). During the
initial construction of that page, we were only able to identify
the Jeep in our pictures as a "flat fendered military
Jeep" (knowing that flat fenders essentially means
"really old" in Jeep parlance). So, how nice that we
now can better identify this magnificent antique military
machine--and hats off to The Sound for the great job of
coverage! Anyway, our newly-created feature page about the 2007
Branford Memorial Day Parade is called: "Antique
Autos in the 2007 Branford Memorial Day Parade - Monday, May
28th, Downtown Branford, CT," and it is located at:
http://members.aol.com/foxcraft/BranfordMemDayPrd07.html
- or you can also click on the accompanying picture here at the
upper right, which depicts a most wonderful antique Maxim
ladder truck from Branford Ladder Company 1, as it appeared on
the day of the 2007 Branford Memorial Day Parade. We wish to
extend our sincere thanks to all Veterans and their families for
their great sacrifices on all of our behalves... Only other
update for today is that my '68 VW is up and
running again--the voltage regulator wasn't the problem (though I
did go ahead and install my new one)--but rather the generator
brushes (of which installation of new ones got the generator
light finally to go out). So, yes, we're Buggin' again...
Table of Contents
(latest updated items in red)
CALENDAR
(Our selected listing of upcoming Shoreline-area antique auto
events) (Last updated 11/16, 11/30, 12/10, 12/14/2007, 1/4,
1/12, 1/21, 1/25, 1/31, 2/9, 2/15, 2/18, 2/21, 2/25, 2/27, 2/29,
3/7, 3/11, 3/17, 3/20, 3/26, 3/30, 4/4, 4/11, 4/14, 4/21, 4/26,
4/30, 5/2, 5/8, 5/16, 5/20, 5/23, 6/4, 6/16, 6/20, 6/29, 7/3/2008)
PHOTO
PAGES INDEX (See & read about recent local antique auto
activities!) (Last updated 11/15, 11/28, 12/14/2007, 1/28,
2/10, 2/15, 5/2, 5/21, 5/31, 6/4, 6/16, 6/29/2008)
SHORELINE
CLASSIFIEDS (local old car-oriented ads: for sale, wanted,
& unclassifiable) (Last updated
11/16, 11/30,
12/14/2007, 2/19, 2/27, 6/29/2008)
RESOURCE
GUIDE (local places for parts, service, restoration,
what-have-you) (Last updated 3/20, 3/26, 5/21/2008; please send us your recommendations
for inclusion on this page)
LINKS
PAGE (Last updated 1/4, 3/30/2008)
NEWS
HIGHLIGHTS PAGE (Selected news items of interest to the old
car hobby) (Last updated 7/27, 12/14/2007)
EDITORIALS
PAGE (Voice your thoughts on the old car hobby) (Last updated 9/15/2002)
CONNECTICUT
AUTOMOBILE LICENSE PLATES (Last
updated 12/25/2007)
CONNECTICUT
PINTO REGISTRY (Last updated 4/20, 11/1/2007)
OUR
ANIMAL APPRECIATION PAGE (Last
updated 12/10/2007,
1/4/2008)
FYI (Disclaimer, Etc.) (Last updated "quite
some time ago")
GUEST BOOK (Last updated "quite
some time ago")
SHORELINE
ANTIQUE AUTO MESSAGE BOARD (Last
updated "quite some
time ago")
A HISTORICAL CONNECTICUT SHORELINE MARQUE
(Last updated "quite some time ago")
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The information provided electronically, on paper, or otherwise is strictly for entertainment purposes only with no guarantees of any type, expressed or implied. Participation in any activity is strictly voluntary and done at one's own risk. The Shoreline Antique Auto Connection web site and it's author expressly disclaim all responsibility for any & all damages or claims, however caused. Observe all safety precautions when engaging in any activities with antique or modern automobiles. Obtain proper coverage from qualified insurance professionals for any type of activities, auto-related or otherwise, in which you may wish to engage.
© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 by
Shoreline Antique Auto Connection
P.O. Box 3353 - Stony Creek - CT - 06405 - USA
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LOCOMOBILE (1925 Locomobile Junior Eight
shown)
The Locomobile was a true "Shoreline Car" - produced in Bridgeport, CT. And since we recently noticed that our friends at the Connecticut Council of Car Clubs used the above image to go along with the SAAC link that is now published at their Links Page, we figured we'd better ditch the old, non-functioning Locomobile informational link that we had here "from the beginning," and find some good new ones. So, plugging the word "Locomobile" into our current favorite search engine, Google, we found several, and so here are a few good ones to go visit to find out more about this historical Connecticut Shoreline-area manufactured automobile: http://yourpage.blazenet.net/keimpjad/locomobile.htm, http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/loco.htm, and http://www.histomobile.com/histomob/presmark.asp?ID=189&lan=2. Have fun & happy browsing! Thanks again to the 4-C's management & staff for the gracious link, and of course all they do to support the Antique Automobile Hobby in the state of Connecticut! (this section updated 11/4/2002)
![[Image]](index_pict1.jpeg)
