OLDSMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA EASTERN MA. GMO CHAPTER Issue #108 September 2015 ROCKET POWER NEWSLETTER!! Oldsmobiles at Cadillac Day Most of the cars were parked in front of the dealership with 4 cars being parked on the show room floor. The GMO was represented by Steve and Cathy Economou s 1967 442 convertible but we were also indirectly represented by GMO Frank St Elmo and his 1967 Buick GS400. After threatening us with showers for days, things were looking up for Cadillac Days. The start time was 10:00 but, as usual, people showed up early and the field was filled with 22 Cadillacs, 15 Pontiacs, 13 Oldsmobiles and 7 Buicks. The Long staff was very accommodating and provided coffee and pastries for breakfast and had a grill going cooking hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch.
GMO Oldsmobile Calendars We are going to do a GMO Oldsmobile Calendar again this year and so far we have 12 spaces available. The rules are the same, $100 for each submission which gives you a free calendar and your choice of month or of the cover. We will be publishing in late October so please plan to have a good photograph submitted by then. If you are interested please contact Ted Loranz (ted@teds-olds.com) for more details Glimpse of the Month Shaun Monaghan From the GMO Treasurer Starting Balance $11,222.09 Donations - Pan Mass Challenge $300, Dana Farber $500, and Food Allergy Network $200 Ending balance of $10,222.09. Don Ferrara, Treasurer Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter From the Vice President Hope everyone has been enjoying cruising in their Oldsmobiles this summer, especially after this snowy winter. There was a good turn-out at the Endicott Show despite it being hot as usual. Congrats to the winners and thanks to all for making the trek in spite of the heat! 1st place Joe & Diane Lane 1937 L37 Christopher Cabral 1970 Rallye 350 Bob Mahoney 1972 H/O Pace Car 2nd place Bill Sutherland 1941 76 Model Miles Mann 1971 Cutlass Supreme Timothy Ward 1953 Super 88 3rd place Dennis O'Malley 1940 60Series Coupe Rob Nizzari 1966 442 Andrea DesJardins 1971 Delta 88 Karen & I had the opportunity to venture down to Harrisburg PA. to witness one of Mecums Auctions at the end of July.Only to look...not to buy!!!!! Probably about 1500 cars were being sold off and there were a few Oldsmobiles, some older and some newer. One in particular caught our eye and that was a 69 maroon w-30.we had the pleasure of talking with the seller whom I believe was from Tenn. Especially interesting was the fact that it had the original Berejik Olds Dealer Sticker still on the window. What are the chances of running into something like that for us? What's even more interesting is the fact that one of our very own members, Ken Peterson,would eventually become the owner of this piece of history!
consciousness mode. As a result of that, I thought I d share some random thoughts with you this month. Random Thought #1 On Saturday, August 22, thirteen GMO members attended the Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac-Cadillac Show at Long Cadillac in Southborough, MA. We didn't know he would even be at the auction so was surprised but couldn't have been more pleased to see him purchase something so special. It was nice to see a Berejik car finally come back home! So, now we enter into Sept and the NEOC show on the 20th.We will be at Westboro Plaza on the Mass Pike between 7 & 7:30 am that morning. Anyone wishing to caravan down there is welcome to join us. Will be leaving by 7:45! If weather is questionable NEOC has a rain date line 203-442-6034 and you can always call me Rich 617-899-9109 or Karen 617-775-4198 by 6:30 that morning. We realize how unpredictable NE can be... Rain here...sun there...so we'll do our best to make the right call. If you are thinking of coming, please let us know ahead of time so we can get an idea of how many we should look out for. Thanks and enjoy the rest of the season. Rich Santucci, Vice President Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter Letter from the President A big HELLO to everyone out there in GMO-Land! I sincerely hope that your summer is going well, and that you are enjoying a lot of quality time with your families, with your friends, and with your Oldsmobiles. During the summer months, my day job tends to lighten-up a bit, and I find myself with more downtime than at other times of the year consequently, I find myself with thought-patterns that are not particularly focused sort of a stream of I can t speak for all of the GMOer s that were at this show, but I did hear from several GMO members who said that they really enjoyed the event; they said that the show atmosphere was extremely relaxed (there no awards given), that the dealership did a great job in providing a fine venue for a show, and that they liked the fact that several of our sister GM car clubs were together at a single location that allowed us to rekindle old friendships and develop new ones. The dealership provided complimentary food and beverages for all, and there was no admission charge for the show. A number of our members that attended this event suggested that we make this B-O-P-C show a permanent part of our annual GMOsupported shows list. I think that s a great idea I m anxious to find out how you all feel about this. I look forward to discussing this topic with you all during our October member s meeting. Random Thought #2 Our tentative GMO Member s Meeting and Winter Event schedule is looking something like this: October Meeting: Sunday, October 18 at Kimball Farm in Lancaster, MA November Meeting: Sunday, November 15 location to be determined December Meeting: Sunday, December 6 at Xtreme Restorations in Slatersville, RI
Holiday Party: Sunday, January 10 at Imperial Chevrolet in Mendon, MA March Meeting: Sunday, March 6 at Museum of Transportation (Larz Anderson) in Brookline, MA Dust-Off Prep Meeting: Sunday, May 8 at Kimball Farm in Lancaster, MA 2016 GMO Spring Dust-Off Show: Sunday, May 22 at Kimball Farm in Lancaster, MA We will be discussing the details of this tentative event schedule at our member s meeting in October, but I think that the dates are solid enough at this time to begin entering in your calendars. Random Thought #3: Over the past several years, attendance at most of the events that GMO members traditionally participate in has been declining. For example, attendance at the GMO Dust-Off Show has declined from ~80-100 cars during the period 2005-2010, to ~ 55-80 cars from 2011-2015. The same type of trend seems to be happening relative to GMO attendance at Elm Bank, Endicott, and the NEOC show. Now, at first I thought that this might be a trend just within the GMO, but after speaking with several Pontiac, Buick, and Cadillac-LaSalle Club members at the Long Cadillac show, I learned that these clubs are seeing the same thing happening in their clubs. So, after I heard those comments, I assumed that the trends that we are seeing are not due to anything limited to the GMO in other words, it made me feel a little better that this trend might not be due to something that is broken with our club. Now, my father taught me not to assume anything, because when you a-s-s-u-m-e something, you make an a-s-s out or u and m-e. So, in an effort not to do that, my wife Deb suggested that I dig in a little deeper into this topic with our membership. In particular, why is organized GMO attendance at car shows in decline, and if something is broken within the GMO, what is broken, and how can we fix it? How do we make the GMO a better and more fun place a place where more of our members want to invest their time. So here s my question for all of you rather than just discussing this topic at an upcoming meeting, how about if we send out a membership survey on this topic? There is an on-line survey service (Survey Monkey) that will distribute a survey that will allow confidential responses to be submitted and tabulated. A confidential survey would allow everyone to be completely candid with their responses, and provide suggestions that might not be comfortable to discuss in open conversation. Survey Monkey does not charge for short surveys, so this would incur any cost to the club. Please give this some though and provide feedback to us at our member s meeting in October. Random Thought #4: Now this one is a little unusual a fellow that I met at a car show in Putnam, CT recently asked me if I could help him locate for a fuel pump for his 1919 Oldsmobile Model 37A Touring Car I know that one of you must have one of these just gathering dust on a shelf in your basement but of course. LOL! Until next month Rocketing Forward! Chuck Schiel, President Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter
Hello OCA Chapters, I hope this note is finding you all well. We are past another Nationals and it was a great success! I truly enjoyed meeting many of you in Wisconsin. The reason that I am emailing the OCA Chapters is for a special issue of the Journey with Olds that I am planning for May of 2016. While that is quite a bit in the future, I am hoping that with ample time, you can assist me. The May issue will focus on Oldsmobiles and the Veterans who own them. The title for the issue will be; A Salute to Heroes: Veterans & Their Oldsmobiles. You may be wondering how the OCA Chapters can help I am asking that all of our OCA Chapters send me a list of those in their clubs that are Veterans or active duty service men and women. Along with their names, I would also like their rank and branch of the military and Oldsmobile/s that they own. It is my goal to capture as many of our heroes as possible. Your lists will be published in the May issue, by Chapter, for a very special thank you to the men and women who have served our country. Please note: if you have a Veteran that does not wish to be listed that is absolutely OK, or if you have a Veteran that would like to be listed, but in name only that is just fine too! The OCA honors our member s privacy and is simply wanting to acknowledge and thank those who have, or are serving, in the Journey with Olds. Also, if you have a Veteran that is a Chapter member but not a member of the OCA, please include them! You may be wondering why this issue why such a big thank you. My grandfather, uncle and father-in-law all served this country. I know the importance of their time and sacrifice. I feel that Veterans should be thanked and acknowledged and I hope you can all help me to do so in our club s magazine. I will need the Chapter lists no later than March 2016. A simple word document is just fine, but please make sure to specify your chapter at the top of the list. Attached to this email is a simple spreadsheet you are welcome to use as well. If you, or one of your Chapter members have any questions about the May Salute to Heroes issue, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time. Thank you for your help, and thank you for all that your Chapters do for our great hobby! Shannon Olson Auburn Cord Duesenberg, Editor Oldsmobile Club of America Journey with Olds, Editor SSR CCCA Director (314) 825-2980 olsonrsa98@sbcglobal.net editor@acdclub.org
Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter 114 West Street Medway, MA 02053-2226 First Class Mail GMO Officers President Chuck Schiel 508-981-9039 cschiel@nalco.com Vice President Rich Santucci 617-899-9109 Ourw30@comcast.net Treasurer Don Ferrara 617-877-3910 ferraraproperty@gmail.com Club Representative Everett Horton 401-573-6361 antiqolds@aol.com Secretary Ted Loranz 508-561-7613 ted@teds-olds.com Events Coordinator Paul Abdalian 603-505-2300 pabdalian@ajletizio.com GMO Photographer Shaun Monaghan 617-676-8729 Boston442@comcast.net GMO Chapter Website www.olds-gmo.com