January 2014 Newsletter
"Free Spirit" Chapter of PA Officers for 2014 |
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| Director Don Sterner 121 Pheasant Drive Kutztown, pa 19530 don@buickfreespirit.org 610-285-2346 | Assistant Director Sally Getz 1060 Main Rd Lehighton, Pa 18235 sally@buickfreespirit.org 610-377-6130 |
| Secretary Stacy Sterner 121 Pheasant Drive Kutztown, Pa 19530 stacy@buickfreespirit.org 610-285-2346 | Treasurer Clarence Getz 1060 Main Rd Lehighton, Pa 18235 clarence@buickfreespirit.org 610-377-6130 |
| Membership Chairman Dolores Kennedy 3132 Kenwick Circle Bethlehem, pa 18017-3052 dolores@buickfreespirit.org 610-867-8962 | Publicity Chairman |
| Kathleen Duckett kathleen@buickfreespirit.org |
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| Thomas Duckett thomas.d@buickfreespirit.org |
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| Shirley Schaffer | |
| Thomas Sylvester thomas.s@buickfreespirit.org |
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| Historian - All Members | |
| Kempton Show - Clarence & Sally Getz | |
| Newsletter - Sally Getz | |
| Photographer - All Members | |
| Property/Ways & Means - Clarence Getz | |
| Publicity - Kelly Haas | |
| Technical - All Members | |
Director’s Thoughts for January 2014
Happy New Year Buick enthusiasts! Thank you all for voting for me to be Director of our club for the next 2 years. I would like to take a minute to thank Sally for the wonderful job she did as Director. These will be big shoes to fill, but, I am sure, with all your support, that we can keep our club one that we can all be proud to belong to.
New Year’s day is the start of a new year. Most people celebrate the holiday by enjoying the day with friends & family, watching football & reflecting on goals. You may want to reflect on the past & set some goals for the future. A new year is like we have been given a new book with empty pages & each of us has to fill those pages up. What will you fill your pages up with? What will your goals for 2014 be? I’m sure that you have achieved many of your goals for 2013, but, lets all try to make 2014 an even better year.
I have many new goals facing me & our club for 2014. Sally has already given me a jump start by scheduling several guest speakers for the upcoming year. I, as your new director, am already beginning to get correspondence from other Buick enthusiasts. As I hear from other clubs, I will be anxious to share this information with our members. If anyone has any special topics or tours that might be of interest to you, please contact me & I will do my best to make these things happen.
A club is only as good as its members who care enough to get involved. I am very proud to be a part of the Free Spirit Chapter Buick Club!
Happy New Year everyone! Don Sterner, Director
“Free Spirit” Meeting Minutes, December, 2013
In lieu of this months’ meeting, the annual ‘Holiday Gathering’ was held at the Starlite Diner & Lounge on Tuesday, December 3, 2013.
HOLIDAY GATHERING – This years Holiday Gathering was attended by 26 of our members with 2 guests. The evening began with an hour of cocktails & socializing, followed by a lovely dinner. Sally gave everyone a chance to digest their dinner by entertaining us with a few mind games. This was followed by the inductions of Officers & Board of Directors. The highlight of the evening was ‘Crazy Bingo’. The first pick of the night went to Tom Duckett. It seems like the ‘HOT’ item of the night was a framed Coke, Coca Cola puzzle. The puzzle finally went home with Sally, who was green with envy every time it was traded! Sally had 2 holiday jars of candy that everyone had a chance to guess the number of pieces inside the jars. The winners were Louise Stephens who won the jar of Hershey Kisses, & Sandy Reiniger who won the jar of Kit Kats. A raffle was held at the end of the evening. Peggy Schaedel was the lucky winner of an Avon basket, & Dan Reiniger, Louise Stephens, Diane Philbin, & Rita Atwood were the lucky winners of tabletop, decorated Christmas trees. A good time was had by all.
Stacy Sterner
Any of the social, cultural, & religious observances worldwide that celebrate the beginning of the new year. Such festivals are among the oldest & the most universally observed. The earliest known record of a New Year festival dates, from about 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia, where in Babylonia the new year (Akitu) began with the new moon after the spring equinox (mid-March) & in Assyria with the new moon nearest the autumn equinox (mid-September). On the Roman republican calendar the year began on March 1, but after 153 BCE the official date was January 1, which was continued in the Julian calendar of 46 BCE.
In early medieval times most of Christian Europe regarded March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year, although New Year’s Day was observed on December 25 in Anglo-Saxon England. William the Conqueror decreed that the year begin on January 1, but England later joined the rest of Christendom & adopted March 25. The Gregorian calendar, adopted in 1582 by the Roman Catholic Church, restored January 1 as New Year’s Day, & most Europeans countries gradually followed suit.
Many of the costumes of the New Year festivals note the passing of time with both regret & anticipation. The baby as a symbol of the new year dates to the ancient Greeks, with an old man representing the year that has passed. The practice of making resolutions to rid oneself of bad habits & to adopt better ones also dates to ancient times. In the West, particularly in English-speaking countries, the nostalgic Scottish ballad ‘Auld Lang Syne’, revised by the poet Robert Burns, is often sung on New Year’s Eve.
Symbolic foods are often part of the festivities. Many Europeans, for example, eat cabbage or other greens to ensure prosperity in the coming year, while people in the American South favour black-eyed peas for good luck. Throughout Asia special foods such as dumplings, noodles, & rice cakes are eaten, & elaborate dishes feature ingredients whose names or appearance symbolize long life, happiness, wealth, & good fortune.
Because of the belief that what a person does on the first day of the year for-tells what he will do for the remainder of the year, gatherings of friends & relatives have long been significant. The first guest to cross the threshold, or ‘first foot’, is significant & may bring good luck if of the physical type, which varies w/ location. Public gatherings, as in Times Square, NY or in Trafalgar Square, London, draw large crowds, & the countdown to the dropping of an electronic ball in Times Square signify the exact moment at which the new year begins is televised worldwide. The first Rose Bowl game was played in Pasadena, CA, on January 1, 1902, & college football games have come to dominate American TV on New Year’s Day. The Tournament of Roses parade. Featuring floats constructed of live flowers, & the Mummer’s Parade, Philadelphia are popular New Year’s Day events.
I bought my 1964 Corvair Monza Convertible on December 10, 2012 from the widow of my friend, Scott Hafer, who lost his battle with cancer 4 years ago. I promised Dianne that I would finish the restoration & take it to the AACA car shows for class judging in 2013. I started the restoration right away, working through the winter months of Dec., Jan., Feb., & March in my garage 7 days a week & 8-10 hrs a day with 60 degrees of heat & never got sick!
Scott never got to finish the Corvair which needed touching up of the paint & buffing the finish. Bumpers needed chrome plating, door handles keys & locks, other wheels & tires, a spare tire & complete trunk restoration. Interior doors needed painting. Seats & carpeting were all okay. All the weather stripping needed to be replaced, convertible top needed scrubbing to make it white. I completely dismantled the engine area. I painted & restored everything, then putting it back together, of course the engine is my specialty. When it looked like I would finish the Corvair before April 1, 2013, I entered the AACA meet in Charlotte, NC & won a 1st National Meet @ Carlisle in June 2013 & won a Senior Award in Class 27F!
I did not want to enter the Corvair @ Hershey Fall Meet because I just wanted to judge. About a week after Hershey, I received a letter from the AACA saying that my 1964 Corvair was nominated for a 2013 National Award. On Dec. 10, 2013, exactly 12 months after I bought the 1964 Corvair, I received a letter from the Chairman of the AACA National Awards Committee saying ‘Congratulations Charlie, you are a recipient of a 2013 National Award for your 1964 Corvair vehicle’. I was so happy that I could do this all in 1 year, & win all the vehicle awards from AACA!! Charlie Potts
Mr. Charlie Potts will be our guest during the February meeting. He is a Certified AACA Judge which is quite an accomplishment for someone to obtain! During this meeting, AACA items will be raffled to the group. Please mark your calendars for you won’t want to miss February’s meeting! Junior! I then entered the AACA
AAA recommends the following winter driving tips:
- Avoid driving while you’re fatigued. Getting the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather tasks reduces driving risks.
- Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, ie: garage.
- Make certain your tires are properly inflated.
- Never mix radial tires w/ other tire types.
- Keep gas tank 1/2 full to avoid gas line freeze-up.
- Avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy & snowy weather.
- Do not use cruise control when driving on a slippery surface (wet, ice, sand)
- Always look & steer where you want to go.
- Use seat belt all the time when in a vehicle.
Tips for long-distance winter trips: - Watch weather reports prior to a long-distance drive or before driving in isolated areas. Delay trips when especially bad weather is expected. If you must leave, let others know your route, destination & estimated time of arrival.
- Always make sure your vehicle is in peak operating condition by having it inspected by a AAA approved auto repair facility.
- Keep at least 1/2 tank of gasoline in your vehicle @ all times.
- Pack a cellular phone with your local AAA’s number, blanket(s), gloves, hats, food, water & ant needed medication in your vehicle.
- If you become snow-bound, stay with vehicle. It provides temporary shelter & makes it easier for rescuer’s to locate you. Don’t try to walk during a severe storm. It’s easy to lose sight of vehicle in blowing snow & become lost.
- Don’t over exert yourself if you try to push or dig vehicle out of the snow.
- Tie a brightly colored cloth to antenna or place a cloth @ top of a rolled up window to signal distress. At night, keep dome light on if possible. It only uses a small amount of electricity & will make it easier for rescuers to find you. Make sure the exhaust pipe isn’t clogged with snow, ice or mud. A blocked exhaust could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into the passenger compartment w/ the engine running.
- Use whatever is available to insulate your body from the cold. This could include floor mats, newspapers or paper maps.
- If possible run the engine & heater just long enough to remove the chill & to conserve gasoline.
Tips for driving in the snow: - Accelerate & decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction avoiding skids, Don’ try to get moving in a hurry, & take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
- Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on sow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning-nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
- The normal dry pavement following distance of 3-4 seconds should be increased to 8-10 seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
- Know your brakes. Whether you have anti lock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold braking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor & use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
- Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
- Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill & let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed & proceed down hill as slowly as possible.
- Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
- Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors. (Have you enjoyed having read this article since we’ve had snow?)
Gentle Thoughts - A penny saved is a government over sight.
- He who hesitates is probably right.
- Geese who flock together use your car as a septic tank.
- Did you ever notice the Roman numerals for forty (40) are XL.
- The real purpose for giving a child a middle name is so he can tell when they are really in trouble.
- Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words ‘The’ & ‘IRS’ together it spells theirs.
- You know when you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
- When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think about Algebra.
- Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age & start bragging about it.
- Lord, keep your arm around my shoulder & your hand over my mouth. Amen.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS January 2014 – HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!
7 – Monthly chapter meeting, Starlite Diner & Lounge, Rts. 100/78, 7:30 pm. Join members for supper @ 6:00 pm. Guest speaker, Kim/Charles Eckhart, Liberty Auto Glass, AutoGlass Repair & Replacement.
19 – Allentown Auto Mania, Ag Hall, Allentown, PA.February 2014
4 – Monthly chapter meeting, Starlite Diner & Loung, Rts. 100/78, 7:30 p.m. Join members for supper @ 6:00 p.m.
6-8 – 78th Annual AACA Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. www.aaca.org 28-March 2 – Atlantic City Convention Center Auto show & AuctionMARCH 2014 (WEATHER PERMITTING)
2 – 47th Annual Hamburg Swap Meet, Hamburg, PA. 610-944-8619 4 – Monthly chapter meeting, Starlite Diner & Lounge, Rts 100/78, 7:30pm. Join members for supper @ 6:00pm. Guest speaker is Tracy Trapp, March of Dimes, Lehigh Valley Chapter!CARS/PARTS “FOR SALE” - 1939 Buick Parts – Owner’s Manual, 6 hubcaps; pr tail lights & shock absorbers; head light lens. Chuck, 410-876-3517,crgraf1@verizon.net. Can send photos!
- 1952 Buick AM radio – John Giotti, 610-310-7512, jpgiotti@gmail.com
- Set of 4 – NOS full size 1951 Buick hubcaps-never used! Set of 4 used 1963 LeSabre hubcaps-good condition. Ed @ 610-967-6053
- 1953 Buick Super 8, green 4-dr,74,4K original miles, 2nd owner. New tires, original bumpers, excellent interior. $10,000. 610-767-5693, 610-799-5423, linda.wuerstle58@me.com.
- Silvertown Wide White Walls,700 x 15, $100/4. kriebel12@verizon.net
- 1968 Buick Electra 225 Limited 4-dr Htp, Cameo Cream w/ black vinyl top & interior, excellent unrestored condition, 38K mi. All power, AC, 2nd owner, Old Cars Report valued @ $12,000, asking $10,900. 610-530-1553, dwebster80@gmail.com
- 1969 Skylark Convertible – kimberly.pavlick@scranton.edu
- 1981 Buick Regal V-6 w/ A/T, A/C, new paint, excellent interior. Runs Good! Rally wheels. Asking $5,500 OBO. Tom Sylvester, 610-366-7151
Used it to haul children to school?
Need to earn money to keep her running great?
Why not consider joining Avon and keep your baby in fantastic shape!
Mary Lacy, Ind. AVON Sales Rep.
639 W Tilghman St. Allentown, PA 18102
www.youravon.com/marylacy
610-820-9188
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