OLDSMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA EASTERN MA. GMO CHAPTER Issue #50

Ma September 2009

ROCKET POWER NEWSLETTER!! Report on the 2009 OCA Nationals

By Cathy & Steve Economou The GMO caravan of 4 cars left Westford for Seven Springs Resort on a beautiful sunny Monday morning. The Oldsmobiles went in an Intercity Lines trailer driven by Jerry Sumner who took very good care of our gems.

Their owners drove in their daily drivers. Along with Ted & Claire, Rich & Karen, and Frank & Lynn, we drove the picturesque mountain roads and mountain tunnels through New York and Pennsylvania. We decided to take a side trip to the Antique Auto Museum in Hershey on the way. Many gorgeous autos were on display inside including 2 convertible Cadillacs owned by the same lucky owner. Both from the mid-fifties, one was red and the other blue. We spent an overnight outside of Wilkes-Barre, PA in a "newly refurbished” Quality Inn before arriving on Tuesday at the home of the 2009 Nationals!! Oldsmobiles began arriving on Tuesday as well, and the lot was soon full of cars in every model, size, and color! It was a wonderful sight to behold.

On Wednesday, we took full advantage of the resort's hilly, yet beautiful golf course. It was a glorious day in the mountains and the vistas from the hilltop course were spectacular.

The welcome BBQ that evening was lots of fun with music, raffles, (Steve won a set of 3 Oldsmobile books and picked the winning 50/50 ticket) and endless food. We had a chance to reunite with friends John and Dottie Roney from Georgia, whom we met at the 2003 Nationals in Ohio. You meet the nicest people in an Oldsmobile and they truly are. On Thursday morning the Santuccis and the Economous took a side trip tour of Falling Water, Frank Lloyd Wright’s creation of environmental inclusion. The house was truly interesting to visit

with the water and surrounding trees the focus-no view was disturbed by furnishings or walls. Our President Dave Consoli flew in on Thursday and joined us for dinner. He and Steve had their own eating contest to prove the success of Dave's recent surgery!! His doctors will be happy to know that he won!

Friday was judging day and the cool rain held off just until noon so that the judges were able to complete most of their work - a daunting task for sure since there were over 400 cars to inspect! Congrats to our GMO members, all of whom received first place plaques!! Our events coordinator, Chuck joined us on the lot for a brief time to view the cars. The rains forced many to the indoors for the afternoon. Evening dinner was a mammoth buffet and George and Betty Ann were able to join us after their arrival earlier that day. Dinner was followed by an entertaining Oldies concert. On Saturday we ventured over to the golf course again but the rains came again on the 9th hole so we stopped play. On Saturday evening we all attended the Awards Banquet together along with the attending members of the NEOC. The opening was very patriotic, with the presentation of the colors and a few patriotic songs. The chicken cordon-bleu was yummy and was followed by speeches that were just a bit long. All in all, the Allegheny Rockets did an outstanding job organizing this year's event from beginning to end, and we enjoyed every day in the Champion, PA area! Thank you to those hard-working members who worked endless hours to provide all of us with a wonderful week!

And We Were There By Rich & Karen Santucci

With our cars loaded on the Intercity Lines trailer, we were finally on our way to this year’s Oldsmobile Nationals. Caravaning down to PA with the Loranzes, the Economous and Frank St. Elmo and Lynn Neves was an experience in itself - but that's another story, right guys? A long scenic drive it was, but oh so worth it. We even managed to go off the beaten path to visit the Antique Auto Museum in Hershey. That was pretty neat, especially the Kissmobile that was on display outside.

Arriving at Seven Springs Resort we noticed that our transport driver, Jerry had also arrived with our precious cargo. After checking into our rooms we tried to get acquainted with the place that would be our home for the rest of the week as best as we could. There was loads to do and see within the complex itself. Too much to list, but most important to us was getting a good rest and finding out where to place our cars on the show field which we couldn't do until the next morning anyway. Wednesday came and we picked up our registration packets and parked our cars in their respective places. By then more beautiful Oldsmobiles started arriving so we could watch as they came in.

That evening was the Welcome BBQ. We met up with Everett Horton and his wife Priscilla. What a spread our hosts, the Allegheny Rockets put on. We felt comfortable being there and met some old acquaintances as well as some new. Members of the NEOC were there so we managed to catch up on things with some of them.

Dave Consoli, Chuck Schiel and the Berejiks graced us with their presence on Thursday. It was great having them there for support and we enjoyed their company .Joe Mondello gave a couple of seminars and was especially pleased to be reunited with George Berejik. They go way back to their days of racing and then some. We also managed to squeeze in a tour of a very special place known as "Falling Water" designed by Frank Lloyd Wright the famous architect. It was built over a waterfall and was just incredible! Friday was "Judgment Day". The weather could have been a bit more cooperative but you can't predict "Mother Nature". Everyone was out drying and cleaning their vehicles and the poor judges did get somewhat wet. All went well and we all took a first place in our classes.

We also checked out the many vendors that were set up .Bought a few trinkets to add to our collection but nothing exciting.

Saturday evening was the Awards Banquet. That was interesting. The food was great and we enjoyed winding down with everyone. Then it was time to pack up and head home Sunday morning. Hopefully we'll be able to attend more Nationals. Next year is Sturbridge, hosted by our sister chapter, the NEOC. If you can make it, don't pass up the chance to take part in this exciting event. As the saying goes "YOU DO MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE IN AN OLDS!" Rich & Karen Santucci

Glimpse of the Month By Shaun Monaghan

Side effects of a 90 minute Joe Mondello speech

Adventures with a GPS By Ted Loranz

My daily driver is a Subaru and I bought it as “program car” a couple of years ago. “Program car” means various things such as a lease or fleet car, but in my case, I think it was driven by a Subaru executive for only 7,500 miles and was a great deal. Not only that, it was loaded and came with a factory installed GPS (made by Kenwood) which I thought was pretty cool. I would never have paid the $2,000+ price for the option but it came with the cars so… In any case, I have used it relatively successfully over the years with my only major complaint being it would refuse to navigate on some rural roads. Although it would show the smaller roads and destination correctly on the map, it would suddenly announce that navigation was not possible and that I needed to find my way on my own. Since I mostly used it to determine my arrival time, this was just an annoyance. As you can see in several other stories in this letter, Claire and I caravanned with Rich & Karen Santucci, Frank St Elmo & Lynn Neves, and Steve & Cathy Economou to the 2009 OCA Nationals at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA. Thanks to modern electronics, we were equipped with walkie talkies supplied by the Santuccis & Economous which allowed us to keep in touch as long as we stayed within a mile or so – a necessity at night or when in traffic. All went relatively well until the last leg of our journey when it was decided that, since I had the GPS, I would lead the way off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and to the resort destination. I knew I was in trouble when the GPS insisted I get off the turnpike at a service area that had no exit. Knowing better, I continued on to the next exit and got off there. The GPS proved to be very stubborn and indicated I should get back on the turnpike and go back to the service area. It kept telling me to go in circles until this was accomplished. Fortunately, Karen took over navigation using the instructions included in the resort brochure and, before long, we were at the

gates (yes, there were real gates) to our destination. Much to our surprise, Jerry Sumner and the Intercity Lines truck was parked at the gates. He advised that he had called the resort and asked the best way to drive in a semi. He followed their instructions but stated “If that was the best way, I don’t want to know about any others. It was so steep in places, I had to crawl all the way up first gear as I couldn’t downshift fast enough.”

The Seven Springs Mountain Resort is a beautiful place but nothing is close to anything else - not just on the horizontal but on the vertical as well. It was a good thing there were shuttle buses, otherwise it would have been a day’s journey to reach the swap meet and trailer parking areas. Fortunately, I had demanded a 1st floor room and it was relatively near where I could park the car for loading and unloading. Much has been written about the show and events elsewhere so I won’t dwell on that except to say it was a great event and I am glad we went. We met some nice folks including some I had communicated with only by email and we finally met up with fellow GMOers Tim & Sharon Zammiello of Wappinger’s Falls, NY who were there with a beautiful Tropic Turquoise 1966 L-69 442 convertible. So you think that is the end of the story? Not so. Claire was interested in visiting Ligonier, PA, a historical site just north of the resort which featured a fort used during the French and Indian

war and for reenactments of period events. Since Saturday was mostly uneventful, we set off to visit Ligonier after the cars were loaded on the Intercity Lines van. I foolishly believed I could use the GPS to guide us and should have realized my error when it tried to take me down a driveway, which I refused to do, but I continued to let it “guide me”. The GPS indicated I should take a turn on to a small road (I did) and all was well until I noticed that the houses were very far apart and the road, while paved, was getting narrower. Abruptly it became a gravel road but I figured “what the heck”. Next we started up a steep hill which had deep washouts from the recent rains. Since the Subaru is AWD we continued on until the road became grassy and dead-ended at a stone wall. I was forced to retrace my steps for about 5 miles to get back on a marked route. We finally did reach Ligonier and really enjoyed our visit. The moral of this story is to ONLY use a Kenwood GPS when you already know where you are going.

Newsletter Volunteers Needed Do you love reading our newsletter? You can make it better. We need members to send in stories. Your submission any size would be greatly appreciated. If you do not want to write a story you can forward an interesting Oldsmobile article that can be entertaining or technical in nature. Interesting photos are also welcome. Year End Party Scheduled for 9/12

Summer is quickly drawing to an end but there's still time to squeeze in our gathering. The date is Saturday, Sept 12th from 5 to whenever. If you can't get here at 5, you are more than welcome to stroll in at anytime. All we ask is that you please RSVP by Sept 1st to us at ourw30@comcast.net or call 617-964-4041 and leave a message if no one is at home. Look forward to seeing you for a little "social time” and some "good eats”. Let’s hope we'll still have enough days to continue car shows and cruises! Rich & Karen Santucci

Down to Business By David Consoli

I arrived at the Seven Springs resort around noon on Thursday. Our events coordinator Chuck Schiel greeted me. Chuck helped me check in and get acclimated to the venue. I was introduced to the Allegheny Rockets co-chairs Ray Sabo and Jeff Hartzell. I thanked them for hosting the Nationals and complemented them on the selection of Seven Spring resort. It was brought to my attention that our friends from the NEOC were awaiting my arrival. Glen Morris & Bill Black brought me up to speed on the 2pm meeting with the OCA board of directors. As expected they were well prepared for the meeting and wanted me to represent the GMO at the meeting. I was pleased to do so. I would be happy to answer any questions as needed, as well confirm our club’s supportive role to the 2010 event. Dave Richter introduced me to Northeast Zone Director, John Kleedorfer, OCA Vice President, Ed Konsmo, OCA Treasurer, Gene Crowdis, and some other board members. After exchanging pleasantries we shared local chapter experiences as well as ideas. As I entered the conference room I made my way to OCA President, Pat Yancey. It was nice to meet the man in person. As usual Pat was friendly as can be but seemed to be a bit distracted - Justifiably so. Pat had just presided over a contentious meeting in which OCA chief Judge Bob Casey abruptly resigned and left the resort to fly home. When the meeting started I sat at the conference table next to Dave Richter. Dave was a tremendous help to me. He pointed out who the important players were. He also answered any questions I had during the proceedings. Bill Black, & Glen Morris answered questions on the 2010 national meet. They also updated the board on some unresolved issues. Next on the agenda was a speaker for the 2011 national meet hosted by the Northern California chapter. They did a bang up job with their update presentation. The 2011 meet will be held at the

Grand Sierra resort & casino in Reno, Nevada. The resort is spectacular. I was astonished by how high-end the accommodations and facilities are. You can check out their site at www.grandsierraresort.com The final item at the meeting that I attended was the application by the Olds club of Iowa to host the national meet in Des Moines, Iowa on July 4th, 2012. The president of the Iowa chapter is Jim Hauschild. I had befriended Jim and was anxious for him to succeed. When Jim came under fire about the venue as well as the costs, I felt compelled to advocate for him. Fortunately the OCA board approved the Olds club of Iowa’s proposal. It will be the first all indoor national meet. For more information visit www.oldsclubofiowa.com. On Friday I met with Joe Fotschky and Terry Mell of the Dixie Olds chapter in Atlanta GA. They were interested in how the GMO created our by-laws as well as comparing the GMO charter to the Dixie Olds charter. They were impressed with the procedures we have in place and were interested in implementing some of them in their chapter. Saturday morning was the general membership meeting open to all OCA members. My fellow members were out on day trips so I decided to attend alone. I was disappointed to see so many members complain about the judging process. Seems like no matter how hard you try people really take “points off” personally. I brought up my concern about Chief Judge Bob Casey, and other board members departures after a very heated board meeting. I was concerned that there was too much rumor and innuendo floating around the show field. I expressed my displeasure with distorted facts spreading throughout the meet. To his credit, Pat Yancey openly addressed the matter and agreed that a statement to the membership may be forthcoming. After the meeting adjourned I had the privilege to have a private conversation with OCA Treasurer Gene Crowdis. Gene is a true professional and a gentleman. I was blown away by how Gene went the extra mile to cover any and all concerns. I look forward to working with Mr. Crowdis in the future.

The national meet wrapped up with the awards banquet on Saturday evening. After the banquet I had the pleasure of meeting with the OCA first lady Margaret Yancey. Margaret is a wonderful woman who as I soon found out can be very persuasive. She was twisting my arm to meet with Pat Yancey to explore the possibility of taking on more responsibility. I flew home Sunday Morning. Upon arriving home my wife said, “How was your vacation?” Vacation! I guess I can’t help not to mix business with pleasure.

GMO Stickers Available

After several months of planning, new GMO stickers are available. The stickers are a “take-off” of the GM logo and are meant to represent General Motors Oldsmobile. The dimensions of these stickers are 2” square and they are a priced at $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00. 100% of the proceeds go to the GMO club. This is a great opportunity to show off your club spirit on all of your Oldsmobiles. You can purchase your GMO stickers at the Sturbridge show on August 30th, the year end party on Sept 12th or make your check payable to Eastern Mass GMO, and mail to 114 West St. Medway MA. 02053 to receive them by US mail.

Mass Cruisers Show By John Calocci

The Mass Cruisers held their 18th Annual Car show Sunday, August 16th, at the Medway VFW. The event was well supported by the GMO club with eleven member-owned Oldsmobiles present. Attendees included Ted Loranz, with his 1964 442; Rick and Karen Santucci with their 1971 W-30; Steve and Kathy Economou with a 1967 442 each; Pete Agris and his 1967 442; John Gouvea and his 1972 442; Dave Pelletier and his 1971 Cutlass; Ernie Reed and his 1967 442; Bob Hughes and his 1984 Hurst; Tony Cavanaugh and his 1962 Starfire, and Phil Boucher with his 1972 Cutlass. These members and their cars were joined by none other than about to be impeached Events Coordinator Chuck Schiel, who may have risked his life by bringing his 1958 Cadillac.

With close to 300 cars in attendance, the turnout was impressive on the sweltering hot August afternoon. Rows and rows of beautiful antique and classic automobiles were parked on the grass field, with an overflow area available behind the lodge. The owner(s) of each car registered at the show received a sizable bag full of free samples of different car products and catalogues for some of the industry’s leading auto parts suppliers.

I was personally very pleased to see a few of the Oldsmobiles entered receive trophies. Chris Temme won Runner-Up for the 1970-1979 class, Mark Baravella won Runner-Up for the 1958-1964 stock class (the bold Chuck Schiel was victorious in this class, winning first place with his Cadillac – boo, hiss). The Economous won a 1st place in the 1965-1969 class.

The Eastern Mass GMO club had the best club participation, something all members should be proud of. It was very rewarding to see that so many of our members came out to this truly enjoyable event.

From the Events Coordinator Well, folks, we’re into the “dog days” of summer – bet you thought they’d never get here! Now, please, no whining about “how hot it is” ... we’ll be craving these hot days come January! I’d like to spend a few minutes reviewing three big events we have coming up over the next two months

1. The GMO Cruise to the Annual NEOC Show in Sturbridge, Massachusetts – Sunday, August 30 – PLEASE come and join us at the Westborough Rest Stop on the Mass Pike (I-90) for a cruise to the NEOC Show in Sturbridge – plan to arrive between 7:30 and 8:30 am – we will leave Westborough together (caravan-style) for the drive to Sturbridge at 8:30 am sharp.

2. The End of Year Party at the Santucci’s – Saturday, September 12 at 5:00 pm – PLEASE RSVP by September 1 to Rich and Karen Santucci by e-mail (ourw30@comcast.net) or by phone (617) 964-4041. This is one of the true highlights of the GMO year!

3. Multi-Car Club Show – Silverstone Club (North Andover, MA) – Sunday, October 18 – This is a brand new show this year – join members of other local car clubs for an “end of season” show extravaganza! Let’s show the other clubs how special the GMO really is – please plan on attending this one!

Here are the remainder of the GMO-supported shows for the rest of the season.

Saturday, August 29 – All Wheels National on Cape Cod: – Drive down to the Cape for the weekend, and make the Saturday show a part of your getaway weekend. We have our own Oldsmobile section at this show. Sunday, September 13 – Ty-Rods Annual Shop – Bolton Fair Grounds - Lancaster, Massachusetts: Another “must attend” show. This show draws over 1000 cars annually. Let’s support Al Maurer by attending this late summer event.

Best Regards, Chuck

Show Off This is what I think of when I’m at a classic car show with all these great looking cars that I would love to have and take care of. My passion for cars started with my first 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass S when I was in High School and I now own a 1999 Aurora. I’ve been Photo Editing and Creating Designs to print for over 25 years for family and friends and for the last 5 years I’ve been working for a manufacturer of “state of the art” wide format inkjet printers. I’ve had the opportunity to print on almost everything - except water and air and I’m working on that. My passion to be unique and creative led me to the business opportunity to design and print 18” x 24” Show Boards on Artist Canvas using large inkjet printers. This also lets me create boards in different industries such as, Boats / Motorcycles / Posters etc.

I would value the opportunity to create a Unique Show Board for you. Please remember ... Show It Off. Jim Maffeo Phone: 978-640-6314 E-mail: independentcolor@msn.com.

Letter from the President The GMO was well represented at the 2009 OCA National Meet. For this issue of the newsletter we decided to report on the meet from different points of view. I hope you enjoyed the various

articles on the 2009 meet. While I did spend my fair share of time promoting our club and meeting with other chapter representatives, it was not all business. I had a wonderful time dining out every evening with my fellow GMO members. I enjoyed my time with all of you and wanted to thank all of the “couples” that adopted me during the week. I want to give a special shout out to Sharon & Tim Zammiello. I met Sharon on the show field in Sevens Springs PA. We started a casual conversation and she had me laughing for an hour. Come to find out the Zammiellos are GMO members from New York. Small world. I also met their New York friends Lisa & Justin Bavar. Great people!! No chance encounter with your president ends without an application to the GMO. As a result, Justin is our 2nd New York member. Welcome to our club Justin. Locally the weather has finally improved. Because we have had the worst May & June weather wise, I decided to start hitting the local cruise night circuit. On July 25th I attended Skip’s mega cruise in Merrimac. 800+ cars. I ran into GMO member Mark Hall there. GMO member Nick Nikolopoulos’s 69 442 was there but I was unable to locate Nick. On August 6th I attended Kimball’s cruise night in Westford. I was joined by Ted & Claire Loranz, John Calocci, John Gouvea, and Phil & Mary Cafarella. I also noticed Nick Nikolopoulos’s 1969 442 parked on the show field. Again I tried, but could not find Nick. Hey Nick, next time you’re at a show stop by and visit. We would love to see you!! Mann Orchards cruise night in Methuen on Monday nights is the place to be. On August 10th I ran into my GMO buddy Tony Somma. Tony was accompanied by fellow GMO member Bob Groleau. There were only a handful of Oldsmobiles present, but I soon found out there were lots of Olds enthusiasts who wanted to

reminisce about their younger days driving an Oldsmobile. The Mass Cruisers Medway show was held on August 16th and the GMO won best club participation. The GMO officers were in attendance as well as nine members. I wish I could have attended, but I was meeting with OCA officials that day. Thanks to all that attended for a job well done. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I visited George & Betty Ann Berejik at their home on the Cape. We were treated to lunch and then a boat ride on Buzzards Bay. The name of the boat is the Baby Buffalo III. I don’t know who named that boat. The boat should read Smothers brothers on the back and Woodland - Andresen on the sides. George drives that boat like his 1970 drag car. Anthony Berejik once said, “George only knows stop and really fast”. That just about sums up our boat trip. We enjoyed our visit. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon. We love you guys!! Did you read the request in last month’s newsletter for help with our publication? It was not that long ago a smart, yet quiet member named Shaun Monaghan responded to our request for help. Since then Shaun was appointed club photographer and has become a MAJOR contributor to the publication. Shaun is like our David Ortiz (Big Papi) minus the steroids. He always comes through in clutch situations. Without Shaun we would not be able to document half of what goes on at meetings and shows. Now our junior member John Calocci has shown an interest in reporting on local shows. John did a great job reporting on The Larz Anderson Show. John has also stepped up to the plate and submitted a great report on the Medway show. As a result I am appointing John Calocci GMO show reporter. I am sure John will prove to be a valuable asset to the club just as Shaun proved to be. REMINDERS: We have a major NEOC show to attend in Sturbridge. We are meeting at the Westborough rest area on the Mass Pike on August 30th between 7:30 and 8:30AM. Please, if you are planning to meet the group for the cruise to Sturbridge, please be on time and remember the

Mass Pike is a TOLL ROAD. Make sure you have your toll money ready. We want to cruise in tandem and do not want to lose any members who will be fumbling for toll money. Contact me consoli442@comcast.net if you plan on attending. Did you RSVP for the year-end BBQ on September 12th at the Santucci’s home in Newton? If not please do so. Every year Karen Santucci provides us with a meal to die for, and the company and conversation are great. We will have the new GMO stickers available at the Sturbridge show as well as the year-end party. Ted published a sample in this newsletter. If you wish to purchase the stickers by mail please mail your check to Ted. Stickers are $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00. Please show your club spirit as well as help fund our clubs activities. Thanks for your help in advance. Finally, I want to remind our members to support Al Maurer’s efforts with the Ty-Rods Show on September 13th at the Bolton fairgrounds. My son Joey & I attended last year. Al and his fellow Ty- Rods members do a splendid job. For more information contact oldtimers@ty-rods.org. I would like to thank a few people for their contributions this month:

• John Calocci on his report on the Mass Cruisers show in Medway.

• Dave Richter of the NEOC for being a tremendous help to me at the nationals.

• Frank St. Elmo for helping Ted Loranz get his 442 ready for judging.

• George & Betty Ann Berejik for being wonderful hosts to Karen & me.

• The Economou’s, Santucci’s, & Loranz’s for reporting on the national meet.

• Joe Mondello for ending his banquet speech before I had to return to work on Monday.

• Jim Maffeo for his graphic work on the club stickers.

• John Gouvea for his input on The Larz Anderson show.

• I want to pass along special well wishes to my friend Andrea DesJardins.

I look forward to cruising with you to Sturbridge as well as sharing a meal with you at the year end BBQ at the Santucci’s. Keep it under 65 mph. See you there. For the love of Oldsmobile,

David Consoli President Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter

Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter 114 West Street Medway, MA 02053-2226

GMO Officers

President David Consoli – 978-807-7350

Consoli442@comcast.net

Vice President Rich Santucci – 617-899-9109

ourw30@comcast.net

Secretary / Treasurer Ted Loranz – 508-561-7613

ted@teds-olds.com

Events Coordinator Chuck Schiel – 508-981-9039

cschiel@nalco.com

GMO Photographer Shaun Monaghan – 617-676-8729

Boston442@comcast.net

Club Representative Everett Horton – 401-573-6361

antiqolds@aol.com

GMO Chapter Website – http://clubs.hemmings.com/olds-gmo

First Class Mail