When I first addressed the club at the annual meeting in Philadelphia I emphasized the importance of “Focusing on our Future and Service Beyond Self” designed to symbolize and energize our collective efforts as we work together at the national, regional, and chapter level to make AACA an enjoyable, visible and integral part of every community.

As a national club, AACA can have a monumental impact in each of our communities and on how those around us act and re-act to our lead. Today I ask if the Antique Automobile Club of America will accept the challenge to make our earth more environmentally safe by RECYCLING. The future of our earth and the well being of our children and grand-children depend on it

In the May/June issue of Antique Automobile I mentioned my penchant for recycling and that in our home we make every effort to conserve our natural resources to reduce the amount of material entering our landfills.

Recycling is a centuries-old activity that is common to all cultures. Years ago before recycling was referred to as “recycling” in America, Boy Scouts had “paper drives.” How many can remember the “rag man” coming down the
street to collect old clothing and linens for paper production? Remember “bottle deposits?” That was an early inkling of the need for the collection of certain “waste” goods.

Did you know that recycling just one aluminum container can save enough energy to power a TV for three hours? And, did you know that 14 recycled plastic bottles yields enough fiberfill for a ski jacket?

Think of the impact we could have on our environment if every family in every region and chapter practiced good recycling habits and encouraged those around them to do likewise. The next time your club has a picnic or an event where plastic bottles or aluminum cans are used will you or someone in your club collect them and be sure they get to the recycling bin?

We have a special fraternity of members that share an unparalleled love of old automobiles and the preservation of pioneering days of automobiling. How great would it be if we extended that passion for preservation to our surroundings through recycling?

Being good stewards of the environment is a responsibility we all share. Starting today, will each of you seize every opportunity to turn waste into a resource that benefits our communities, the environment and our planet!

The AACA Library & Research Center holds the key to unlocking the knowledge that you need to help in the research and restoration of your hobby vehicle. Since 1977, the AACA Library has been accumulating, preserving, and making available to you this valuable information. Over 100,000 documents consisting partially of sales, operations, maintenance, and parts manuals are available to you, the hobbyist. They are housed in a state of the art 6,400 square foot climate controlled facility opened in 1986 that was funded completely, by you, the AACA member. Librarian, Chris Ritter, and his able staff have answered thousands of research requests from all over the world. They are a phone call or email away and remain ready to unlock the mysteries of your special project.

The preceding paragraph gives you a brief sketch of our AACA Library & Research Center’s basic information. Each of us has 1-½ hours of free research time available per year as part of our AACA value added membership package. This is only part of the story. There is much more to tell, so read on!

And the list goes on! This automotive treasure trove is located adjacent to National AACA Headquarters located at 501 West Governor Road, in Hershey, PA. Hours are 8:30 to 3:45 Monday thru Friday. Region and Chapter visits are welcomed, and can be accommodated on weekends with advance notice. You and your region or chapter can always become involved by volunteering, financially supporting the Library Endowment Fund and most importantly, by utilizing the facility for your research. Let’s all spread the word about YOUR AACA Library.

Other types of material housed in AACA Library:
Accessory catalogs & brochures.
Sheet music.
Auto show programs.
Racing programs & information.
Body and coachbuilders’ information.
Information on early Glidden Tours.
Brochures on parts such as magnetos,
carburetors, windshield wipers, vacuum tanks, Engine brochures and manuals, etc.

220 periodicals are received on a regular basis.
Early periodicals such as Cycle & Automobile Trade Journal, Horseless Age, Motor Age, Motor, Automotive Industries, Motor World, The Automobile, Autocar, Automobile Topics.

Great website: featuring an “Image of the Week”, book reviews, library news. Log onto www.aacalibrary.org/.

Organizations whose archives are housed at the AACA Library:
Pontiac-Oakland Club International
Lincoln Motor Car Foundation
National Corvette Restorers Society
Buick Heritage Alliance
Pierce-Arrow Society
Society of Automotive Historians Ralph Dunwoodie Archives
Museum of Bus Transportation
SPAAMFAA (Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America)

Pending:
Antique Motorcycle Club of America
Vintage Chevrolet Club of America

Some rare items at the AACA Library:
Brooks-Ostruk body company photo portfolio.
1905 Upton Motor Car company catalog (Lebanon, PA).

Books:
The Inside Story of Adam and Eve – advertising book written by Ned Jordon (Jordon car fame) and autographed by him.
Buick “The Golden Era” 1903-1915 – First edition, autographed by Professor Francois Therou.

A special thanks to former Librarian, Kim Miller, for providing the research information for this article.

Our new Librarian, Chris Ritter, can be contacted at

501 W. Governor Road
Hershey, PA  17033
Phone:  (717) 534-2082
Fax:  (717) 534-9101
E-mail: critter@aacalibrary.org

I found something the other day that had been long forgotten and over­looked. It was a stash of Antique Automobile magazines; the official publication of the national AACA club. They were in a closet at my mother’s house. I had known about them for a while, but the ones on top were only a few years old, and duplicated my own cache of magazines. But I didn’t expect what was on the bottom, at least a dozen from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, back when my father was still living. He had apparently put a few magazines aside on a shelf. Later, my mother had simply added the newer ones on top.

After pulling out a particularly yellowed edition, the oldest, and looking it over, I couldn’t stop finding the other early ones. It was like a treasure hunt. And what fun they were. They took me back a quarter-century to a time when the cars on tour were the ones that we now only see in museums. And the car ads were sensational; not just for the pocket-change prices by today’s standards, but for the pure availability of cars you can only find now at high stakes auctions.

There were also technical articles of great interest. My fa­vorites were one on tightening up loose wood-spoke wheels, and another on the old varnish based paints used on cars during the teens. For those who don’t know, these paints were thin as water, and were applied by splash or even a water hose-type nozzle. The excess paint would run down the metalwork, drip onto a flattened funnel type table and drain back into five gallon buckets for reuse the next day. After many coats and hand-rubbing, the cars left the factory looking like glass. But that paint oxidized and turned dull in a matter of months. The advent of lacquer paint in the 1920s revolution­ized the process, and led to an explosion of colors that had never been available before. See what you can learn from old magazines?

My brother Wayne has gathered his own magazine stack dating from the ‘60s. After I bought the 1919 Locomobile, he searched them and found several pictures of sister cars, plus a photo of my car’s previous owner. And then he scored the biggest find; a photo of my car on the cover of Old Cars Weekly back in the early ‘70s after it had won an award. The Veteran Car Club had honored it as the best restored Locomobile on the Glidden Tour. Today, it’s probably been 10 years since one of these cars was on this tour. Most of them are sitting in museums and private collec­tions, or they’re considered too valuable to drive, or there’s a more basic problem. None of the old-time mechanics are still around to keep them running.

Through the years, my own magazine collection had multiplied like roaches. I discretely hid several hundred in stacks that would reach about two feet high before they fell over. Occasionally I’d reorganize and sort them by title, and everything would stay neat until I would inevitably be tempted to pull a half-dozen or so from the bottom. After a few of these instances, the stacks would be back to chaos. Inevitably, one day I realized that I was running out of room. And unlike books, magazines don’t look good stacked in shelves. So I boxed them up in four or five heavy boxes and tried to give them away.

No takers, until I finally found a fellow enthusiast that I knew would read them – Robby Markman. After the magazines departed, for a while I felt almost like I’d pushed my children out the door. But I still had the hundred or so from my mother’s house to go through. And I also noticed that, as a half-dozen or more new magazines kept arriving each month, that these things really are like roaches. You really can’t kill them. They just keep multiplying.

Editor's Note: A special thank you to James Barlett of the Gulf Coast Region in Texas for giving us permission to reprint this article.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A NATIONAL CHIEF JUDGE…...and SHOW FOUR CARS AT THE SAME TIME

By Earl D Beauchamp, Jr. 

The fledgling Orange Blossom Region was formed not long before Hershey, 2006 when Paul Dimbath of Lakeland, Florida and Don Allen of Winter Haven made contact with AACA members within 35 miles radius, or so, of the city of Lakeland. That’s when Ron & LeeAnn Laird, Bob & Roxie Lewis and Judy and I raised our hands that we wanted to join too, even though we are over 50 miles from Lakeland where we live. The first meeting was on a Sunday afternoon, which was meant to just see if there was enough interest to form a Region. Paul assumed the leadership role and there was a large turnout. Much to his surprise, the group decided right then and there to form a Region. Everyone paid an initial dues of $25 to start a treasury, even though dues were set at $15 a year. A name was chosen on the spot, Paul & Don filled out the forms and the National AACA Board approved a new Charter at Hershey.

With that, a new AACA Region club was up, off and flying. Thanks to great meeting entertainment, set up by member David Kurash, the meetings were well attended. We had several events and a lot of individual membership enthusiasm.
Even before the Dual Meet came about in Melbourne, FL in March, 2008, Hulon McCraw, our national Vice President of National Activities, had taken notice of our enthusiasm and he asked Paul if we would do the 2009 Winter National Meet. Always full of vim and vigor, and having a natural born attitude of optimism about everything, Paul said he thought we could; whereby within weeks he had obtained the place, the resources, and convinced our fledgling membership we could do it. With only weeks to prepare a brochure, Paul enlisted the help of Ford Heacock and had a beautiful flyer out for distribution at Melbourne.

Because I was into my fifth and final term as a National Director, and a past National President in 2004, Paul came to me to be the Chief Judge for the Meet. Although I immediately agreed to take on the job, I did so with significant trepidation. Despite having well over 170 judging credits at time, I had never served as a Chief Judge.

As the time approached for the Meet, Vice President Class Judging, Joe Vicini, repeatedly assured me that the new computer program that the Chief Judge uses to set up team classes and fill each team with judging volunteers would be a “cup of tea.” I was still very nervous.

As the Meet approached, I heard Paul had promised the County we would have 300 cars or more; a promise we needed to keep since a County publicity office had promised us some major financial support. I decided to try and get all four of my running antique Buicks to the show in order to help fill Paul’s prophecy.

As the Meet approached, National Headquarters downloaded the program to my computer, so I could play with it and learn how it worked. I found it hard to play with, but once input started to become real, around January 15 before the February 28 Meet, things started to clear up. Pat Buckley at Headquarters was wonderful in helping me when I couldn’t find the right button to push. As the registrations came in, it was so easy to find the right Captains, and the right team members. Getting closer to the Meet, it became a little more challenging, as later entrants often wanted into classes that were already filled, and I had to figure out if they were better suited, and if they were, where the person I replaced would be best suited. This developed into a day to day exercise, but it was kind of fun, like doing a crossword puzzle.

Judy and I went up to Lakeland the week before the Meet and met Paul, so we could see and lay out the Administration Office. I was particularly fortunate too, in that Judy has worked in Administration since 1975 and she has 184 credits there. She knew what needed to be done insofar as setting up tables and placing the computers. The room Paul had obtained for Administration was among the best ever provided for the purpose. Everybody said so.

Then there were the other things I had to worry about. Setting up the tables for the judge’s breakfast was one of those. I found out that somebody had made wonderful wooden team sign posts for the tables, which had been passed around from Meet to Meet. Nobody knew who he was or where they were. Finally, I found out that the gentleman was Elvin Tack of Iowa, and I found out how to contact him. It turned out he had been in California where they were last used, and had taken them home to rejuvenate them. He kindly agreed to have them ready for Lakeland and deliver them to me, which he did. They have since been passed on to the National Meet in Charlotte. That’s real teamwork.

The last week before the Meet was the worst part of the experience. People started calling in to cancel, which began to mess up my carefully designed team planning. Then some people contacted me that hadn’t registered, but would like to judge. They were, yes, a godsend; but at the same time the constant shuffling and the worry, as to whether there would be more cancellations and late registrants, really worried me. But do you know……in the end we had two extra judges materialize by the time people were eating breakfast. One lady had but five credits and volunteered to join the Apprentice Team again to learn more, and the other, also a lady, who had three credits, was assigned to a short team. When the judge for that team arrived after having been held up in traffic, the Captain kept this lady and let her work with an experienced judge so that she could experience some “on the job training”.

Oh yes, the four cars I had to deal with? Well, we took one up in the trailer on Wednesday night. National Director Dave Zimmerman and his wife, Brenda, stopped by and spent the night Wednesday. He drove a car, I drove a car and my wife, Judy, drove a car. After the breakfast, I ran out to the field to put my cars onto the field. Dave put one on the field, and fellow Orange Blossom Region member, Joe Stowe, volunteered to put one on the field, and I put the other two on the field. By this time my tongue was hanging out. Judy saved me by getting up the table signs and boxing them, with the help of Fran Vicini from NJ and Micky Bohne from TX. Everybody pitched in to help. That’s the spirit in AACA; and something to be proud of.

After that, Joe Vicini, and VP Administration Herb Oakes took over and my job was not too involved or tough, until it came time to put my cars back to bed and get ready for the banquet, where it was my job to read off the winners. Thanks to my Arlington, Virginia early schooling in phonetics, I did very well with pronunciations, with only participant Tom Gerrard’s hometown in Florida being completely beyond my ability to pronounce even closely. <Said with a grin>.

If you’re asked to be a Chief Judge, say yes, you can do it. If anybody as high strung as I am can do it, then anybody can do it. A special thanks to everybody who made this a great Meet. Oh, and by the way, we had 303 vehicles, so my four cars really did help make Paul’s prophecy to the County come true.

Oh, one last comment on a different subject. At Lakeland, both Mr. & Mrs. Artman who were judges, came to me, separately, and said how they enjoyed my last article in the Rummage Box. They didn’t have to do that, and I want to take a minute here to tell them how much I appreciated it.

Ideas For Attracting New Members

By Joe Gagliano
VP- Public Relations 

• Contact AACA National members in your area that don’t currently belong to your Chapter or Region (National can provide you a list of members by zip codes)
• Contact local clubs, not affiliated with AACA, to see if they would.
  (Be prepared to discuss and explain reasons
  and benefits)
• Sponsor a National activity, a National Meet or National Tour
• Sponsor a Divisional Tour
• Sponsor a “Youth” Program
  Student Membership
  Activity with Vocational School or Technical College
  Got spare newsletters or Antique Automobile magazines? Give them to a school library
  Scholarship
  Boy Scouts/ Girl Scouts
  4-H
• Set-up and promote at local activities, not affiliated with AACA
  Swap Meets
  Cruise Ins
  Car Shows
  Parades
• Use publicity to get your club some visibility
  Newspapers
  Web Sites
  Antique Automobile- AACA magazine
  Hobby related publications
• Either with your first or last newsletter of the year, print your activity list for the past year, do it with a “marketing” flair. Pass out to perspective members
• Show and demonstrate you have FUN at your activities
• Retain Your Current and New Members
• Remember its easier to keep existing members than to recruit new ones
• Prepare and use a “Welcoming” Package for new members
• Follow up with a note or phone call for new members, and existing members occasionally
• Special Note or acknowledgment of participation
• Flexibility with format, activities, ideas, don’t criticize new ideas or approaches
• Make sure you don’t over price activities and
  functions
  Consider “family” pricing, also make
  allowances for children
• Remember everyone wants to have a good time- events should be fun- make people want to come back
• Develop a “Mentoring Program”, pass along your knowledge and experience- Get new members involved, but don’t over do it
• Break down “cliques”, make everyone feel welcome- think of ways to do this
  Phone calling program
  Mixed seating
  Greeters
• Follow up with members that leave- find out why they left
  Be prepared for their response
  Have an open mind
  Don’t get defensive
  If possible fix the situation
• Be prepared:
• To explain why they should join the AACA, and your club
  Why did you join the club?
  Is your club willing to accept change?

Editor's Note: This article previously published in a 2003 Rummage Box! The information is still relevant today!
Joe Gagliano is now the VP of Internet Communications & Awards for 2009

Hobby within a Hobby

by Peter J. Heizmann,
VP- Library & Research Center- Strategic Planning

"Hobby within a Hobby” may sound a bit confusing when looking at my position title. As you read this article my message will put everything into place.

An introduction is in order for those of whom I did not have the pleasure of meeting to date, followed by my AACA experiences. By an urging of a childhood friend, I joined the AACA in 1996 at Fall Hershey. My car collection consists of one-a 1972 Triumph TR6 that I have owned since new. After taking the car through the AACA awards system I asked myself “well there has to be more to this AACA adventure, but what?” Initially my goals were to restore an early MG-TD however this did not materialize. Why? Quite simply I found a more rewarding hobby to satisfy the old vehicle addiction – “Your” AACA Library & Research Center. Prior to the merger of National with the Library, I was asked to fill the remainder of a Library Director position. This turned into a temporary 2 year National Director position and that ends in February 2010 at the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

All of your National Directors wear many hats. With this I also serve on “your” Museum Board as a Library Liaison Director and AACA Chairman of Development & Support for the Eastern States.

The following is more of a checklist of my AACA experiences and how you as a member of this great AACA Family could look beyond just vehicle Meets. I feel obligated to share them and serve as a reminder that “National is only as strong as Membership involvement” and not just a place to mail your dues. If for any other reason we owe it to our past and current members to pass on a strong AACA to future generations.

When reading the following list of “Opportunities Available” ask yourself:

1. Do I have an acquaintance, especially a young person, that would enjoy getting involved with old cars without owning one, or someone that is sitting on a lawn chair at a meet thinking this is all the club has to offer?

2. Are there members at your Region or Chapter meetings that attend only to make a spouse happy? We all have talents for something and I feel there are many untapped members out there that could really get involved if only asked.

Opportunities available:
Library & Research Center/Museum/National
(“We are all one AACA Family”)

1. “Friends of the Library”—assist at AACA Family Tents/Booths at meets. We always are in need of extra hands. Excellent experience to have fun with great people. (A smile is the only requirement.)

2. When in Hershey there is always a need for assistance in categorizing a multitude of donated literature at the Library. Venture up to the Museum too, and see what wonderful opportunities await you (Great learning experience without a doubt.)

3. Promote the use of “your” Library and Museum at your Region or Chapter meetings. (One can receive a lot of conjecture to a restoration question on the internet. The Library will supply facts from original literature. The museum staff is another great source of vehicle technicalities and history.)

4. Promote the use of “your” Library to one of your members that is doing a research paper on old cars. (This is just one example.)

5. Region or Chapter in-house Development & Support volunteer

   a. Recruit someone to keep your members informed at meetings of the many existing and new activities of the AACA. (Great job for getting a youthful person involved.) At three Development & Support talks at Regions no less than 6 AACA members did not know we had a Library or Museum.

   b. Your D&S person could also report to many non-computer users in your ranks of the many services the AACA provides. The “Speedster” internet newsletter and the AACA Web Site have many wonderful topics and services that I know are not being passed on to non-computerized members by internet savvy Region & Chapter members.

I challenge Region and Chapter Officers to better serve the membership and make your meetings more interesting. The aforementioned are only a few examples of many untapped resources to continuously improve the AACA experience for our members…”I know firsthand as I have experienced it.”

Wayne’s Way

By Wayne Burgess-Editor

I have been asked to take over the editorship of the Rummage Box. I’m honored to be asked and hope to do as well as our past editors have.

The AACA has been a whirlwind of activity this past spring. I count myself lucky to be able to participate in a lot of those meets and tours. I marvel at the stamina of our board members, to be able to attend all of these activities and still have the old homestead in acceptable condition when arriving back from the meet or tour. I once asked Judy Beauchamp how in the world she and Earl kept up with it. Their secret? “A suitcase is always packed and ready to go, Wayne!” Since Gloria and I are a little new to this, it takes two suitcases to make do for the Burgess family. I got a special advantage out of this new system, though. I got to buy new underwear, since I didn’t have enough to even fill one suitcase, much less two. My close friends are pleased with my new appearance, but they can’t figure out what changed about me. Like antique cars, sometimes, it’s the little things that make the difference.

Speaking of meets and tours, do you know the biggest problem that I have with these activities? It’s keeping up with the hotel accommodations. For the life of me, I can’t sometimes remember which hotel I reserved or even remember where I put the confirmation numbers. I have finally put a new folder in my e-mail box just for hotel and travel records. Embarrassingly, I’ll admit that I double booked once last year. Thankfully, I have Gloria for the really important stuff in my life.

Speaking of hotel reservations, now is a good time to get your reservations straight for the 75th Anniversary Meet in Louisville, Kentucky from June 30 until July 3, 2010. You are going, right? The host hotel is Crowne Plaza Hotel-Expo Center located at 830 Phillips Lane in Louisville, KY 40209-1387. Their phone number is (502) 367-2251. For reservations, call (800) 626-2708. Make sure you request the “Antique Automobile Club of America room block”.

Editors please note: The articles in the quarterly AACA Rummage Boxes are for your use, free of charge. Just credit them in your newsletters, so the NAAP scoring committees can award you credit for their use. This particular issue also has some very important information to help promote your region and its value to the community and the AACA!