Mass Cruisers April 2020 Newsletter by John Buchanan

Monthly Crusin

Cruisin’ at the speed of fun

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Mass Cruisers Auto Club April 2020

"Diner Don" Sawyer Artist - Red Wing Diner

2019 Cruiser of the Year - Lorna Rabbitt

Artwork by ‘Diner Don’ Sawyer” may not be reproduced without written permission of the artist

Remembering Chuck Kaplan

MARCOM Annual Flea Market

INSIDE: RIDING SHOTGUN COVID-19 EDITOR’S NOTE COLORING PAGES CRUZIN’ AUTO SHOWS & EVENTS

Remembering Chuck Kaplan who passed away March 26. Chuck, here as guest speaker at our January 2015 monthly meeting, is showing us the tradeoffs for stroking small bock engines to increase displacement and torque. We’re on the Web

Celebrating 29 Years of Cruisin’ Volume 29 Issue 4

www.masscruisers.com And Facebook

Cruisin’ at the speed of fun

Monthly Crusin Contact us by snail mail: P.O. Box 217, Wrentham, MA 02093 Or by email: HO350@comcast.net

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We have moved all monthly meetings to the Bass Pro Shops Conservation Room at 1 Bass Pro Place in Foxboro, MA beginning in May. Monthly meetings will still be held the third Tuesday of the month starting at 7 PM, guests and visitors are welcome to attend. Business meetings will be held an hour earlier, club members are encouraged to attend. DIRECTORY

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RIDING SHOTGUN

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Club Officers President: Open Vice President: Larry Nyborn

“DINER DON" SAWYER ARTIST RED WING DINER

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Secretary: Lesley Corda-Majeski Asst. Secretary: John Guravage

2019 CRUISER OF THE YEAR

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Treasurer: Kevin Rushlow Asst. Treasurer: Rich Armando

MARCOM ANNUAL FLEA MARKET

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At Large Board Member: Steve Huntington

CLORING BOOK

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CLORING BOOK

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SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS

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CRUZIN’

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AUTO SHOWS & EVENTS

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Special Assignments Webmaster: Steve Vining

Managing Editor: John Buchanan Newsletter Editor: John Guravage Digital Graphics Editor: Diane Thorton Facebook: Patrick Touhey New Members: Lou Valentine Sgts. at Arms: Rick Lawlor John Sturniolo Charity Coord.: Open Food Pantry: Steve Fernald Bob Okerholm By-Laws: Wayne Lestan MAAC Rep: John Buchanan Cruise Nights: Steve Huntington Sponsors: John Buchanan Fred Tierney

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Riding Shotgun By Larry Nyborn

TESTING & TOUCHING THE METAL The current precarious social environment has certainly affected our physical & mental well being not to mention the halt in social activities....including everything auto related. Everyone's individual strength..'testing the metal' is certainly being stretched, but we will all be stronger later as a result. While we are 'testing our metal' , maybe we would feel better by also 'touching the metal'. Let's get back in touch with our cars. While we need to social distance, club members will also need to pull together to insure the survival of the club. You do not need to distance yourself from your cars...go out into the garage and tinker with your cars, clean out the garage, make a list of those improvements you want to make, order some parts, immerse yourself in the 'car culture' so you can escape the harsh reality outside for a while. While we might have to physically isolate from one another, we do not need to be isolated from our cars, and we can still think about what we can do to help the Mass Cruisers when things return to normal. This Wed. Apr. 1st, the club will try an on-line meeting using the zoom.com app...let's see how it goes...let's stay connected! Larry EDITOR’s NOTE: In this unprecedented era which has brought our country, among 199 or so other nations and territories we’re told, to a virtual standstill by a tiny unseen novel coronavirus named COVID-19. Year 2020 is a season of firsts; our first pandemic, our first annual anniversary party cancellation in 28 years, our first cruise season on hold until who knows when, experiencing our first state wide shelter-in-place order, the first time when businesses, large & small, are shuttered with workers left unemployed despite experiencing the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, seeing states like nearby Rhode Island tracking down New York license plate car owners and issuing 14 day shelter in place orders, watching Massachusetts notifying all out-of-state visitors to shelter in place for 14 days, waiting for the first economic bailout of unbelievable scope begin; 2 trillion dollars ($2,000,000,000,000 – thought you’d like to see how many $10 bills that really is) and people hoarding toilet paper instead of milk and bread. Threats to our country and lifestyle from the largest military forces in this the world cannot match up to what this little bugger, COVID-19, has achieved. In trying to wrap up the content for our April newsletter, we are bombarded with daily infections and body counts, shades of the Vietnam era, along with ever increasing controls in an attempt by states and communities to slow down the infection rate or, as the media is fond of stating, “flatten the curve”. As always, stay cool, wash your hands frequently, maintain a 6 foot social separation distance and, remember, COVID-19 cannot see your middle finger salute. Editors

Flatten The Curve

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"Diner Don" Sawyer Artist - Red Wing Diner By John Buchanan

Lou Valentine received a signed lithograph print of the Red Wing Diner that Maine artist “Diner Don” Sawyer created, one of the many diner prints available in various gift shops around New England as well as at occasional area car shows like the annual Old Orchard Beach Classic Cruise & Car Show that club members attend each September. Lou keeps the print in his N.E.E.D. office and club member Nick Mullen snapped a picture of it and posted it on our club’s Facebook page with the following note: “A friend of one of our Mass Cruiser’s found this picture up in Durham New Hampshire! Looks like a familiar scene after one of our Cruise nights at Gillette! Pretty Cool find! THE RED WING DINER”. I love these old diners and have taken many photos of them when I come across them in my travels, particularly when I can park a classic car out front for that nostalgic look. See the photo with late Mass Cruisers member Jack Lane parked out front of the iconic Pawtucket. RI 1940 Sterling Streamliner “Modern Diner”. Lou thought I should get permission from the artist to reproduce the photo before posting it in our newsletter so I called “Diner Don” and left a message and he got back to me the following day. Not only did I get his enthusiastic approval to post the RED WING DINER photo, he also mailed me new print that I could scan and use for this article. Don is a retired High School English teacher who dabbled in art and, after painting a water color of the A1 diner in Gardner Maine back in 1988 where he would have breakfast in the morning, a new career was launched. The diner’s owner asked if he could have a bunch of smaller 9 x 12 prints made up to sell which he did. This small act led to other diner owners calling him do nostalgic paintings of their diner which led to a current library of more than 240 New England Diners and recognized roadside attractions added to his growing list of available prints, with more on the way, that can be viewed online and ordered by mail if you can’t find what you want at one of his shows and exhibits. Log on to Don’s website http://www.donsawyerart.com/listofdiners/index.html to see the complete list of lithograph prints available and order your favorite for the wall of your mancave or workshop.

Late Mass Cruiser member Jack Lane in his beloved 1951 Ford business coupe.

Artwork by ‘Diner Don’ Sawyer” may not be reproduced without written permission of the artist

Cruisin’ at the speed of fun

Monthly Crusin

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2019 Cruiser of the Year: Lorna Rabbitt By John Buchanan

The 2019 Cruiser of the Year Award was presented to Lorna Rabbitt by 2018 Cruiser of the Year Honoree Steve Vining at the February 18 Meeting. Steve’s selection was greeted with universal approval by all members in attendance at the meeting. Lorna joins her hubby Mike as the second husband and wife team, along with Jean Waite and her late husband Bruce who was the first Mass Cruiser of the Year honoree selected for this prestigious honor back in 2004. Lorna of course can be seen with hubby Mike setting up and organizing the Valve Cover race track and racing events for the kids at our cruise nights and club events. When the track is not being used Lorna can be found helping out at the club trailer with the 50-50 drawing, tee shirt sales and handling any questions that come up. Her creativity also shines with some of the unique club valve cover race cars can pick from as well as at Halloween time with the unique costume designs she and Vice President Diane Thornton collaborate on each October. Previous to the award presentation John Buchanan went through the history surrounding the honoring of a Mass Cruiser member each year which was initiated in 2004 by then Club President Bob Cecca and for the following 10 years was presented with a $100 check by the family of Jimmy Veglia who also presented a beautiful memorial trophy each year to a homebuilt vehicle. The club continued the tradition each year from 2014 on with the previous year’s honoree selecting and presenting the Mass Cruiser of that year for the honor. A personalized plaque and $100 stipend along with a name plate with their name being added to the Cruiser of the Year recognition wall plaque. Of course, we no longer have a club house wall from which the plaque can be hung for everyone to see, so it goes home with the honoree until they can pass it along their selection in 2021. Congratulations Lorna

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MARCOM ANNUAL FLEA MARKET By John Buchanan

The Model A Restorers Club of Massachusetts (MARCOM) enjoyed mild March 1 weather this year for its annual flea market at the Holmes Transportation building in Norfolk, MA. Although this flea market is devoted primarily to the Model A enthusiasts, it also is the first area car event where everyone comes out of their winter hibernation to see who has survived another New England winter. It’s also the first local event where we can put out our cruise & car show event flyers. Out front we’re greeted with the 1932 International School Bus that makes regular trips during the summer months to our Bass Pro Shops cruises where the kids can climb on board to compare those good old days school buses to what they ride in today. In addition to the flea market parts inside the cleared out bus barn and outside entrance area, this annual stop is worthwhile looking over host Richard Holmes mini-museum where he displays some of his antique vehicles, Petroliana, toys, signs and collectibles. As always, Richard ambles around the event and is ready to answer any questions about his impressive collection.

Monthly Crusin