Monthly Crusin
Cruisin’ at the speed of fun
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Mass Cruisers Auto Club August 2020
CLUB SEEKONK KC'S BURGER BAR CRUISE
KC’s Servers Diane & Kasey pose with Glen Brayman’s 1941 Ford
CARentine Cruising Adventures, Part III
Carenteen V cruise cars parked at Fort Adams State Park SSV Oliver Hazard Perry tall ship in the background
COVID-19 CRUISE NIGHT PROTOCOL AT
Kevin Rushlow’s 1985 Pontiac Grand Prix practices “Social Distance Parking”
INSIDE: EDITOR’S NOTE WEEKLY CRUZIN & MONTHLY AUTO SHOWS & EVENTS We’re on the Web
Celebrating 29 Years of Cruisin’ Volume 29 Issue 8
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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All monthly meetings in the Bass Pro Shops Conservation Room have been cancelled until further notice due to COVID-19 Phase implementation. Business meetings are conducted either on line using ZOOM meetings or held on an emergency basis as needed with all of our 2020 cruise and car show events being cancelled. Club member cruises to alternate sites that allow group gatherings will be announced via the club’s email list.
Club Officers
DIRECTORY
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PRESIDENTIAL MUSINGS
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KC'S BURGER BAR CRUISE
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Secretary: Lesley Corda-Majeski Asst. Secretary: Open
MORE KC'S BURGER BAR CRUISE
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Treasurer: Kevin Rushlow Asst. Treasurer: Rich Armando
COVID-19 CRUISE NIGHT PROTOCOL
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At Large Board Member: Steve Huntington
MORE COVID-19 CRUISE NIGHT PROTOCOL
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CARENTINE CRUISING ADVENTURES III
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SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS
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CRUZIN MASS
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AUTO SHOWS & EVENTS
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President: Larry Nyborn Vice President: Open
Special Assignments Webmaster: Steve Vining Managing Editor: John Buchanan Newsletter Editor: Open Digital Graphics Editor: Open Facebook: Patrick Touhey New Members: Lou Valentine
Sgts. at Arms: Rick Lawlor John Sturniolo Charity Coordinator: Open Food Pantry: Steve Fernald Bob Okerholm
By-Laws: Wayne Lestan MAAC Rep: John Buchanan Cruise Nights: Steve Huntington Sponsors: John Buchanan Fred Tierney Club Events: Rich Armando
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Editor’s Note By John Buchanan
The inevitable happened for our Bass Pro Shops cruise season; CANCELLED for the foreseeable 2020 future. As the COVID-19 virus surge seems to be giving many cruise night hosts in Massachusetts concerns about being able to preserve the less than 2% transmission rate Massachusetts has been fortunate to achieve over the past month, contact tracing protocols for large public events like our cruise night is not something we have an acceptable solution for. As difficult a decision to CANCEL our remaining cruise dates and, with only one more summer month left to go before the kids will, hopefully, be heading back to school, we are fortunate that Thursday nights have other alternative cruises for everyone to enjoy. The Wheels of Time Car Club, our alternate Thursday cruise night brethren, have filled in our cruise date nights very nicely at Raynham Park on Rte. 138, and is easily reached off I-495. And for those further North, the Thursday Hebert's Candy Mansion Cruise on Historic U.S. Route 20 in Shrewsbury is also easily reached off I-495 if you don't want to cruise those great New England back roads. In the meantime, when our Mass Cruisers club members are not attending these regular cruise nights, we are putting together our own cruising events suggested by members. These cruises have been a great way for us to enjoy our cars as well as the camaraderie of cruising to a new destination. In some strange way, this mirrors exactly what we used to do back in the 1950's & 60's when cruise nights were not an accepted part of enjoying the hobby. Although organizing our own cruises is not as spontaneous as pop-up cruises which are a recent phenomenon that the social media and smart phones make possible, it seems to be working for the old timers that rely on email and telephone contacts. COVID19 really does remind us that life is far too short to drive boring cars.
WE WEREN’T THE ONLY ONES
REMEMBER, LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DRIVE BORING CARS!
Monthly Crusin
Cruisin’ at the speed of fun KC'S BURGER BAR CRUISE
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By John Buchanan
This was a COVID-19 era cruise like no other. Katie Cerrone invited a dozen of our club member cars to participate in a 5:30 to 6:30 PM live Zoom podcast on Wednesday July 8 hosted at her KC's Burger Bar on U.S. Route 6 in Seekonk. She was asked by the East Bay Chamber of Commerce of Warren, R.I.to host their Monthly Mingle Networking Night. So, what's better than to have a classic car drive-in to showcase her business’s unique food offerings of creative classic burgers with names like the Elvis & Duesenburger Burgers with sweet potato waffle fries, 1/4 pound all beef Chili cheese hot dog & hand cut onion rings, Steak & Cheese or Pastrami Rueben sandwiches with homemade potato chips and spiked milkshakes for all but the designated drivers? Add in cruise-in car owner interviews while EBCC Mingle participants test their classic car knowledge to win prizes and you now have an entertaining podcast. To make it a true cruise experience though, I led a 45 minute cruise from my Attleboro home for five of the club members’ cars over the back roads less traveled in Attleboro, Rehoboth & Seekonk while other club members arrived at KC's on their own. And, despite threatening skies with iffy weather predictions that went from a 50% chance of rain in the morning forecast down to 5% at cruise time, we lucked out. A couple of "K.C.'s Girls", Diane & Kasey, that attend our Bass Pro Shops cruise in July every year dressed in their 1950's era finery and were on hand providing some nostalgic atmosphere along allowing photo ops with our cars.
Club members line up in their cars for the K.C.’s Burger Bar live Zoom podcast
Meanwhile Inside KC's, Katie's brother Al was directing the kitchen staff to make up a wide range of their awesome creative appetizers, burgers, sandwiches & desserts for the final segment of the podcast, which after it ended, we swooped in like flock of seagulls to grab our favorites to sample. Mine was the Chili cheese fries which I've always drooled over a menu photo but never dared to order. Seeing them up close and very real was too much to resist, yum-yum....burp! Really wonderful.
BELOW: Kasey displays one of K.C.’s decadent desserts while Katie Cerrone and EBCC member, seated, documents the sampling of their creative menu offerings for the live podcast.
ABOVE: Steve Huntington, Nick Mullen & Glen Brayman dig into some of the sampling offerings prepared for the live podcast.
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KC'S BURGER BAR CRUISE By John Buchanan
Katie was extremely pleased with the whole cruise-in experience and expressed she'd like to do another one again. We're ready anytime you are. Just send up a smoke signal and we'll be happy to hit the back roads again to KC's Burger Bar on Route 6 in Seekonk. https://www.kcsburgerbar.com/
Katie Cerrone interviews our Cruise Director Steve Huntington about his 1964 Chevy pickup during the EBCC Mingle podDressed in 50’s era style clothes, KC’s Servers Diane & Kasey pose with youngest Mass Cruiser Nick Mullen & club President Larry Nyborn.
Bob & June Smith’s 1951 Mercury was first to arrive and park for the cruise
ABOVE: What’s a cruise-in without some potential minor field repairs? Our own long distance cruise veteran Bruce Berry, shown here, demonstrates why he carries a complete mechanic’s repair shop in the back of his 1954 Chevy Sedan Delivery.
In the interest of full disclosure, KC's Classic Burger Bar has been a long time Mass Cruisers Bass Pro Shops Cruise sponsor since the opening their North Attleboro location and, in keeping with the cruise-in theme, one wall of the nostalgic North Attleboro diner is filled with Bass Pro Shops cruise car photos taken by our club photographer and web master Steve Vining.
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COVID-19 CRUISE NIGHT PROTOCOL By Kevin Rushlow
I live less than five miles from Slater Park in Pawtucket, R.I. and when I heard that Uncle Al Silva, who runs the Tuesday night cruise at Slater Park, finally got approval from the Pawtucket Parks & Recreation and Health Depts.to start up their cruise during Phase 3, I wanted to go and experience the cruise under the Rhode Island COVID-19 guidelines that were being imposed. The first obvious requirement was wearing face masks which Al had on as he greeted each car to explain the COVID19 rules for the cruise which, started by parking my car every other space. The cruise which normally could see anywhere from 60 to over 100 cars on a good night was now limited to 43 cars in the designated cruise lot during Phase 3. After parking, the next step was to fill out the Rhode Island Dept. of Health COVID-19 Health Screening questionnaire which I've included here. The ironic thing was the adjacent customer/spectator parking lot, like most retail store parking lots, had no such restrictions. As you can see in the cover photo, every other parking space parking was being observed by cruise car owners and, if someone inadvertently forgot this protocol, Al would ask them to move their car. One big downside to these COVID-19 cruise guidelines was the onsite restroom facility was closed and there were no Porta-Potties available anywhere in the park due to the required decontamination protocols being cost prohibitive for both the cruise, Len's Seafood, Ice Cream & Hot Dog take-out food concessions as well as the ballfields which were all being used. However, Slater Park, which was previously shut down for all 2020 events early in the pandemic, is now back in business for cruisers looking for a Tuesday cruise venue where you can get some chowder, clam cakes and hot dogs topped off with an ice cream treat while schmoozing, observing safe social distancing of course, with other car owners.
Uncle Al Silva with D.J. Bobby Brown in the background are back hosting the Tuesday Slater Park cruise nights.
Monthly Crusin
Cruisin’ at the speed of fun
COVID-19 CRUISE NIGHT PROTOCOL By Kevin Rushlow
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CARentine Cruising Adventures, Part III By John Buchanan
Rick Hodgkins’ planned Sunday July 12 Carenteen 5 cruise over the back roads less travelled on Aquidnick Island down through Portsmouth, Middletown to Newport along the eastern Narragansett Bay side and returning on the western Sakonnet River side was led by long time Rhode Island resident Wayne Foust in his 1971 Plymouth Duster. The cruise meetup was in the large Ocean State Job Lot plaza off Route 24 in Fall River. A short run down Route 24 over the Sakonnet River Bridge to Portsmouth and Rte. 114 until the first traffic light got us down to Burma Road that runs along Narraganset Bay past the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and underneath the Claiborne Pell Bridge to our first stop at the John J. Martins Memorial Park along Washington Street. Views of the Pell bridge stretching over Narraganset Bay to Jamestown on Conanicut Island, the 1870 Rose Island lighthouse and 1842 Newport Harbor lighthouse on Goat Island while enjoying the strong cooling breeze off the water makes this a popular spot for relaxing while watching sailing boats tacking up and down the bay and, of course, taking some photos. The cruise continued down Washington Street past meticulously restored 19th Century homes until we finally have to merge into the bumper to bumper Americas Cup Ave. traffic at the Long Wharf Mall. This is when our cruise becomes separated dealing with the crowded John J. Martins Memorial Park & Goat Island's Wayne’s Duster & my Impala with Rose IsNewport Harbor Lighthouse in background land and Clayborn Pell Bridge in background Sunday traffic in Newport. We regroup on the other side of town by King Park along Wellington Ave. The road is now clear for the run to Fort Adams State Park, our 2nd planned stop on the cruise. The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry tall ship is docked here and the harbor is filled with all types of sailing vessels. It was here my '61 Impala's neutral safety switch decide to stop working but, having gear head friends with you on the cruise and a trusty screw driver at hand, jumping the starting motor terminals got her back into the cruise. A sharp right out of Fort Adams brought us down to Ocean Ave. and the most beautiful part of cruising Newport coastal roads. Our final stop is in Brenton Point State Park's crowded parking are where we broke out coolers and sandwiches for our lunch break. The constant onshore breeze had the sky filled with seemingly hundreds of kites of all sizes, shapes and colors. Although I brought a couple of kites with me to try and fly, it was more interesting watching everyone else successfully fly their beautiful kites. After the lunch stop we continued along Ocean Ave. onto famed Bellevue Avenue and the storied mansions lining both sides of the road. We wrap up the return drive back home past Easton's Beach up Purgatory Rd. to Sachuest Beach (Second Beach) and the back roads paralleling the Sakonnet River and Rte.138 that I had never travelled in all the years we would go to Second Beach in each summer. Thanks to Rick for pulling together this cruise Brenton Point State Park with the sky filled with all types of kites. and to Wayne Faust who lead the Carenteen 5 cruise in his Plymouth Duster.
Monthly Crusin
Cruisin’ at the speed of fun
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P.O. Box 217 Wrentham, MA 02093
Monthly Crusin