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OLDSMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA
EASTERN MA. GMO CHAPTER Issue #106
April 2015
ROCKET POWER NEWSLETTER!!
George Berejik – Oldsmobile Legend
For a few short years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the name Berejik was synonymous with speed and victory in D/ and F/Stock drag racing around the country. What started as a lark and a way to stay out of trouble, ended as a first-class ticket to the big time, running a professional race team backed by some of the hottest celebrities of the day. In the 1968 season, the Berejik Olds team set the NHRA class record for D/Stock with an E.T. of 12.39 seconds.
Berejik Oldsmobile was located at 128 Highland Avenue, Needham, MA. Previously George’s father, Anthony Berejik had worked at Healer Motors Cadillac - Oldsmobile Watertown, MA from 1930 to 1950, working his way up to general manager. With that experience under his belt he was able to buy George Mahoney's Oldsmobile dealership after Mahoney's death. Opening day for Berejik Oldsmobile was Jan 13, 1951 and George rose through the ranks to become a Berejik salesman in 1964. Because George was a muscle car fanatic, he tried to order as many of the new 1964 442s as possible for the dealership. The rest
of the salesmen were resistant to muscle cars and it was left to George to develop that aspect of the inventory. He continued to do so even while he was doing military service in Houston, Texas. Anthony Berejik kept George in charge of this niche market by arranging all the 442 orders via mail to George on the base. The 442s sold well and, upon his return to Needham, George's father gave him a brand new red 1965 Olds 442 with a white convertible top. Anthony naively had George's tires replaced as defective through Firestone factory reps at 3,200 miles. He didn't suspect that George had become an incorrigible street racer. When he found out that George was burning up the town while flashing a Berejik Olds plate he had to find another outlet for George's racing passion.
In 1968 the Berejik Race Team was formed to turn George's passion for racing into acceptable channels. Anthony Berejik hired the Brainbeau Olds racing team when the Brainbeau dealership closed and put George in charge of the racing team to keep him from street racing with Berejik dealer plates on his car. The Berejik Olds car ran a 1968 442 sports coupe in NHRA D/S. Team Berejik started off with a class record with a 12.39 quarter mile and won the 4th Annual Super Stock Nationals. The year's momentum abruptly ended at Indy where they were eliminated. On the way home an accident totaled the 442 drag car. A new drag car was built using a 442 right off the dealership floor. The team was once again eliminated, this time at Englishtown, New Jersey. When the Berejik team was eliminated at Engishtown, NJ, the racing team was offered as support to another Olds racer. The
goodwill gesture to see another Olds win led to a new connection as the team they offered help to was the Smothers Brothers Racing Team. Dick Smothers was a passionate racer and was working out a plan to hire professional racers to campaign under the Smother's Brothers banner. Oldsmobile was sponsoring the Smothers Brothers TV show and they had money to hire good teams. Dick Smothers saw potential in a team up with the equally enthusiastic Berejik team. This led to collaboration between the Smothers Brothers and Berejik team in 1969 and 1970. Berejik Olds ran a 1969 442 W-30 4 speed in D/S and a 1970 442 W-30 4 speed in F/S. Berejik experimented with a 1970 442 automatic in E/S, too. The combination won races. The Berejik team continued to race until the end of the 1972 season.
In Needham, the dealership was doing good business with a strong emphasis on performance. Aside from selling performance parts and building performance cars for customers, they kept a large stock of factory muscle on the premises. Averaging 200 cars in stock at any time, at least 40 or 50 of those cars were high performance cars which meant about 25% of the inventory was slanted towards muscle cars. A good track record with muscle cars netted the dealership the lion's share of special cars, too. In 1968 Berejik Olds received two of the five Hurst Olds cars shipped to New England. In 1969 Berejik Olds netted 11 of the 906 Hurst Olds built that year.
On March 10, 2015, George lost his 14 year battle with kidney cancer and died peacefully at his home in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. George and his wife Betty Ann were very active in the Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter and often hosted meetings. He emceed the chapter’s Spring Dust-Off shows and, while Berejik Oldsmobile was still open in Needham, MA, the shows were held at the dealership. George will always be remembered for his kind heart, generous nature and zest for life and fun. He was a man who made an impact on everyone he met and collected friends like the rest of us collect pennies. He loved working with his hands and was always building and fixing things, especially for neighbors and friends. His passion for Oldsmobiles was evident in his extensive car collection and the many car shows he hosted and attended. The footprints he left were deep and will last forever.
March 15 GMO Meeting
About 15 Members and guests attended the meeting at Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline. President Chuck Schiel called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM.
Most of the meeting was devoted to discussions of George and what he meant to the club. The Board is in the process of determining how the club can best honor George and his memory.
The Dust-Off will be held at Kimball Farm on May 31 (see flyer in this newsletter) and there will be a pre-show meeting at Rich & Karen’s home on at 84 Boyd Street in Newton on May 3 at 3:00 PM. Please note that we need volunteers for the following:
• Registration
• Vehicle class identification
• Show field parking
• 50/50 Sales
• Merchandise sales
• Judging Please contact Ted Loranz and advise him how you can help out.
GMO Holiday Party
About 70 GMOers and their guests attended the annual Holiday Party at the Imperial Room at Imperial Chevrolet in Mendon. Like last years event, the venue, food, atmosphere and service were outstanding.
It was decided early on that the GMO treasury would pick up 100% of the cost of the event and that attendees would each pony in $5 which would
be pooled and raffled off to four people drawn at random. The pot really got sweetened when Todd Lewis and Ken Washwell of Xtreme Restorations donated $300 which was added to the pot, The winners were Jerry Russo, Frank Sullivan, John Gouvea, and Andrea Desjardins.
George and Betty Ann couldn’t attend the event but insisted on providing Oldsmobile related door prizes which were raffled at random. There were so many prizes that I think almost everyone got something.
The food was delicious again and the club upped the ante by including prime rib to the menu.
The party broke up about 4:00 PM with many happy people with full tummies. Thanks again to the staff at the Imperial Room for their hard work to make this a success.
GMO Oldsmobile Calendars
We still have four of the 2015 GMO calendars available for $23.00 each including shipping.
The calendar sales are an important fund raiser for the GMO with the proceeds being donated to Dana Farber. Please send your payment to GMO, 114 West St, Medway, MA.
Glimpse of the Month
Shaun Monaghan
“Got SNOW?”
From the GMO Treasurer
Balance on Jan 31 - $10,664.42 Deposits – $142 (dues & calendar) Expenses – $18.18 (Postage) Balance on November 30 - $10,788.24
Don Ferrara, Treasurer
Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter
From the Vice President
Behind every great man is a great woman. George Berejik was a great person and I think we owe the other honor to his wife, Betty Ann.
As you know we lost George recently. He and Betty Ann were the "backbone" of the GMO. It's a tremendous loss to us. I can't even imagine how Betty Ann must feel. She and George were a team through all their ups & downs. Both cared deeply about the club and supported each other. I hope we also, as a club, can make the same commitment and continue as a team. Now more than ever we need to work together. We wish Betty Ann well and thank her and George for all their hospitality and support in the GMO.
Now that the Spring Dust-Off is approaching lets hope for a perfect day and a record breaking attendance. I'm sure George will be looking down and wishing us well. Rich Santucci, Vice President
Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter
Letter from the President
As I sit down to write my letter to the GMO membership this month, I do so with a sense of deep sadness – sadness in the knowledge that we have all lost a dear friend and
mentor with the passing of George Berejik. At the same time, I have a feeling of energy and inspiration that I must confess has been absent in my workaday life over the past year. You might be wondering how it’s possible to feel very sad, but very inspired, at the same time – in fact I had been wondering the same thing. Actually, upon reflection, it’s pretty easy to understand. The sadness that we all feel is obvious, in that we’ve lost a wonderful friend and member of the GMO. George was, in many ways, the face of the GMO and of the Oldsmobile hobby in New England. I can’t count the number of times that people at car shows would see me wearing my GMO shirt, and they would ask me if I knew George Berejik. They would tell me stories about how they had met George when they bought a new Oldsmobile at Berejik Motors, and unfailingly they would comment on what a gentleman George was, and how he spent time with them to be sure that they were happy with the car they were going to buy. And how, when they took their car in for service, George would remember them, and ask about their families. I never once heard anyone say a negative word about George in either a business or personal sense – and that’s saying something when you consider how most people feel about the experience of purchasing an automobile at a new car dealership. George was a consummate gentleman, and he treated all of his friends with dignity and respect, and he treated everyone he met in the Oldsmobile hobby as a friend. It’s so sad to contemplate not seeing George at our meetings and shows; not being able to lean on him for his wisdom in all things Oldsmobile; not being able to listen to his many stories about growing up with, and working in an “Oldsmobile family”; not being able to see the huge smile on his face when he would talk about his family – George’s love and devotion to his family was beyond compare.
Beyond the sadness that I feel for having lost such a fine friend is the inspiration that I feel from having known George, Betty Ann, and their family. The way George and Betty Ann lived their lives throughout George’s long battle with his illness is truly a model for how to live with joy, and a commitment to those that you love, in the midst of adversity. I can recount more than a few times when George was clearly not feeling very well (and several times when was downright feeling horrible) at our meetings, and yet he was just as friendly, positive, and filled with interest in everyone else’s well-being as he had been always before the recurrence of his illness. No matter how his therapy was progressing at that moment, George was optimistic, forward-looking, and certain that things were moving in the right direction. George’s positive outlook was contagious, and there were occasions when I arrived at a GMO meeting feeling “down” because of some little, insignificant challenge that I was going through – and after having talked to George, I felt “inspired”, and had completely forgotten about whatever I was “down” about when I arrived. George had that effect on people – and so does Betty Ann. So, George – thank you so much for being our friend, our mentor, the face of the GMO, and our source of wisdom for all things Oldsmobile – we will truly miss you. Even more, thank you for setting such a wonderful example of how to live, both in good times, and in bad. George, you are truly a “Gallant Man of Olds”
Until next month – Rocketing Forward!
Chuck Schiel, President
Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter
Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter 114 West Street
Medway, MA 02053-2226
GMO Officers
President
Chuck Schiel – 508-981-9039 [email protected]
Vice President
Rich Santucci – 617-899-9109 [email protected]
Treasurer
Don Ferrara – 617-877-3910 [email protected]
Secretary
Ted Loranz – 508-561-7613 [email protected]
Events Coordinator
Paul Abdalian – 603-505-2300 [email protected]
GMO Photographer
Shaun Monaghan – 617-676-8729 [email protected]
Club Representative
Everett Horton – 401-573-6361 [email protected]
GMO Chapter Website – www.olds-gmo.com
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