The Official Publication of the ANKOKAS, NJ Region AACA · 2030 onward and the UK and France plan a fossil fuel ban starting in 2040. Even China is looking at banning fossil fuels

The Official Publication of the ANKOKAS, NJ Region AACASMOKE SIGNALS

March/April 2019Volume 56, Issue 2

� AACA National Headquarters and America’s Automotive Library

� Solar Cars � It Caught My Eye � The Car is the Star � Hero Cats � Roadside Ramblings

In This Issue:

Carl Villone at the AACA display at the

Philly Auto Show. Photo by D. Antinucci.

In This Month’s Issue:

Looking Downthe Road...................News........................Meeting Minutes.......Solar Cars.................It Caught My Eye......Car is the Star...........Rummage Box..........Ankokas Calendar.....AACA Calendar.........Fun Holidays.............Hero Cats..................Roadside Ramblings.................Puzzle.......................Letter fromthe Editors................Marketplace..............

The groundhog says we are going to have an early spring and I guess we will see how that works out for the car enthusiast as an early spring would be nice. The AACA annual meeting was held in Philadelphia and unfortunately I was unable to attend due to prior commitments. However, I did hear that Steven and Diana should be congratulated once again for receiving the Master Awards for their work on the web site and Smoke Signals. So just wanted to say thank you and congratulations for all you do for the club.

We will be celebrating the 55th Annual Ankokas Charter Luncheon on Sunday, March 24th, 2019 at 1pm. The luncheon will take place at the Merchantville Country Club, 501 Chapel Avenue West, Cherry Hill, NJ. Your invitation to the Charter Luncheon will be in the mail shortly and your response is requested by March 15th, 2019.

The cost is $35 for member and $35 for a guest. The Hankins Award will be presented at this luncheon.

We are always looking for speakers for our monthly meetings. If anyone knows of someone let us know and we will see if we can set something up for one of the meetings. Does anyone have a car story about a project that they are working on and would like to talk about at our meeting? Let us know as we would like to hear all about it.

The next meeting will be held on March 14th, 2019 at

the Haddonfield Borough Hall. Hope to see you then.

PresidentJoe Dougherty

This newsletter is a publication of the Ankokas Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America, located in southern New Jersey.Material may be

reproduced only if credit is given to the source and we are asked for permission to reproduce the material.If you have material

that you would like to contribute or you have comments or ideas about the newsletter, please contact the editor, Diana, at [email protected].

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President Joe Dougherty. Photo by D. Antinucci.

SMOKE SIGNALS Page 2

ghgh News & Events ghghAACA National Headquarters and America’s Automotive Library

article by Diana Antinucci

The AACA will be moving into a much-needed new building soon. Why much-needed you ask? The library today houses over 2,000,000 historical documents, including nine collections from other car clubs, with new donations and collections coming in regularly. They will be receiving several large collections in the future and the library is out of space.

Also, headquarters for the national staff is cramped. The current building, originally the living quarters for Milton Hershey students, was never meant to serve as office space. It is also close to 100 years old and is in need of costly repair. The current location has only 13 parking spaces, no loading dock, no elevator and is not handicapped accessible.

Why the chosen location? There is very little suitable open land for sale for new construction. The new building has 187 parking spaces, is located on six acres, is 35,000 square feet, has an elevator and loading dock and is located on a major highway next to Hershey Park, offering great visibility to the 10-12 million people that will pass by each year.

The plan is for the first floor to house several vehicle displays, trophies, historical artifacts, office space and a gift shop. The second floor will house the library and offer clean fire suppression, HVAC control, research space and a media room. See Rummage Box on page eight for more information about the new building and the capital campaign. P

Architectural renderings of the new building. Provided by and used with permission from Steve Moskowitz, CEO AACA.


gh February Meeting Minutes gh � Meeting called to order by President Joe

Dougherty. No new members present or guests.

� Minutes were read by Bob Petters, sitting in for Steven (on vacation) for this meeting. Minutes accepted as read with no questions.

� Treasurer’s report given by Jeff. No questions.

� Our Holiday party this year will be on 12/8/2019 at the Madison again. Tom McLarney reported that the prices have gone up a bit and the cost to members for the dinner will be $42 and Ankokas will pick up the balance of 26%.

� Bob Petters announced our Haddonfield show date will be September 14th and we are awaiting final approval of that date from the Haddonfield boro officials.

� Bob also provided information from both Steven & Diana for membership and Smoke Signals and our web site in their abstentia. We have 5 members as of now who have not renewed and we assume they are not going to renew. We currently have 52 active members and 4 “friends” of Ankokas who do not have an AACA number. An official roster will be submitted in another week.

� Diana again made her request for articles for sale and or wanted and stories for the Smoke Signals which need to be to her before February 20 for the March/April issue.

� Steven requests any submissions of car

show or events relative to Ankokas be sent directly to him at [email protected].

� One more thing: Diana received the AACA Master Editor award for her work on Smoke Signals in 2018. This was her 3rd year as editor and 2nd consecutive Master award. Steven received the AACA

Master Webmaster award for our Ankokas.com website for 2018. This was his 4th year as webmaster and 3rd consecutive Master award.

� Our annual Youth Scholarship award was discussed along with the AACA building fund drive. It was decided to give $250 to each for this year. The scholarship donation is in memory of Ankokas members who died this past year. They were

Allan Vogelson and Mike Cooper. � Our charter luncheon is being set up by

Joe & Nancy Dougherty and will be at the Merchantville Country Club on March 24th. Registration forms were passed out at the meeting and others will be mailed out.

� Tom Amendola bought another car, a 1964 Plymouth sport fury convertible, to add to his museum.

� Meeting adjourned at 8:17 PM to enjoy DD. (this time no cookies).

Submitted by Bob Petters, acting Secretary for Steven Soppe


Solar Cars: Driving on Sunshinearticle by Diana Antinucci

Katrina and the Waves might have been walking on sunshine, but what if you could drive on it? If electric cars seem like science fiction to you, buckle up because while electric cars are already here, solar powered cars are in the very near future.

Solar power has been the hope of producers of electric cars for years. It would solve one of their biggest problems: the lack of charging stations. With solar power, it would be unnecessary to plug in. And getting people to adopt electric cars is becoming crucial. The Netherlands, Germany and India plan to go all electric from 2030 onward and the UK and France plan a fossil fuel ban starting in 2040. Even China is looking at banning fossil fuels. Solar powered electric cars are the wave of the future, but until recently they were thought to be not only impractical, but impossible.

Not anymore. Solar car racing has been around for years, with the first race in 1985. These cars are hardly your daily driver, though. They are designed for solar panel placement and aerodynamics, making them low to the ground and kind of pancake or missile shaped. That changed in December 2018. The University of New South Wales created a fully solar car that crossed the continent of Australia in just six days, using about the same amount of energy as a four-slice toaster. Not only does this car look like a conventional four-door, it has a front and rear trunk, interactive screen controls, parking sensors, back-up camera and a maximum speed of 87 mph. This car is not commercially available, but there are cars that will be… this year.

Hyundai and Kia both plan on putting solar panels on the roofs of some of their cars, sometime “after 2019”. These panels will be able to charge 30-60% of a hybrid’s battery per day, depending on weather and environmental factors.

German manufacturer Sono Motors is offering the Sion, a fully electric vehicle with solar cells that can charge through solar power or through conventional outlets. Charging it just through solar power will take about half the day, but in an eight hour shift, it should have plenty of juice to drive you back home from work. It can also be quick-charged electrically to 80% in 40 minutes. A full “tank” will give you a range of 250 miles. And even with an empty battery, it will travel up to eighteen miles just on solar energy stored in the 300

solar panels. The Sion will also offer “goSono”, an app that will allow bi-directional charging that will let your car power external devices. And you can get it in any color you want, as long as it’s black.

Lightyear, a Dutch company, recent winner of the Climate Change Innovator Award, has the Lightyear One, a fully solar powered vehicle. Theoretically, it can drive forever without electrical charging and a

fully charged battery has a range of 250-500 miles. The

Lightyear One also has bi-directional charging. The Sono Sion will be on the market the last half

of 2019 for about $18,800 and there are already over 6,500 preordered. The Lightyear One is also due out in 2019, but will cost significantly more at $140,000.

Tokai Challenger, winner of the 2009 Global Green Challenge. Photo by Hideki Kimura and used under the Creative Commons

Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Sono Sion. Photo by S3412 and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

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ghgh It Caught My Eye ghgharticle by Diana Antinucci

Mention the name Messerschmitt and anyone with knowledge of military history will think about fighter planes. Then there’s the other group of people: the car people. And if you say “Messerschmitt”, they think of an odd three-wheel car that you don’t see too often. I know I certainly do after one caught my eye in Haddonfield.

Messerschmitt was founded in 1938 and produced some of the iconic German fighter planes of WWII, including the first jet fighter, the Me 262. After Germany was defeated, Messerschmitt was banned from making planes, so they turned to manufacturing several other things, including sewing machines, prefab houses and, starting in 1953, small, three-wheel cars.

Fritz Fend had been making three-wheel carriages for invalids that had an option for a motor. Fend came to Messerschmitt with the idea that if the carriage was scaled up a bit, it could be produced as a car. Although the Messerschmitt name would go on the car, a new company, Regensburger Stahl und Metallbau GmbH, would manufacture and sell the car.

The first car produced was the Kabinenroller (cabin scooter) 175, or KR175. The front wheels were powered by a 175cc, 9.5hp, single-cylinder two-stroke engine that had a pull start. An electric starter was optional. The KR175 had a suspension of rubber units held in tension and had drum brakes. Steering was done by handlebar rather than steering wheel. While the car seated two, the passenger sat behind the driver. Over 10,000 were sold between 1953 and 1955.

In 1956, West Germany joined NATO and Messerschmitt was again allowed to produce aircraft. Messerschmitt sold Regensburg to Fend, who partnered with Valentin Knot to form Fahrzeug und Maschinenbau

GmbH Regensburg (FMR) to manufacture cars, including the KR200, which started production in 1955, replacing the KR175. The KR200 had a 191cc, two-stroke, fan-cooled engine with 10hp. It used the same frame as the KR175, but there were changes to the body, most noticeably the front fenders now had cut-outs for the

wheels. Underneath, the rear suspension was redone and hydraulic shock absorbers were now found at all three wheels. Entry to the car was gained by a plexiglass bubble canopy that was hinged on the side. Its low center of gravity and steering mechanism that was attached directly to the front wheels gave it good handling and response.

There were not a lot of options available for the KR200. There was an “export” package that got customers two-tone paint, painted hubcaps, upgraded interior, heater, clock and canopy sunshade. In 1957, the KR200 Kabrio was made with a cloth convertible top. There was also a KR201 Roadster that lacked window frames, had

a folding cloth top, windscreen and removable side curtains. The Sport Roadster had no top,

no windows and a fixed canopy, so that the driver climbed in and out through the top of the car. Another German company modified the KR200 and produced the FMR Tg500 with a 494cc engine. Only 320 of these were made. Perhaps the rarest of all Messerschmitts are the factory-converted Service Cars that could be used by service shops to transport customer cars to and from their garage. Only about 12 were ever

made and there is only one known to still exist.One large change to the KR200 from the KR175 was

the addition of a reverse gear. Previously, to reverse a KR175, you got out and pushed. Reverse was achieved through two sets of contact breaker points. To reverse, you stopped the engine and restarted by pushing the ignition further in than normal. This did lead to some unintentional reverse driving. Another improvement was an electric windshield wiper, which had been manual on the KR175. The

Messerschmitt KR200 in Haddonfield. Photo by D. Antinucci.

Messerschmitt KR175. Photo by Mytho88 and used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

continued on page 6


company claimed the 385 pound car could reach speeds of 65mph with gas mileage of 87mpg. The improvements to the design and its impressive gas mileage made the car and others like it fairly popular, coming at the beginning of the Suez Crisis.

Retailing for about $1,724 (about $16,000 today), the KR200 proved incredibly popular and sold almost 12,000 in its first year and 40,000 overall. Sadly, as the Suez Crisis faded, the very popular MINI was introduced and the German economy boomed, the popularity of the KR200 waned. Starting in 1962, production dropped sharply and ceased in 1964.

If you’re thinking about owning a Messerschmitt, Autocar’s test drive from January 11, 1957 may be helpful. The reviewer said that the back seat had room for “a small wife and child, or a large wife and a shopping basket”. They were happy with drive at 40mph. The KR200 covered the quarter-mile in 29.7 seconds and went from 0-30mph in 10.7 seconds, taking 20 seconds to reach 40mph. They remarked that the steering “needs some getting used to”. At speed, a small movement of the control could result in a sharp swerve, but at higher or lower speeds more pressure on the control was required. The reviewer also suggested that “a small mast with pennant might be fitted to mark one’s position in traffic.” There was a concern about being seen by other cars.

As always, rust is an issue, particularly the floors. Lift the mats and check for rust, especially the front left corner. The body is made from four panels, floor ($286), two sides ($145) and the fire wall ($140) and these are available for purchase if you can do some welding. Damage to the canopy can be more costly, over $1,000 just for the plexiglass, plus shipping, probably from the UK, and they are tricky to fit. On a test drive, check for a gearbox that slips out of gear, checking all four gears. Expect some blue smoke, but a lot of it is a problem. Check that the aluminum engine casing is intact and not damaged as it is essential to cooling the engine. Check the rubber suspension and check the brakes, but avoid hard braking where possible because the

lightweight car can easily skid. Steering should be free of play. Make sure the tires are correct. They are often replaced with unsuitable tires. The KR175 should have tires with a 102mm width, eight inch rim size and a total wheel diameter of 16 inches. The KR200 should have tires with a 112mm width, eight inch rim size and 15.9 inch overall diameter. The ledge on the bulkhead that supports the brake servo should be examined for rust. The interior is very simple, consisting of rubber floor

mats and vinyl seats (unless you’ve found the “Export” option). Look for water damage, but refitting an interior should not be too expensive. Make sure the horn works as these can sometimes seize. Also make sure the car starts easily, a Dynastart unit can be hard to find. A wealth of information and parts can be found at http://www.schmittparts.com.

Expect to pay between $40,000 to $50,000 or more for a KR200, even more for a KR175 and expect a long search. Not many are available, especially in the US and you

may have to travel to find yours. Happy hunting!

Messerschmitt KR200 Kabrio. Photo by Oxyman and used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Instrument panel and controls of a Messerschmitt KR201 Roadster. Photo by Noebu and used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

It Caught My Eye continued from page 5


A series about cars from

movies and television

“Without a real car, I’m only half a man.” article by Diana Antinucci

The Car is The StarOn March 13th, Herbie the Love Bug will celebrate

its 50th anniversary. Its appeal was so widespread that it made over $50 million at the box office and was a movie both my grandmother and I loved.

The cars used for The Love Bug had their badging removed to prevent any trademark issues. That movie proved to be astonishingly successful. At the time, Volkswagen Beetle sales were slumping, so Volkswagen endorsed the films that followed and the badging was reinstated upon Volkswagen’s request on the Love Bug in later films. Bill Walsh, the film’s producer, chose the red, white and blue paint scheme for the colors of the American flag and the number 53 because it was the jersey number of Los Angeles Dodgers player Don Drysdale. The Beetles from the first film were all modified 1963 Volkswagen Type 1 (the official designation of what we know as Beetles) with Deluxe Sunroof. At least one of these cars had a Porsche 356 Super 90 engine and some others had a modified Transporter engine (with large-bore cylinders, dual-port heads and dual carbs). These cars with Porsche or Transporter engines also had Porsche brakes, upgraded shocks, EMPI camber compensators and full racing roll cage and could do about 118 mph. Cars in later films often had a 1835cc Volkswagen engine with two-barrel carb, heavy-duty valve springs, external oil cooler, additional shocks and deep sump.

Other cars had to modified for shots where it appeared that Herbie was driving himself. This was achieved by a system of sprockets and pulleys that connected to a steering column under the front seat for a driver in the rear of the car. These cars also required a second set of

pedals, clutch cables and a shifter extension. The position of the rear driver was high enough to allow him to see out of the front windshield, but low enough to not be seen in the shot. In later films, there was a hood-mounted fog light that hid a camera that allowed the rear driver to see where he was driving.

The interior of the car was a matte gray to help avoid reflections from the movie lights. The paint scheme for the cars used in the first movie differed from the paint used in following films in that the stripes don’t cover the valances or louvers and the blue is a lighter shade. The color of the running boards match the car’s paint, while in later films, the running boards are black. Even within this same movie, there are small differences in the cars. When racing, Herbie is fitted with

wider wheels than in non-racing scenes.Beginning with Herbie Rides Again in

1974, the blue paint was a dark shade and the stripes covered the valances

and lovers of the car. The previously mentioned fog light was installed and the running boards were standard black.

In Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), Herbie has wide racing wheels and a silver external fuel filler cap. The fog light now had a black cover and the interior

A line-up of replica Herbies at Stanford Hall in England. Photo by Black Kite and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-

Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

continued on page 8


ghgh From the AACA Rummage Box ghghAACA Capital Campaign

article by Tom Cox, Vice President - Public Relations

Since its founding 83 years ago, the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) has served as the bedrock upon which the antique vehicle hobby is built. We have outgrown our present facilities. Our headquarters and library must expand and modernize if we are to maintain our leadership into the future. Our current library and headquarters building, is nearly 100 years old. An evaluation by building professionals determined it cannot be feasibly or economically upgraded to meet our needs.

Apart from supporting our nearly 400 Regions and Chapters, National Meets and Tours, and supporting Antique Automobile magazine, AACA hosts more than 80 online forums supporting other car clubs and vehicle brands. Our library curates more than two million historical documents of its own, and nine significantly sized collections owned by other major clubs and associations. It has become the leading support center for historical vehicle information, and its responsibilities to our members and the hobby increase daily. Many recently donated literature collections will soon be arriving, including the one highly significant collection—to be soon announced—that will rock the automotive community. Our responsibility to step-up and continue our leadership is essential to the survival of all that we value within the hobby we enjoy so much. We have no choice but to meet this challenge.

The AACA Board of Directors has entered into an agreement to purchase the property owned by Pennsylvania American Water, which fronts Hershey Park Drive and is contiguous with the Hershey Fall National show field. The building will support all aspects of the event. It contains a two-story 32,000-square-foot office building served by 187 parking spaces, a generously sized loading dock, and an accessory six-car garage.

The existing building is in excellent condition and because of its robust original design and current systems, re-purposing will cost less than new construction. It will provide the space necessary for AACA to service the automobile hobby worldwide well into the foreseeable future.

On behalf of the AACA Board of Directors, our Capital Campaign Committee, and the hundreds of thousands who utilize AACA’s essential resources,

I am asking for your financial support of AACA’s new headquarters through donations. With your support, we will succeed. It has been

heartwarming to experience the tremendous support for this project thus far, but we still have a long way to go to reach the finish line. Please consider making a donation of cash, securities, or saleable vehicles. The time is now to step-up to secure the future of our hobby, and to give back to the club that has given so much to all of us. Time is of the essence, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Tom Cox. Vice-President, Public Relations

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of the car had gray bucket seats with high backs to allow for a screen for the rear driver to view the road. In total, nine cars were used for this film and many were reused for the following film. Monte Carlo stickers were also added.

In Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), the fog light, roll bar cage, racing stickers from Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo and the silver gas cap were all excised. The car used to walk the plank was never recovered. It still lies somewhere between La Paz and Baja, California. Some of the cars used in this movie were recycled for use in the 1982 TV series.

In Herbie The Love Bug (1977), the graphics used on the car came from a 1974 Volkswagen decal kit and the 53 decal is slightly higher on the car. The racing stripes are different sizes than in previous films and the blue has reverted to the paler shade. The sunroof is white (where it was gray in previous films) and the stripes do not cover it. A stock interior was also used in the car and would also be used in the following film, along with chrome parts that received a dull coating to prevent glare. The car was refitted with standard Beetle wheels.

In Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), computer graphics allowed Herbie to show emotions and the car went through several changes from scene to scene within the film.

More than 100 cars were used in the films, parades, ice shows and promotions, with about 50 still surviving. Those not with us today were destroyed in stunts or may still be around, but were sold and are living out their days as unassuming Beetles. The 1968 film used eleven cars, four of which survive today. Herbie #10 was a stunt car which suffered serious damage during filming, but was restored by its owner. This car was on display at the AACA museum. The car appeared in a junk heap in Herbie Rides Again and was sold by the studio in the 1970s. The car was sold in 2016 to a private owner for $85,000. Herbie #2 resides at Terry’s Beetle Service in London and is powered by a Porsche 356 engine and featured greatly in the 1968 film, Herbie #6 resides in Pennsylvania and was one of the rear driver cars in and Herbie #9 is in Swigart’s Antique Auto Museum in Huntington, PA.

The Car is the Star continued from page 7

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ghghgh Ankokas Events 2019 ghghghMarch 14: 7:30PM: Ankokas regular monthly meeting on the second floor of the Haddonfield Municipal Building, 242 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield.March 24: 1PM-5PM: 55th Annual Ankokas Charter Luncheon. Merchantville Country Club, 501 Chapel Ave. West, Cherry Hill, NJ. See ad on page 11.

May 9: 7:30PM: Ankokas regular monthly meeting Go to http://www.ankokas.com/calendar.cfm for more event listings.

ghghgh AACA Calendar 2019 ghghghApril 4-7: AACA Southeastern Spring Meet. Hosted by the Hornet’s Nest Region. Charlotte, NC.May 30-June 1: AACA Annual Grand National. Auburn, IN. Call 717-534-1910 for more info.

June 26-29: Eastern Spring National Meet. Hosted by the New Jersey Region. Parsippany, NJ.Oct. 9-12: AACA Eastern Fall National. Hershey, PA.Go to www.aaca.org/Calender/aaca_calendar.html for more information and listings.

March 2: Dr. Suess’s BirthdayMarch 3: World Wildlife DayMarch 4: National Grammar DayMarch 10: National Pack Your Lunch DayMarch 12: Alfred Hitchcock DayMarch 13: National K9 Veterans’ DayMarch 19: Let’s Laugh DayMarch 20: World Storytelling DayMarch 21: World Peotry DayMarch 22: National Goof Off DayMarch 23: National Puppy DayMarch 25: Tolkien Reading DayMarch 28: Respect Your Cat DayMarch 29: Smoke and Mirrors DayMarch 30: Take a Walk in the Park Day

ghgh Fun Holidays to Celebrate in March & April ghghApril 1: International Fun at Work DayApril 2: Children’s Book DayApril 4: School Librarian DayApril 7: No Housework DayApril 8: Zoo Lovers’ DayApril 10: Golfers’ DayApril 11: Eight-Track Tape DayApril 12: Walk on Your Wild Side DayApril 16: National Librarian DayApril 17: Bat Appreciation DayApril 20: Husband Appreciation DayApril 21: Record Store DayApril 23: World Laboratory DayApril 27: Tell a Story DayApril 28: International Astronomy Day

ghghgh Local Events ghghghAnna’s Hummingbird. Photo by Robert McMorran, US Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.

Annual Roebling Museum Car ShowApril 27, 2019: 9AM-3PM

Rain Date April 28100 Second Ave., Roebling, NJ

“A Salute to Veterans”. Registration closes at noon. $20 DOS. $5 spectator fee, cxhildren under 12 are free, includes admission to the museum. Vendors, food, ice cream, music, prizes. Hosted by Movin’ On KruZers.

Call Bobbi 215-752-0484 or 215-820-3276.

Car graphics created by Freepik.com.



Guard DutyMary Peckroad, a new mother, was afraid that her

cat, Mr. Meow, might be jealous of the new baby. After bringing home baby Samantha, Mr. Meow did show a keen interest, often watching the baby closely. After a few months, Mary hung a mobile above Samantha’s crib. One night, Mary heard Mr. Meow yowling and thought maybe he had lost a toy. She chose to ignore it. The noise grew more frantic and now Mary thought that maybe he had gotten stuck somewhere. She called him, but he didn’t come, so she went to look for him. Mary followed the noise to Samantha’s room. Every old wives’ tale she heard about cats and babies came back to her and she burst into Samantha’s room in a panic. Mr. Meow was there, sitting on a dresser and peering into the crib. He looked at Mary and screamed. Mary rushed to the crib and saw Samantha. Somehow, the mobile had fallen into the crib and Samantha had become entangled, with one of the strings wrapped tightly around her neck. Mary cut the strings and rushed Samantha to the hospital. Thanks to Mr. Meow, Samantha was going to be fine.

A Mother’s LoveAn abandoned garage in Brooklyn erupted into fire

and it wasn’t until after the blaze was under control that one of the firefighters, David Giannelli, noticed a cat carrying kittens out of the garage. Scarlett went into the burning building five times, each time carrying out one of her kittens. By the time she had rescued all of them, her facial hair had been burned away and she was so badly burned she couldn’t see. She touch each kitten with her nose, making sure they were all there, and then collapsed.

Giannelli took her and her kittens to the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, NY where Scarlett was treated for severe burns. One of the kittens,

weakened by the injuries caused by the fire, died from a virus a month later. After three months, Scarlett and her remaining kittens were well enough to be adopted. In those three months, Scarlett’s story had gone national. The League received 7,000 letters from people that wanted to adopt Scarlett and her kittens. Scarlett got fan mail and gifts from as far away as the Netherlands, Japan and South Africa. The kittens were adopted in pairs

and Scarlett was adopted by a family in Brooklyn. In her honor, the North Shore Animal League created the Scarlett Award for Animal Heroism. For Scarlett, I think it was enough to know she saved her babies.

A Sailor’s LifeSimon, a black and white

tomcat, was found wandering the docks of Stonecutter’s Island in Hong Kong by seventeen-year-old George Hickinbottom, Ordinary Seaman aboard the HMS Amethyst in March of 1948. With rat infestations being a problem on board ships, Hickinbottom thought a cat would be a good solution and smuggled the cat on board. Rats ate food stored on board, contaminated the

rest and spread disease. The captain found out about Simon, but was a fan of cats and had one on a previous command. Simon became a favorite with the crew, but especially with the captain, often sleeping with the captain, curled into his cap.

The next captain of the Amethyst also took a liking to Simon. Unfortunately, the first mission with the new captain led to the Amethyst being hit more than fifty times by Chinese Communist gun batteries. One of the first rounds went through the captain’s cabin, eventually killing the captain and severely wounding Simon. Eighteen other crewmen were killed, twenty-seven were wounded and the ship was crippled within range of the enemy guns.

Simon was missing for several days before being discovered on deck by Petty Officer George Griffiths, who took him to sick bay. By this time, all the wounded

gh Hero Cats gh

Scarlett and her new owner. Photo by Karen Wellen. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

In celebration of Respect Your Cat Day on March 28th.

continued on page 11


had been treated or evacuated, so the doctor treated Simon. He was in a pretty bad way, with facial burns, four shrapnel wounds and a weak heart. The doctor predicted that he wouldn’t last through the night. Simon recovered and resumed his duties, but had to overcome the new captain, who wasn’t a fan of cats. Now not allowed to sleep in the captain’s quarters, the sick bay staff thought it might be a good idea for Simon to spend time in sick bay with the wounded in addition to cleaning out the rats that had overrun the ship during his convalescence. Simon did eventually win over the new captain by excelling at both duties, even attending to the captain when he was struck by a virus.

After three months of being stranded while talks to have the Amethyst rescued went nowhere, the captain decided to make a run for it. The daring escape worked and word quickly spread about Simon. He became a celebrity in the British news and even internationally, posing for pictures

for the press. He was awarded the Blue Cross medal, the Amethyst campaign medal, the rank of “Able Seacat” and the Dickin Medal, to be presented at a special ceremony. The Dickin Medal is awarded to animals that display “conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defense Units”.

On his arrival in Britain, he was given the collar on which the medal would hang. But, like all animals entering the country, he had to go into quarantine for six months. A “cat officer” had to be appointed to deal with all of Simon’s mail and presents, about 200 pieces of

post each day. Despite great care being taken with him, two weeks before the

ceremony Simon contracted a virus. In conjunction with his weakened heart, Simon couldn’t rally and died. Some of the veterinary staff felt he died of a

broken heart, separated from the ship and crew he loved. Simon was buried with naval honors and is the only cat to ever be awarded the Dickin Medal.P

The Dickin Medal. Photo by Andrew69. Picture is in the public domain.

Hero Cats continued from page 10

55th Annual AnkokasCharter Luncheon

SundayMarch 24th1PM-5PM

Merchantville Country Club

501 Chapel Ave. W.Cherry Hill, NJ

Invitations have been mailed. You must RSVP by March 15th.



In Doylestown, PA there are three poured concrete castles built by Henry Mercer. The Mercer Museum was built to house his collection of objects, Fonthill Castle was built as his home and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works was his business. Mercer built the structures from poured concrete to prevent fire after the Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroyed his aunt’s collection of antique armor. They are some of the earliest examples of rebar-reinforced structural concrete.

Henry Chapman Mercer was an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, a ceramist, world traveler and collector. During his travels, he saw the Industrial Revolution swallowing up the trades of the past and determined to preserve a record of those trades. To do this, he designed and built the Mercer Museum, without any architectural training and with the help of only ten men and one mule. When it was completed in 1916, he filled it with the tools that trades would have used before the 1850s. In his day, these objects would have been considered trash, cast-offs from a by-gone age that were no longer needed. But Mercer knew their value in telling the story of America before industrialization.

The entrance to the museum is an addition to the original museum. Here are the ticket booth, gift shop, temporary exhibit space and a place to pick up free audio tours, for adults and children. The museum itself is six stories tall with 55 exhibit rooms housing over 40,000 items, with over 60% of the collection on display at any one time. Most of the rooms are dedicated to showing the tools or products of early American trades. Some of the rooms display particular categories of objects, like lighting or architectural hardware. Among the items found here are millstones,

candle molds, bloodletting tools, cobblers’ tools, leather-working hammers, threshing machines, tin smithing tools, horn and tortoiseshell products, carriages, old cigar store statues and stoveplates. There is also the last gallows used to hang a criminal in Bucks County in 1914. An antique fire engine and a whaling boat hang from the ceiling. Among the collection in the upper stories is the only surviving Franklin Stove, made from Franklin’s original design. The back corner

of the museum houses Native American artifacts, some dating back to 10,000 BC. Many of the items are still located where Mercer placed them in 1916.

In addition to the special audio tour for children, the museum has “Animals on the Loose”, which invites children ages 3-8 to aid Mercer’s favorite dog Rollo in a scavenger hunt for “escaped” animal artifacts. There are also several other scavenger hunt options with sheets you can print before you go that can be found at mercermuseum.org/visit/kids-activities.

The Mercer Museum is located at Pine St. and Scout Way. They are open from 10AM to 5PM, Monday through Saturday and from 12PM to 5PM on Sunday. Admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors

and $8 for visitors ages 6-17. They offer a AAA discount and free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families. The Mercer Museum is partially handicapped accessible, excluding the upper two floors. There is free parking in a lot in the front of the building. The building does not have heat and is mostly without electricity. It is recommended that you visit in fair weather, warm and sunny. If you go in colder temperatures, wear your coat and hat.

Begun in 1908 and completed in 1912, Fonthill Castle was also designed by Henry Mercer, starting with the interior rooms and working to the outside. It was built as his home, but also as a place to house his collections of tiles and prints. Fonthill Castle was the first of the three concrete

ghgh Roadside Ramblings ghghMercer Museum & Fonthill Castle, Doylestown, PA

The interior of the Mercer Museum. Photo by Bestbudbrian and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

continued on page 13


ghgh Hitchcock Trivia ghghIn celebration of Alfred Hitchcock Day on March 12th.

�Despite being nominated five times, Alfred Hitchcock never won the Academy Award for best director.

�When the studio balked at making Psycho, Hitchcock bankrolled the project himself and instead of his standard salary of $250,000, agreed to take 60% of the profits from the movie. He earned over $15 million.

�Hitchcock has two stars on the Walk of Fame, one for his work in film and another for television.

�Hitchcock passed on the director’s job for Rosemary’s Baby.

�Hitchcock directed the first “talkie” released in Britain, Blackmail.

� Alfred Hitchcock released a movie every year between 1925 and 1956, except for 1952.

� Hitchcock was afraid of his own movies and never went to see them.

� Psycho was the first American movie to show a toilet.

� Hitchcock’s father had the police lock him in a cell for ten minutes as a child, inspiring a life-long fear of the police.

� Hitchcock invented a camera shot called the “dolly zoom” for the movie Vertigo.

castles Mercer built and people in town thought he was crazy, but when it was completed, he started a large bonfire on the top terrace, proving that the building was fireproof. The castle is a mix of Gothic, Medieval and Byzantine architecture, with 44 rooms, 32 stairwells, 18 fireplaces and 200 windows. Originally, the interior was painted in pastels, but none of the paint remains. There is one room in the Terrace Pavilion, the site of the home’s barn, that has a room recreated as it would have been when painted. The home hardly lacks for decoration, however. The floors, walls and ceiling are filled with tiles, some from his own tile works, some from 18th century Europe, even some Babylonian tiles from 2,300 BC. Mercer also brought back other artifacts to his home. There are cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, his

collection of over 1,000 prints and his personal collection of over 6,000 books. The castle also has a crypt with no bodies and a garage with no cars; Mercer never owned one.

Fonthill Castle offers one hour guided tours, but also occasionally offers in-depth tours that cover almost every

room of the castle. The Castle hosts about 30,000 visitors a year from more than 35 countries ans has been featured on A&E’s “America’s Castles” series.

Fonthill Castle is located at East Court St. and Route 313. They are open from 10AM to 5PM, Monday through Saturday and from 12PM to 5PM on Sunday. Tours are by reservation, call 215-348-9461. Admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $8 for visitors age 6-17. Fonthill Castle has limited accessibility, but a tour of the ground floor only

can be arranged.For those that want to visit both

buildings, you can purchase the Mercer Experience Ticket, $26 for adults and $15 for visitors ages 6-17.

P

Fonthill Castle. Photo by KForce and used under the GNU Free Documentation license.

Roadside Ramblings continued from page 12

One of Hitchcock’s stars on the Walk of Fame. . Photo by Willem van Bergen and used under the Creative

Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.


ghgh An American Success Story ghghIn celebration of World Wildlife Day on March 3rd.

With World Wildlife Day approaching on March 3rd, my thoughts turned to one of the animals that became an image of the movement: the American Bald Eagle. It is a majestic animal, with a wingspan of up to eight feet and weighing up to fourteen pounds, I am hard pressed to think of a more impressive sight. Maybe its’ nest, which can be thirteen feet deep, over eight feet wide and can weigh a metric ton. But not that long ago, the sight of a bald eagle was very rare indeed and in New Jersey, nearly impossible.

Bald eagles are highly vulnerable creatures. They take a long time, four to five years, to reach sexual maturity and only about 70% of young survive the first year, with a total 80% mortality rate before maturity. They can live up to twenty years average in the wild and longer in captivity, but don’t breed well in captivity even under the best conditions. They prefer to live in very large trees capable of supporting their nests and located near waterways, because while they will eat a truly vast diversity of prey, including medium-size mammals, waterfowl, turtles, snakes and carrion, over 50% of their diet is fish. These factors leave them vulnerable to threats to their preferred nesting sites and the waterways close to them and they are slow to rebound.

In the 1700s, there were an estimated 300,00 to 500,000 bald eagles in the United States. By the time the country adopted the bald eagle as its national symbol in 1782, that number was down to about 100,000 mature eagles, mostly due to hunting. Add loss of habitat, and the situation was so bad by 1940 that Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act which outlawed killing, selling or possessing a bald eagle. In 1962, an amendment to the act added the Golden Eagle and it became the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Loss of habitat and hunting paled in comparison to what was to come. After WWII, a new miracle pesticide was introduced, DDT. It was great and reducing the population of mosquitoes and agricultural pests, but it worked its way into the waterways and into the fish. DDT itself doesn’t kill eagles, but it affects their ability to produce calcium, required for egg laying. Eggs became so fragile that they

were crushed under the weight of the parent bird. In 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring about the dangers of DDT.

By 1963, only 487 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained. We were in danger of losing our national symbol. In 1967, bald eagles found south of the 40th parallel were listed as protected under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. In 1978, the species was listed as endangered throughout the 48 states, except in five northern states where it was listed as threatened.

With protections in place and DDT banned, eagles began to recover. In the early 1980s, there were about 100,00 eagles and between 110,000 and 115,000 by

1992 in the US, Canada and Mexico. On June 28, 2007, the population was thought to have recovered enough that it was taken off the threatened and endangered species list, but they are still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Today, the lower 48 states have more than 9,700 breeding pairs of bald eagles.

Its history in New Jersey is even more astounding. Most people don’t know it, but New Jersey was down to a single pair of breeding bald eagles in 1970, located in an

isolated forest in Cumberland County. There remained only one into the early 1980s. The nest failed to produce young for six consecutive years and in 1982, eggs were removed from the nest and hatched by biologists then reintroduced to the nest. Biologists continued this until 1989, when a second bald eagle nest was located with a female capable of hatching offspring. This was not going to be enough to recover the population and so over an eight year period, sixty eagles were introduced to New Jersey from Canada. Today, there are over 150 breeding pairs of eagles in New Jersey, mostly found in Cumberland and Salem counties and on the bay side of Cape May. They are still listed on the state’s endangered species list because of their vulnerability, but with 123 new eagles leaving nests last year, it’s a heck of a comeback story.

Bald eagle at the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Andover, NH. Photo by Lewis Hulbert and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share

Alike 4.0 International license.

P


OFFICERS

JOSEPH DOUGHERTY, [email protected]

TOM McLARNEY, [email protected]

JEFF SCHULTE, [email protected]

STEVEN SOPPE, [email protected]

KATHY PETTERS, PAST [email protected]

DAVE HANN, [email protected]

NANCY DOUGHTERTY, [email protected]

BERNIE SHUSTER, [email protected]

DIANA ANTINUCCI, [email protected]

ANKOKAS REGION, AACAANKOKAS is a southern NJ Region of the AACA

dating back to 1964.Ankokas Region PO BOX 343 Riverside, NJ 08075

www.ankokas.com [email protected]

ghghghgh Dr. Suess Puzzle ghghghghIn celebration of Dr. Suess’s birthday on March 2nd, find the words from the list in the puzzle on the left.

Answers are on page 16.

BLUE FISHBUTTER BATTLE BOOKCAT IN THE HATGREEN EGGS AND HAMGRINCHHOP ON POPHORTON HEARS A WHOLORAXMAXONCELERONE FISHRED FISHSNEETCHESTHING ONETHING TWOTWO FISHYERTLE THE TURTLE

Graphic created by Freepik.com

March isNational

Flower Month


ghgh Letter From The Editors ghgh

April is Car Care Month

Background created by Freepik.com with added graphic elements by vectorpocket.

Diana: Hey sweetie, how was the AACA Annual Meeting?Steven: It was great. I got to see my AACA friends from

other parts of the country, there were some informative seminars, attended judges school, and I even saw some fellow Ankokas members.

Diana: Nice to see club participation.Steven: There were some really

informative seminars about showing your car in Driver Participation Class (DPC) and Historic Preservation of Original Features (HPOF), restoration tips and projects, some how-to instructions, the list goes on. You know, every Ankokas member should consider showing their car in the upcoming Eastern Spring National meet in Parsippany, NJ on June 29, 2019. Parsippany isn’t that far away. I’m thinking of showing the ‘70 Challenger.

Diana: I thought you said the ‘70 wasn’t good enough to receive an AACA award.

Steven: For point judging, you might be right. But that’s what I learned about Driver Participation Class. DPC cars are evaluated, not point judged. You don’t have to have a perfect, pristine, trailer queen car to... “participate”. DPC is all about showing your antique car that you enjoy driving and using as the car was meant to be. A DPC car can have some modern improvements that might not be historically correct, but they improve the safety

and comfort of the car so you can take it out and enjoy the ride. Radial tires, aftermarket air conditioning and upgraded lights are just a few of the items that can be changed from factory stock and still have an award winning DPC car. The car can’t be a custom built pro-touring hot rod, but if it looks close to stock, bring the car and show it off.

Diana: Sounds like a great chance for a lot of our members to ride up together and show some cars.

Steven: Another highlight of the Annual Meeting was... the meeting. Saturday afternoon was the business part of the annual meeting where new AACA President Mel Carson was introduced. There was discussion about fund raising for the new AACA headquarters coming to Hershey. And lots of ideas about recruiting new members.

Diana: Yes, membership recruitment is very important.

Steven: We all need to think about ways to bring new members into Ankokas. It’s something we need to discuss at our next meeting. The AACA

can supply us with advertising material. We can hand out an “About Ankokas” flyer when we attend local shows. If we all put our heads together, I’m sure we can come up with lots of ideas. As was said at the meeting several times, “Come for the cars, stay for the people”.

Diana: And my cookies.

The editorial supervisor has taken on an assistant. I’m not sure why. Photo by S. Soppe


We’re on the Web!See us at:

www.ankokas.com

Regular meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30PM on the second floor of the Haddonfield Municipal Building.

Director meetings are held on an “as needed” basis as determined by the officers.

NOTE: No meetings are scheduled in July, August or December.

ghgh Member Marketplace ghghWanted: One of the following cars: 1977-78 Buick Riviera, 1969-71 Pontiac Catalina, Bonneville or Grandville or 1973-76 Chevrolet Caprice. Most colors considered. No projects. Call Howard 609-820-0329. 06/10/18

For Sale: Aluminum System One ladder racks for pick-up truck. Good condition. Asking $300. Contact Rich Howey 856-904-2359.

Wanted: ‘49 Buick Roadmaster 2dr. that needs restoring or a 1963 Pontiac Tempest. Alan Coshland 609-801-1167.

Important Reminder!

Important Reminder!

We will have a tailgate meeting in June. Look in

the Smoke Signals and on the Ankokas website for

upcoming details.

For Sale: USA 960-T Pro Trig-Blast Sandblasting Cabinet. New List price…$1200.00. My price $500.00, you pick it up. Call Tom McLarney 856-461-8084.For Sale: 1936 Ford Touring 4dr “Trunkback” Deluxe. Mileage on odometer 82,033. Washington blue exterior with matl. tan mohair cloth interior. V8 flathead engine, 3-speed manual transmission. Call Michelle Salerno 610-301-1072.

To place an ad in Member Marketplace, please e-mail [email protected].

The Ankokas annual luncheon is on March 24, 2019. See the ad on page 9.

Send in your RSVP today!

Important Reminder!

There will be no regular meeting in April. The next regular meeting will be on May 9th at 7:30PM on the second floor of the Haddonfield Municipal Building,

242 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield.


The Ankokas Region would like to thank its sponsors and encourage its members to patronize these businesses whenever possible:

1701 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, NJ

1708 West Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill, NJ

America’s most convenient bank

Independently owned NAPA stores with convenient locations in Hainesport 609-261-5070 and Mt. Holly 609-267-2360.

www.toplinecompany.com 856-662-6400

1302 Route 38, Hainesport, NJ 609-261-0209

Wholesale only, serving the professional installer since 1989.

Documents

The Official Publication of the ANKOKAS, NJ Region AACA · 2030 onward and the UK and France plan a fossil fuel ban starting in 2040. Even China is looking at banning fossil fuels