The Official Publication of the ANKOKAS, NJ Region AACA · ghghghgh Ankokas Annual Holiday Party ghghghgh article by Diana Antinucci; photos by Steven Soppe As always, Tom and Carol

The Official Publication of the ANKOKAS, NJ Region AACASMOKE SIGNALS

Jan./Feb. 2018Volume 55, Issue 1

In This Issue:

< Ankokas Holiday Party

< Breakfast Meeting < Your New Director < The Car is the Star < Ankokas & AACA

Calendars < Puzzle < Roadside

Ramblings < Letter from the

Editors < Valentine’s Movies < Valentine’s Love

Stories < The Buick Skylark

In This Month’s Issue:

At The Steering Wheel.........................1Holiday Party..............2Breakfast Meeting......3Your New Director......4It Caught My Eye.......5Car is the Star............7Ankokas Calendar......8AACA Calendar..........8Fun Holidays..............8Puzzle........................8Rummage Box..........9Roadside Ramblings................10Letter from theEditors......................10Valentine’s Movies...11Love Stories............12Buick Skylark...........13Marketplace.............13Photo Fun................14Sponsors.................15Renewal Form.........16

Welcome to 2018! When we were young, 2018 sounded like the science fiction future. Many of the things that we take for granted today, we couldn’t even imagine then. I hope that you all thought that we had a successful 2017 with the club and hope that it will continue in 2018.

We had a very enjoyable November breakfast meeting. We were in rather close quarters, but it worked out fine and we were served quickly. Bernie Shuster recommended that we plan a trip to the American Treasure Tour in Oaks, PA. Everyone agreed that they would be interested. I’d like to plan this for late in February or early March. On our website under News you will see some info and a link to see what it is about.

Our annual holiday party, planned and hosted by Tom and Carol McLarney, was wonderful and everyone enjoyed the dinner and intermingling afterward. We also collected what was probably our largest “pot” ever for our donation to the South Jersey Food Bank. The club will match the amount. I’d also like to give a special thanks to Judy and Howard Steinberg who were unable to attend, but send a donation for the cause through Nancy Dougherty. You can read more about the party and see pictures in an article on one of the following pages. You can also see more pictures that Steve posted online.

We have a couple of dates for you to put on your calendar. Our Charter Luncheon will be held at the Ramblewood Country Club on Sunday April 8th. It will be a buffet luncheon. The Haddonfield car show has been scheduled for September 15th. This is actually the third Saturday of the month because the 1st is on a Saturday. We wanted to be able to have our September meeting right before the show again. Using the

meeting as a “prep” for the show worked out well last year.

I also want to have several Director meetings this year. We have moved away from having them in the past several years, but I think that we can use them to hash out a few things about the car show and trips that we would like to plan. We will have the first at our house sometime in January to plan for the September car show and what we

might want to do during the year.We were asked to do car displays at

several Nursing and Rehabilitative centers this past year. Everyone would like us to do this again in 2018. I’m hoping that we can accommodate them. I will never plan more

continued from page 1than one extra event other than a

meeting per month. A nice group of you always manages to come show

your car and the people really enjoy looking at them.

I also want to thank everyone who has renewed in a timely manner this year. Tom told me he had almost 40 people renewed by the Holiday party. In past years he had none

at this time. Apparently, my nagging has helped it along this year! Please remember that the cut off to have your

name in the roster is January 15th. If your dues are not paid by then, you will not be included in the printed roster, nor will you receive a printed Smoke Signals. Diana will assume that everyone is reading their newsletter online in 2018, unless you request a printed copy by contacting her by email—[email protected]. If you do not have an email, you may call me at 856-767-4438 and I will be happy to relay the message.

Hope to see you on January 11th for our first 2018 meeting. Jeff is going to talk about the trip to Cuba that he and Madeline took. I’m sure that we will be hearing about all the cars that they saw!

Kathy

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].

President Kathy Petters. Photo by B. Petters

SMOKE SIGNALS Page 2

News & Eventsghghghgh Ankokas Annual Holiday Party ghghghgh

article by Diana Antinucci; photos by Steven Soppe

As always, Tom and Carol McLarney hosted a lovely holiday party. We would all like to thank them for putting together this event for us.

Held at Cafe Madison, the food was superb, the service was great and, of course, the company of our friends made the night.

Bob Petters gave the blessing (Coles Roberts was not in attendance this year) and also made a short speech. Allan Vogelson planned to attend, but was not feeling well.

Vic Rubino sang and spun tunes and after dinner there was some dancing. For more pictures, go to the website at www.ankokas.com/events_list.cfm.

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feature class award to Ed Jeffers for his 1913 Indian motorcycle. Ed was presented with his trophy and he was asked to explain the special family history behind his motorcycle, which has won an AACA National award. Congratulations, Ed.

Bernie Shuster then gave a brief talk on a potential tour to the American Treasure Museum in Oaks, PA, which may be our spring tour (editor’s note: see Roadside Ramblings on page eight).

The breakfast meeting was over by 12:00.

ghgh November Breakfast Meeting ghgharticle by Bob Petters; photos by Steven Soppe

Not a whole lot of notes here, as we had more of a social gathering than a meeting. However, we first honored the military veterans in our group as this was Veterans’ Day. Our officers and directors for next year were officially installed. Our Holiday party for December 2nd was outlined by hosts Tom & Carol McLarney. Membership renewal was explained by our president, Kathy and then it was time to eat. Ponzio’s gave us a choice of three breakfast meals and it seemed everyone was pleased.

Then it was time to rectify my mistake from the Haddonfield show when I failed to present the

Graphics created by Freepik.com.

Meet Your New Director: ghghgh Nancy Dougherty ghghgh

article and photo by Diana Antinucci

Before Nancy met Joe, she didn’t really know much about cars. He’s the one that got her interested in the hobby. They’ve been together for twenty-nine years and they’ve been in Ankokas for at least twenty-five (editor’s note: this was corrected for the online edition). They heard about our club through the Haddonfield car show.

Joe got Nancy into cars, but Nancy got Joe into bowling. She is President of the Camden Women’s Bowling Association since 2002 and is part of another bowling league that meets on Friday mornings. She also roller skates on Tuesday nights and plays bingo with the girls on Thursday morning.

Nancy retired from being the bakery manager at Acme for forty-four years in March 2016. After she retired, Joe thought it would be a good idea to drive out to Las Vegas. Nancy wanted to fly, but they drove out.

Nancy was in the hospital twice for dehydration. “Never again,” she says. “it was my trip from hell.” In 2017, she went to Las Vegas with a girlfriend for a bowling tournament. This time she flew.

The next big car show for Nancy and Joe is the Ford Nationals at the beginning of June and then the International Thunderbird Club Convention in August in Buffalo, NY. Nancy is on the committee for the convention.

Nancy says she can now name some of the models of cars she sees while Joe and her are

out. She thinks Joe is sometimes surprised by this.

Joe owns a 1961 Ford Galaxie and a 2002 Ford Thunderbird. When asked what car she would like to own, Nancy said a Nash Metropolitan. She’s liked them ever since Joe started taking her to shows 29 years ago. “Everyone laughs at me. They say, ‘What do you want one of those for?’” Sadly, Nancy

has never learned to drive stick. She would be willing to learn though. (Any volunteers to teach?) She even joined the Metropolitan club for a few years and had an opportunity to buy a Metropolitan, but Joe talked her out of it. “It wasn’t meant to be then.” And what about now? Nancy laughs, “Another car? Please. We’d have to find another house with a garage or knock my pool down in the backyard and build a garage. That’s his dream. That’s what he’d like to do. But I don’t know that we can do that in our town. Now the Galaxie is in the garage, the Thunderbird is in a storage space that we’re paying on every month.” We feel your pain, Nancy.

ANKOKAS REGION, AACAThe ANKOKAS is the South East Region of the AACA dating back to

1964.Ankokas Region PO BOX 343 Riverside, NJ 08075

OFFICERS

KATHLEEN PETTERS, [email protected]

CARL VILLONE, [email protected]

JEFF SCHULTE, [email protected]

BOB PETTERS, [email protected]

BOB PETTERS, PAST [email protected]

STEVEN SOPPE, [email protected]

TOM MC LARNEY, [email protected]

NANCY DOUGHTERTY, [email protected]

BERNIE SHUSTER, [email protected]

P



ghghgh It Caught My Eye ghghgharticle and photos by D. Antinucci

This past show season, there were a lot of cars that “caught my eye”. I thought, where space allowed, I would share some of these cars with you. One of these cars was a Metropolitan that I saw at Riverside car show in August of 2017.

The Nash Kelvinator Corp. began when Charles Nash, President of General Motors, resigned in 1916 and bought the Thomas Jeffery Motor Company. Charles Nash produced cars under the Nash name until its merger with Hudson in 1954 to create AMC. Interestingly, during the Nash years, major appliances were manufactured under the Kelvinator name.

Executives at Nash thought the new phenomenon of the “suburb” would make a second car necessary to families and so they designed the Metropolitan, which sold from 1954 until 1961.

The concept car for the Metropolitan was called the NXI (Nash Experimental International) and was designed as a car for mom to take the kids to school and run errands. It would be the first car specifically

marketed to women, pre-dating the Dodge La Femme by one year. The first spokesperson for the Metropolitan was Miss America 1954 and it was heavily advertised in women’s magazines of the day. It was also marketed to US police departments as ideal for parking enforcement and city use.

The Metropolitan was displayed at a number of preview shows, including a 1950 show at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Nash took the comments garnered there and changed the car to include roll-up glass side windows, a more powerful engine and a shifter on the column with a front bench seat, replacing the floor-mounted shifter and bucket seats.

Knowing that building such a car in the US would be too expensive, they decided to build the car overseas and import it back to the US. They settled on two companies based in Birmingham, England. Austin Motor Company would provide the mechanicals and manage final assembly. Fisher & Ludlow would produce the body work. The first prototype was completed on December 2, 1952 and a total of five prototypes were made and tested.

The Metropolitan came in convertible or hardtop and both came with standard features that were options on other cars of the period, including a map light, electric windshield wipers, cigar lighter, a rear-mounted spare tire and “Bedford cord” upholstery with leather trim. Whitewall tires, an AM radio and heater were options, but the factory fitted nearly all cars with the radio and heater, giving people buying off the lot no choice. It used a front engine (provided by Austin’s 1.2 liter four-cylinder A-40), rear-wheel drive format and uni-body construction. They were also quite small, with an 85 inch wheelbase, overall length of 149.5 inches, height just under 55 inches and a weight of 1,785 pounds for the convertible and 1,825 pounds for the hardtop. The suggested retail for the hardtop was $1,445 and $1,469 for the convertible. The radio and heater options sent those prices above $1,500, when a Volkswagen Beetle could be had for only $1,425.

The car received good reviews, including favorable reviews from Floyd Clymer (the largest publisher of automotive books at the time), Car Life magazine, Motor Trend, Mechanix Illustrated and Road Test.

The first Metropolitans went on sale on March 19, 1954, but sales fell short of expectations. In 1955,

Metropolitan at the Riverside show. continued on page 6


continued from page 5

with Nash’s merger with Hudson, the car was marketed as a Hudson Metropolitan and was available from Hudson dealerships. These Metropolitans had a Hudson grille badge, hubcaps with an “M” logo, a bulls-eye horn design and a plain spare wheel cover.

In 1955, the engine was changed, it was given a new transmission, an upgraded suspension and a hydraulic clutch. It was now referred to as a Series II or NK2. Advertising claimed the car could get 40mpg, but road tests got closer to 30mpg.

The Series III, starting in November 1955, had a higher engine capacity (almost 1,500cc compared with 1,200cc), polished stainless steel sweep-spears on the body sides, allowing for two-tone body paint, a redesigned grille and its non-functional hood scoop was removed. The “Bedford cord” interior was replaced by “houndstooth” check with white vinyl trim and the dashboard was black instead of body color.

In October 1956, Austin was given permission to sell Metropolitans to overseas

markets where AMCs were not available. Only Series III and Series IV models were produced for overseas sales.

In September 1957, AMC dropped the Nash and Hudson names and Metropolitans were sold as simply “Metropolitans” and were available from Rambler dealerships.

Series IV production started in January 1959. Modifications included the addition of a glove box, seat adjusters, window vents, an external trunk lid, a diamond pattern interior with white vinyl trim and a 55-horsepower A-55 Austin engine with higher compression. MSRP was $1,672 for the hardtop and $1,696 for the convertible. That year sales were 22,209 and was the Metropolitan’s best-selling year, second behind Volkswagen for cars

imported to the US. It was also the beginning of the end.

The success of the Metropolitan and the Beetle had gotten the attention of the “Big Three” and they introduced the Falcon, Corvair and the Valiant. The new Interstate Highway System also began changing the way we drove cars. The little Metropolitan couldn’t keep up on these faster highways. Production of the Metropolitan stopped in April 1961 and the last sale of a Metropolitan was in March 1962.

Of the 95,000 Metropolitans produced for the US and Canada, surprisingly many are still around with lots of clubs for the little car’s enthusiasts. And they’re in good company. Among

the famous people who have owned Metropolitans are Jimmy Buffet, Steve

Jobs, Paul Newman, Elvis Presley, “Weird Al” Yankovic and fictional sleuth Nancy Drew. Fun to drive on back roads, a good Metropolitan can be had for as little as $5,000.

Hood ornament on the Metropolitan at the Riverside show.

P

The Car is The StarA series about

cars from movies and television


“And there’s that car, too. Yes, you know, I took to that car. It had character.”article by Diana Antinucci

Anyone familiar with the British TV series Dr. Who knows the TARDIS. And the TARDIS is great, but when the chameleon circuit malfunctions and your TARDIS always appears as a blue British police call box, it lacks flair. The Doctor has used other vehicles that looked more interesting than the TARDIS, including a hovercraft and a motorcycle, but one stands out from the rest.

The Third Doctor was exiled to Earth by his people, the Time Lords, and during this exile he was given a car. More specifically, a yellow Edwardian roadster named Bessie. In the show, the Doctor claims to have named Bessie after his assistant, Liz Shaw. Behind the scenes, the car was probably named for the First Doctor’s (William Hartnell) Aunt Bessie.

The Doctor modified the roadster, adding an anti-theft force field, a remote control, a minimum inertia hyperdrive (allowing him to come to very sudden stops without throwing the occupants about) and a gravity stabilizer.

After his exile was ended, the fate of Bessie is a little unclear. By some accounts, it was simply put into storage aboard the TARDIS and was seen there in one of the comics. By other accounts, it was put into storage on Earth by UNIT (a British organization that dealt with extraterrestrials). It was seen on the show again, once during the Seventh Doctor’s episodes and again in some of the comics (including one story that had her connected to the TARDIS’s matrix and turned into a monster truck).

In reality, the car was one of about 100 Edwardian kit cars from Siva and Neville Trickett Ltd. Of Dorset, built on a E93A Ford

chassis. It was built by the show (which bought the kit) for a cost of about 500 pounds. For a while after its use on the show, it was kept at the Dr. Who Experience in Cardiff Bay. After that closed, Bessie went on permanent display at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu as part of their On Screen Cars exhibit.Special thanks to Jason Morgan at hollywoodmoviecostumesandprops.blogspot.com for allowing the use of his photos.P

Photos by Jason Morgan. See more of his photos at hollywoodmoviecostumesandprops.blogspot.com. Frontal picture

modified from original and frames added by D. Antinucci.


ghghgh Ankokas Events 2018 ghghghJanuary 11: 7:30PM: Ankokas regular monthly meeting on the second floor of the Haddonfield Municipal Building, 242 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield.February 8: 7:30PM: Ankokas regular monthly meeting on the second floor of the Haddonfield

Municipal Building, 242 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield.April 8: Ankokas charter luncheon. Ramblewood Country Club. More details to follow.Sept. 15: Annual Ankokas Haddonfield Car Show.Go to www.ankokas.com/calendar.cfm for more listings.

ghghgh AACA Calendar 2018 ghghghFebruary 8-10: AACA Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. Sheraton Hotel, 17th & Race Streets.April 5-7: Southeastern Spring Meet hosted by Hornet’s Nest Region. Charlotte, NC.May 11-12: Central Spring Meet. Auburn, IN.May 31-June 2: Greensburg, PA. 2018 AACA Annual Grand Natiuonal Meet hosted by Western PA Region.

July 11-14: Gettysburg, PA. 2018 AACA Eastern Spring Meet hosted by Chesapeake Region.October 10-13: Eastern Fall Meet hosted by Hershey Region. Hershey, PA.Go to www.aaca.org/Calendar/aaca_calendar.html for more information and listings.

Jan. 2: National Science Fiction DayJan. 4: Trivia DayJan. 5: National Bird dayJan. 8: Bubble Bath DayJan. 10: Peculiar People DayJan. 12: National Hot Tea DayJan. 14: Dress Up Your Pet DayJan. 18: Winnie-the-Pooh DayJan. 20: National Cheese Lover DayJan. 23: National Pie DayJan. 29: National Puzzle Day

Feb. 1: GI Joe DayFeb. 3: Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast DayFeb. 5: World Nutella DayFeb. 7: Send a Card to a Friend DayFeb. 8: Opera DayFeb. 9: National Pizza DayFeb. 13: IHOP Pancake DayFeb. 17: Random Acts of Kindness DayFeb. 20: Love Your Pet DayFeb. 23: Curling is Cool DayFeb. 26: Tell a Fairy Tale Day

Fun Holidays to Celebrate in January and February

ghghghgh Puzzle ghghghghJan. 2nd is Science Fiction Day! Match the piece of science fiction literature to its author(s). Answers on page 12.

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy2. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea3. The War of the Worlds4. Dune5. 2001: A Space Odyssey6. Ender’s Game7. I, Robot8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?9. Jurassic Park10. The Martian Chronicles11. Starship Troopers12. Logans Run13. Hyperion14. Time and Again

A. Philip K. DickB. Jack FinneyC. Orson Scott CardD. Douglas AdamsE. Ray BradburyF. Dan SimmonsG. Jules VerneH. Isaac AsimovI. Robert HeinleinJ. Arthur C. ClarkeK. Michael CrichtonL. William F. Nolan and George Clayton JohnsonM. H. G. WellsN. Frank Herbert

Background image created by Kjpargeter-Freepik.com.


ghgh From the AACA Rummage Box ghgharticle by Matt Hinson, Editor, AACA Rummage Box

Welcome to my sixth issue as Editor of the Rummage Box. I hope that you have all been enjoying the Spring weather like I have. Here in Wilmington NC, we typically have a short Spring followed quickly by a hot humid Summer. We have had a long stretch of cooler, less humid, antique car friendly weather. I have enjoyed driving my 1937 Buick Century on an almost daily basis for the past few weeks. I have also been busy in the garage making small improvements to the condition of the car. I have enjoyed local Chapter and Region events as well as attending the Charlotte Autofair. After the Autofair, I enjoyed hosting the 36-38 Buick Club’s Annual tour, so that gave me a chance to enjoy some of our local tourist attractions, drive my 1937 Century several hundred miles and meet some of the members of that club that I had never met before.

With hosting an old car tour, driving my old car, attending local AACA events, and attending National AACA events, it has been a good Spring so far.

As seems to always be the case, folks on the AACA Discussion Forum are discussing how to get young people into the antique automobile hobby. It is my belief

that simply exposing young people to old cars with a pleasant and welcoming attitude will help us continue to add new members over the years. I personally find that simply driving my old car to lunch and/or dinner on a fairly regular basis always seems to attract attention and start conversations. Just yesterday, I was pulling up to a stop sign near my house and a pre-teen young man who was walking into the corner drug store with his mother, yelled out, “Nice Car!”. I briefly thanked him before he went into the drug store with his mother. I often get a chance to talk to others about the hobby in similar situations.

Later in the evening, on my way home from Dinner, I was flagged down by a group of 7 or 8 similar age young men who were walking along the path around a local park. I stopped and found that the young men wanted to talk about the car and asked to pose for photos with it.

Several of them used their cell phones to take photos of each other with the car. I don’t expect them to be active in the hobby soon, but the seed is certainly planted for sometime down the road. Being welcoming and nice to young people will pay off down the road. We can all act as Ambassadors for the hobby on a regular basis. P

AACA National Meetingin Philadelphia

Feb. 8-10Cityscape created by Vectorpocket- Freepik.com

Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel

17th & Race Streets


ghgh Letter From The Editors ghghDiana: Can you believe it’s 2018? What happened

to 2017? I feel like I didn’t get done nearly as much as I had hoped.

Steven: Yeah, me either. That needs to change. I think we all need to set a goal this year... and actually work toward it.

Diana: Like what?Steven: I’m sure a lot of us

have a project car that’s just sitting there. Time to start working on it! Or maybe there’s a project car that someone is working on. Time to finish it!

Diana: Maybe start small. Maybe there’s a maintenance task that needs to be done. Change the oil, flush the fuel, that sort of thing.

Steve: Maybe learn something new. Learn how to

rebuild your carb or upholster the seats.Diana: Hey, the AACA meeting coming up in

February is a great place to learn new things.Steven: That’s something else. Make a resolution

to come to more meetings or more club events. We love seeing people come out and join us.

Diana: What about those of us not really interested in car maintenance?

Steven: There’s always something around the house. Painting that needs to be done, things that need organizing. Now is the time! Today is the day!

Diana: And what about me?Steven:....Bake more

cookies! PWhen informed that the new issue of Smoke Signals needed to be completed, the Editorial Supervisor said he was “busy”.

Photo by D. Antinucci

article by Diana Antinucci

The American Treasure Tour is the private collection of one person, amassed over fifty years and now open to the public for viewing. Located in Oaks, PA in a former B. F. Goodrich tire factory, the tour has two parts: a walking tour of the “Music Room” and a tram tour through the “Toy Room”. The owner of the collection began with restoring a hot rod and this got him interested in all things mechanical. He began collecting mechanical music pieces, classic cars and mechanical store figures and the collection spread from there. Today, there are more than a million items in the collection as a whole, with only part of the collection on display at any one time, all loving restored and preserved.

The Music Room has more than 200 nickelodeons, band organs, music boxes, calliopes and Edison cylinder players, many of which the tour guide can play for the audience via iPad controls. The guide also provides historical information on the items and the time period in which they were popular. In addition,

the Music Room contains movie posters, celebrity photographs and vinyl records.

The Toy Room collection includes, but is certainly not limited to, circus art, animatronics, dolls, dollhouses, stuffed animals, circus signs, model airplanes, patriotic art, pedal cars, movie memorabilia and Disneyana, neon signs, clown statues, an electric wheelchair from 1914 and bicycles. But, perhaps of most interest to us, the Toy Room houses the collection of over sixty classic cars, including a 1905 Franklin, two Sears Motorbuggies, a 1922 Stanley Steamer, a 1924 Cadillac 7-seat sedan, a 1914 Maxwell, a 1914 Liberty Brush, a 1914 Woods Mobilette and a 1951 Crosley VC Hotshot.

The tour takes about two hours and are by reservation only except for Saturdays between 9:30AM and 3PM. Please call 1-866-970-8687 for information about tour options and times. The American Treasure Tour is located next to the Homique store, in the same building as The Dump Furniture Store.

ghgh Roadside Ramblings ghghThe American Treasure Tour, 1 American Way, Oaks, PA

P


Valentine’s Day Movies < Casablanca (1942) (PG): “Of all the gin

joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” If you have never seen this classic, put down your newsletter and find a way to watch it. I’ll wait. Rick (Humphrey Bogart) runs a bar where his ex-lover (Ingrid Bergman) and her new husband show up. Romance, political intrigue and high drama make this film a must-see for every movie fan.

< The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) (NR): Mrs. Muir (Gene Tierney) moves into a home once owned by a sea captain (Rex Harrison) that still haunts the place.

< The King and I (1956) (NR): Anna (Deborah Kerr) takes a job teaching the children of the King of Siam (Yul Brynner).

< My Fair Lady (1964) (G): Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) makes a bet with a friend that he can take a flower girl (Audrey Hepburn) and teach her enough manners to pass her off as a lady.

< The Princess Bride (1987) (PG): Directed by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Carol Kane and Billy Crystal. A comedic adventure that follows the tale a grandfather reads to his sick grandson.

< When Harry Met Sally (1989) (R): Two friends (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) fight the urge to become romantically involved.

< Pretty Woman (1990) (R): A business man (Richard Gere) hires a prostitute (Julia Roberts) to pose as his girlfriend on a business trip.

< Ghost (1990) (PG-13): A murdered man (Patrick Swayze) returns to protect the woman he loves (Demi Moore) with the help of a

psychic (Whoopi Goldberg). < Beauty and the Beast

(1991) (G): The age-old fable of a beastly creature under a spell and the beautiful girl that can release him from it, told as only Disney could tell it. < Sleepless in

Seattle (1993) (PG): The son of a widower calls

a radio station looking for someone to date his dad. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Also, this movie has a truly great soundtrack.

< Ground hog Day (1993) (PG): A weather reporter (Bill Murray) is forced to live the same day over and over.

< Shrek (2001) (PG): An adventure about a princess, an ogre and the

ogre’s donkey. A seriously funny love story.

< My Big, Fat Greek Wedding (2002) (PG): A Greek Woman meets an Irish man and they plan to wed. Mayhem ensues.

< 50 First Dates (2004) (PG-13): A man (Adam Sandler) falls in love with a woman (Drew Barrymore) with short-term memory loss.

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Answers to science fiction puzzle on page 8: 1D, 2G, 3M, 4N, 5J, 6C, 7H, 8A, 9K, 10E, 11I, 12L, 13F, 14B

article by Diana Antinucci

So, February 14th is Valentine’s Day and your faithful editor has decided to provide you all with love stories.

Everyone likes to think their loved one would go the extra step for them. But what is that extra step? Taking out the trash without being asked? Nah. Bringing home flowers when it’s not a birthday or anniversary. Not bad. Marrying them all over again. Nice gesture. It all pales in comparison to some of the things done throughout history in the name of love.

After the death of her two young daughters, President William McKinley’s wife Ida became frail and suffered from epileptic seizures. In an age where people were hidden away from society for such maladies, the President insisted that she be seated next to him at all state dinners so he could tend to her should she need assistance. When he was mortally shot in 1901, his only thought was of his wife, telling his secretary, “My wife-be careful... how you tell her.”

In 1340, Ines de Castro was the lady-in-waiting to Princess Constance of Portugal. She caught the eye of Prince Pedro and became his mistress, giving him three children before Princess Constance died. Prince Pedro wanted to marry Ines, but his father, the king, absolutely forbade it, banishing Ines and then having her murdered. Prince Pedro could have found another wife, waited for his father to die and become king. He could have. What he did do was go to war against his father, won the war, became King of Portugal and exhumed the body of Ines, built her a tomb worthy of royalty and had the entire country swear allegiance to her as Queen.

In India, a man named Dashrath Manjhi quite literally moved a mountain for the love of his wife. He and his wife lived near the mountain and she often crossed the mountain to bring him his lunch. She was injured doing this and Dashrath was unable to get her medical attention in time to save her life

because of the mountain. Other men might be sad, but what can you do? It’s a mountain. This wasn’t good enough for Dashrath. Over the next twenty-two years, Dashrath cut a path through the mountain, 360 feet long, 30 feet wide and 25 feet deep with a hammer and chisel so that medical help could get to his village and no one else would lose someone they loved.

Many people have heard of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Less people know why they existed. Around 600 BC, Queen Amytis left her verdant mountain home for a political marriage to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Babylon was arid and Amytis was homesick. Nebuchadnezzar built her the Hanging Gardens, a tiered garden 400 feet long, 400 feet wide and more than eighty feet high, all requiring water in the middle of a desert.

In 1612, Shah Jahan, the Mughal prince, married Arjumand Banu. While he had two other wives, neither was as precious to him as Arjumand and he gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal (“Exalted One of the Palace”). They were married for nineteen years and had fourteen children (as opposed to one each with his other wives). When he ascended to the throne, he gave her another title, Malika-i-Jahan (“Queen of the World”). His trust in her was so complete that he gave her the imperial seal which endorsed imperial decrees. She died while giving birth to their last child and Shah Jahan was devastated, going into seclusion for a year and returning from that seclusion bent and aged, his hair now white. For his beloved wife he built a forty-two acre mortuary complex, with a tomb of translucent marble, decorated with precious and semi-precious gems, including jasper, jade, turquoise, lapis lazuli and sapphire. The cost of the building in US dollars today would be over $860 million. You may have heard of it... the Taj Mahal.

ghgh Valentine’s Love Stories ghgh

Photo by Pastor David Castor. Released to the public domain.

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ghgh The Buick Skylark ghgharticle by Joe Alcorn, edited by D. Antinucci

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear-1953. What America makes, the world takes and the Korean War keeps the economy booming. Six members of Eisenhower’s cabinet are prominent businessmen. The administration’s emphasis is on helping Big Business get even bigger.

There was an insatiable demand for automobiles. Cadillac’s General Manager, Don E. Ahrens stated that Cadillac would start the 1953 production year with a 90,000 order backlog.

Due to GM’s Vice President of Styling, Harley Earl’s urging, Cadillac added the Eldorado to top off the Cadillac line. At Cadillac, everything was coming up roses.

The situation at Buick, however, was totally different. It was no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise ever since Plymouth had knocked Buick out of third place in 1938. Harley Earl’s task was to put Buick back in third place.

Mr. Earl had total control of the Skylark styling program and had limitless funds. Unlike the Eldorado’s conservative styling, Mr. Earl pulled out all the stops. The ‘53 Skylark was the epitome of mid-20th century

automobile styling. Mr. Earl’s styling department had created a masterpiece, the automotive equivalent of the Mona Lisa.

Skylarks used a Buick Roadmaster chassis, but each Skylark was virtually hand-built. Hand-built cars, think of Rolls Royce and Bentley, are extremely expensive to produce. Consequently, production was very limited. Skylark production in 1953 totalled 1,690 cars.

Buick wanted to stop Skylark production at the end of the 1953 model year. It was hemorrhaging red ink, but Mr. Earl insisted that Skylark production continue in 1954. However, he did agree to make changes.

The ‘54 Skylark used a Buick Special chassis which shortened the wheel base. Production was cut in half and the retail sale price

was reduced by $500 (this would be over $4,500 today).

In 1954, Skylark styling was extended to the entire Buick line as Buicks sold like hotcakes in January. Buick easily knocked the 1954 Plymouth, with its modest mouse styling, out of third place. The hand-built Skylark program was permanently terminated. It had accomplished its raison d’etre.

ghghghgh Member Marketplace ghghghghWanted: ‘49 Buick Roadmaster 2dr. that needs restoring or a 1963 Pontiac Tempest. Alan Coshland 609-801-1167.For Sale: 1985 Jaguar 2 dr. model HE, 12 cylinder, 101765 miles, needs restoration. Located in Chatsworth. For additional pics & info, call Tom McLarney 856-461-8084.For Sale: 1950 Plymouth, Special Deluxe 4 door sedan. $8500.00. New battery, and recently checked at garage. Runs well and in great condition. Call Donna Schuman 856-810-8254.For Sale: 2005 50th Anniversary Edition Thunderbird, metallic midnight black with sand color interior with removable black hardtop with porthole windows (includes stand and cover). 32,000 miles, kept in climate-controlled garage. Very well appointed car. Car comes with full documentation. Contact Joe Picogna 856-686-7587 or [email protected] 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: 1972 Chevy Custom 10. Odometer shows 79,000+, new tires but two have gone flat. Minimum surface rust. Has 283 or 327 V8, two barrel, three on the tree. Seat upholstery in good condition. Not running. Asking $3,000, but will accept reasonable offers. Contact Pam at 609-670-0488.

Has Anyone Seen This Car?It is a 1947 Oldsmobile with two front ends. It was last

seen in the National Park/Westville area of New Jersey in 2006. Please call Alan Coshland at 609-801-1167 with any information.

1953 Buick Skylark. Photo by John D. Love and used under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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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.


Does this valve look bad to you?

This nasty surprise was the number four exhaust valve

in Steven Soppe’s 1934 Packard 1100.

Photo by S. Soppe.

Riding a different set of wheels on their vacation to Maui, Hawaii, from left to

right: Carl Grossman, Sharon Grossman, Carol McLarney

and Tom McLarney.

Look Mom, no hands!


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

Member Ads

America’s most convenient bank

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

[email protected] 856-375-5649

www.toplinecompany.com 856-662-6400


ANKOKAS REGION

NEW MEMBERSHIP / RENEWAL 2018

Please print clearly DATE _____________________________________ MEMBER NAME ___________________________________________ SPOUSE/PARTNER ______________________________ ADDRESS (city, state, zip)_______________________________________________________________________________________ HOME PHONE # __________________________ CELL PHONE # ________________________FAX # _____________________ MEMBER EMAIL ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________________________________ SPOUSE/PARTNER EMAIL ADDRESS _________________________________________________________________________ Our newsletter, Smoke Signals, is published in January, March, May, July, September, and November. You will receive an email link to each newsletter posted on our website. If you require a printed copy of the newsletter, please email the editor, Diana, at [email protected] or call her at 609-‐848-‐4843 to be placed on the printed mailing list. ARE YOU CURRENTLY A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING OF NATIONAL AACA? NO __________ YES __________ AACA MEMBERSHIP # ________________________ You must be a member in good standing of National AACA in order to join the Ankokas Region. You may submit a properly completed National AACA membership application along with a separate check made out to AACA National. ANKOKAS DUES (circle one) Member and Spouse/Partner 1 year $25.00 2 years $45.00 SENIOR Member and Spouse/Partner (age 70+) 1 year $15.00 2 years $25.00 CHARTER MEMBERS FREE NEW MEMBERS FREE (for the balance of calendar year after July 1) SPONSOR ___________________________________________________ DO YOU AUTHORIZE THE PUBLISHING OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS APPLICATION FORM ON THE "MEMBERS ONLY" SECTION OF THE ANKOKAS REGION AACA WEBSITE? NO_______ YES_______ SIGNATURE _______________________________________________________________ All members in good standing will receive a printed copy of the full roster each spring. LISTING OF ANTIQUE AND/OR CLASSIC CARS: (Use separate sheet if necessary. You do not have to own an antique or classic car to be a member of Ankokas.) APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE _____________________________________________________________________________________ MAIL COMPLETED APPLICATION AND PAYMENT TO: Tom and Carol McLarney 212 Leon Ave. Delran, NJ 08075 PH 856-‐461-‐6688 email [email protected] rev. 10/02/17

Documents

The Official Publication of the ANKOKAS, NJ Region AACA · ghghghgh Ankokas Annual Holiday Party ghghghgh article by Diana Antinucci; photos by Steven Soppe As always, Tom and Carol