CHEVROLETTER January 2021 Vol 2021 Issue 01.0 Director’s Report January 2021 I hope 2021 finds all our members and their loved ones in good health and spirits and everyone had a festive, if not slightly low key, holiday season. We have just signed off on a year most people would like to forget. For those of us who are getting on in years, you hate to throw one away like this but some things are not in our control. The news shows always do their annual year in review segments so I thought I would do one too. At the January meeting we discussed locations for a possible show in 2020. The Armor Museum was not available and other locations were suggested. The next event club members planned on attending was the Brush Barn show in March. Pat Iannone was the recipient of the Grantmyer award for his excellent work on the newsletter. It was also mentioned that Betty Grantmyer had passed away at the age of 94. The meeting was closed and we all left looking forward to a full year of activities. By our February meeting Covid-19 had just started to make the news but we were told not to worry so we didn’t. At our meeting we further discussed possible show locations and attending events such as the Tobay show, Long Island Street Rod Swap meet, Rhinebeck show, Levittown car show and Westbury Gardens. We began to discuss our club summer/pool party but had not established a date or location. By our March meeting we were learning more about covid-19 but still planning for a full year of activities. We discussed all the shows that members could attend and Ken brought up the possibility the club touring the Automat facility. A possible brunch run was discussed along with our club summer party and the holiday dinner. More shows were coming on the calendar and the cruise nights were getting ready to shift into high gear. There was no mention in the club minutes of any complications with the schedule due to this virus that came from someplace in China. And then there was April…..Oyster Bay closed the meeting hall and shows were starting to be cancelled. We naively figured this would blow over by the summer and fall would be business as usual….yeah right! There were a few shows that managed to be held even though they appeared to be in violation of the state directives. During the remainder of the year, we held a few meetings outside of our meeting hall, had one meeting at Mike Lincks’ shop and we continued our Eisenhower breakfasts as weather permitted. As of now, I have seen no information on any shows scheduled for 2021. I do not know if the President’s council will be meeting to plan the 2021 show season but I doubt it. Hershey cancelled their flea market for 2020 and has not made a determination for 2021. So what does 2021 look like for the Long Island Region…..good question? If the meeting hall has not opened by the spring, we will hold outdoor meetings like we did last year. Club breakfasts can be held at Eisenhower Park as we did before. We all hope that some of 2021 can be salvaged; it will feel good to get everyone together again over coffee and donuts. Cruise nights will probably still be around so we may be able to schedule meeting at some of them….masked and socially distanced. I realize that the membership did not get much bang for their buck in 2020 and that may carry over some into 2021. We are considering discussing a reduced membership fee for 2021 to thank everyone for hanging in there during these tough times. Stay safe and healthy, Chris Meeting Highlights December 2020 No meeting was held Calendar Of Events January 2021 No events are scheduled Keeping Our Name Out There Like the fate of many small businesses during the pandemic, some car clubs will likely not survive this long term of inactivity. It is important to stay in touch with our membership and also maintain our presence for others to see. We are lucky to have an excellent newsletter that keeps the members informed and assures them that we are still here. The club has a few internet locations where both members and non-members can check us out. One such site is hosted by Hemmings Motor News at clubs.hemmings.com/livvca/. I am the moderator of this site and it includes club history, officers, club cars, members’ stories and tech tips. All information has to go thru me to be added to this site. Take a look and see if you have anything to add to our club pages. This page comes up at the top of the search page when I google Chevrolet club Long Island. The Hemmings site is offered free to all clubs and gets quite a bit of views. We have an additional website that we pay for but when I went on it while writing this article; I could not access many of the pages. A number of years ago we established a club Facebook page which sort of got forgotten about. Over the last few years our page has been getting a steady flow “likes”. I know not everyone is “Facebook friendly”, but if you go on and search …Long Island Region VCCA…, you will see our page. You may have to click on a blue circle with our club logo to get to our club page. If you are a member of Facebook, you may respond and post on our page or add your own pictures or interesting Chevrolet information. Current postings let people know we are still alive and operating so feel free to comment or add a car picture or two for all to see. --Chris Long Island Region VCCA – Holiday Wish All the members of the Long Island VCCA – our club leadership – the editors – publishers – and the cleanup crew - want to wish to all the magic of the Holiday season that will fill your home. Sending lots of joy & peace to your family, and looking forward to the day we can all meet again! Take care of yourselves and stay safe. And a Happy safe 2021 !! Long Island Region VCCA Garage – JTCantrell History on Long Island Editor’s Note – Last Month we published a story about the history of a very small auto business here on Long Island known as the J.T. Cantrell & Company, builders of wood-sided Suburban bodies. We published our newsletter and it was sent to Australia!! That in itself was exciting news – to see our publication is not only seen here in the states - but going internationally! Now, exciting as all that is – I received an email from Bryan Cantrell (no relations) and he included the story he wrote about the J.T. Cantrell & Company, which I have included below. Here is the letter I received from Bryan! Dear Pat, Allow me to introduce myself: Bryan Cantrell of Queensland, Australia who bought my first Chevrolet in 1968 (prior to that I owned a Durant). I am Secretary/Editor of the Vintage Chevrolet Association of Queensland Inc. (VCAQ), a club I helped establish in 1969. By now you will recognize the coincidence of my surname with J T Cantrell - Maker of Suburban Bodies. Also by coincidence, I compiled an article on J T Cantrell in our November magazine, after Franklin Gage sent me the same article as you found in Hemmings News. I attach a copy for your interest; I did draw on a few other sources as well. It is a great story to tell and many members seem to be unaware of it; woody wagons are so much a part of our motoring heritage and it is good to learn how that tradition began so long ago. Bruce Granger sends me many regional VCCA newsletters, which I enjoy reading, which is how I am aware of your article. Our VCAQ activities were interrupted earlier this year due to COVID-19 but the situation in Queensland is cautiously optimistic and most restrictions on group gatherings have been lifted for now. We have been able to resume monthly meetings and Chev rallies by observing social-distancing rules. With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. Bryan Bryan’s 1937 Master Deluxe Please find attached the newsletter and the wonderful article done by Bryan Cantrell!! Long Island Region VCCA Garage Car of the month - 1961 Impala From: The Space Age Star is the official publication of the Space Age Chevrolet region of the Antique Automobile Club of America. This is a non-geographic region dedicated to the enjoyment, restoration and history of 1955 and later AACA eligible Chevrolet cars and trucks. We publish the newsletter six times a year. Region Officers: President: Russell Heim Vice President: John Mahoney, Jr. Sixty Years of “Sixty-Onederful” Chevrolet For the third time in four years, Chevrolet had completely new styling. The past year’s compound-curve wraparound windshield and tail fins were eliminated from the design. Inside was an all-new instrument panel with the speedometer now housed in a horizontal unit. The glove box was moved to the center of the panel. They relocated the gas tank from under the trunk floor to the area between the trunk and rear axle. This gave a deep well in the trunk, which was great for carrying tall items. The fuel filler had to be moved to the driver’s side quarter panel to compensate for the new gas tank location.