September 25th, 2012
Sept 18—Craig Harmon “The History of Rambler and
American Motors”
Sept 25—Pat Crosby “The History of Jackson Rotary and the Personal History of Pat Crosby”
Oct 2—Club Assembly – Membership Oct 20—BOWLATHON Nov 13—Sergeant John Silva “Office of Emergency
Services Project Lifesaver”
Nov 20—Beth Barnard on Volcano Theatre
LAST WEEK:
Last meeting: Our guests included: Natalie Krska (Court reporter for Calaveras county), a guest of Irene Perbal-Boylson, and Shawna Molina introduced by Eddie Methered.
John Swift gave us some of the new procedures for the Bowl-A-Thon this year. It will occur earlier in the day – 2:00 PM for registration with bowling to start at 3:00PM. It should all be over before dark.
The Club will provide the BBQ’d food (I’m not sure the timing of that), and we really need sponsors to
make the event work fiscally. John provided information sheets on the levels of sponsorship and
what’s offered for /$100, $200 & $300 sponsors. The Club will soon be painting Jackson’s fire hydrants white – I gather the participants know when.
Irene Perbal-Boylson urges us all to bring visitors to the Club meeting. She suggests that former members may just be waiting for an invitation to re-join. In any case – bring a guest, and let her know
when you’ve earned points.
Tuesday 7:15am
Plymouth: 49er RV Resort
Wednesday 12:00
UpCountry: Blue Moon Café, Pine Grove
Frank Halvorson brought us up-to-date on happenings at the Hotel Leger in Moke Hill. A popular TV show undertakes to re-vamp decrepit hotels in a blitz fashion and then air the results. Reportedly this has happened to the Leger Hotel with amazing results. The whole town supposedly participated and they’ll be seen before long on TV – with Irene in the front row. Watch for details. I have fond memo-
ries of bringing the family to that hotel in the early 1970’s when we would be up for a few days. One night the “Mayor” tried to talk our older daughter into going to work for him in Moke Hill..
Thursday 7:30am
West Calaveras: La Contenta Golf Course
Thursday 12:00
Ione: Clarks Corners; 1st Thursday 6 PM, other weeks noon
Thursday 12:00
Past-President John Sullivan commends the following excerpt from a Reno Club’s Newsletter:
Angels-Murphy: Ironstone Winery 795 0424
Friday Galt 7:00am
“Attendance And Make Up Reminder
Golden Acorn 916 687 8023
Your attendance is important to both you as a member and to the Club in meeting attendance percent- age requirements. Please make sure you turn in make-ups to our Club Secretary at a club meeting or
by email. Don’t forget that you need to attend or make up at least 50% of club regular meetings in each half of the year (rolling six months) and attend at least 30% of this club’s meetings in each half of
the year. Credit can be received for Rotary committee work and other official Rotary functions. You can also do make ups on-line. A list of E-Clubs can be found at http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/
or 12 noon Golden Acorn 916 927 3000
Or Online at: www.rotaryeclubone.org
en_pdf/eclub_list.pdf Just click on this link and it will lead you to others. There are a variety of clubs listed, but all must offer at least 30 minutes of content for any makeup. For additional information, please check out: http://www.rotary.org/en/members/generalinformation/PilotClubsAnde-clubs/Pages/
ridefault.asp.”
not been a major seller. A year later, the Nash Rambler and Metropolitan were badged as Hudsons and sold under both marques.
Hudsons kept their in-line six cylinder L-head (flat head) engines; standard models had single carbure-
tors, while optional “Twin-H Power” package had higher compression heads with dual carburetors.
Moving up, the Nash Ambassador and Hudson Hornet models boasted the Packard 320 V-8, produc-
ing 208 hp, with Packard "Ultramatic" automatic transmissions.”
Marv Hampton’s birthday was acknowledged by his donating $100 to Sharon’s Paul Harris account. Eddie Metherd’s 30th wedding anniversary brought $30 to Ann’s Paul Harris account.
Irene Perbal Boylson continues to market solar cookers and delivered $30 to the Club’s Solar Cooking
fund from her recent efforts.
Personal notes: my wife’s father was a Hudson dealer in Berkeley from the late 1930’s to about 1950 – so we did own several Hudsons during our early marriage. Also the Packard “Ultramtic” transmission was on a 1951 Packard we owned and it was a real “dog” as far as I’m concerned.
Steve Cilenti took the podium to introduce Craig Harmon as the speaker. Steve had met Craig 12
years ago at a Jackson car show where Craig’s beautiful 1963 Rambler caught his eye. It happened that Steve’s first car had been a Rambler bought him by his father. Craig had long had an interest in
Ramblers and has accumulated a great deal of information on the history of the marque. Craig – of the California Highway Patrol – brought his wife Kathy and an illustrated presentation of the history of Ramblers for our education. He pointed out that the first Rambler was built by Mr. Sterling who had manufactured bicycles. The name started in 1902 and lasted a great many years under various manufacturers. Craig noted that most of the famous early names in automobile manufacturing made alli-
ances with one another, some being on top for a while and then being much lower on the “totem pole”
as thir fortunes waxed and waned. The Ramler is perhaps best known as an American Motors prod-
uct when Mitt Romney’s father was president of the consolidation of several companies. A brief expla-
nation was obtained from an American Motors website:
The luck of the draw brought $33 to Chris Waters and a free dinner to Eddie Metherd.
Rotary news in brief from around the globe
The Rotarian -- October 2012
Wheels of Hope, a collaboration between Rotarians in Nigeria and Traverse City, Michigan, USA, is providing free wheelchairs to polio survivors in nothern Nigeria. Rotary clubs around the globe have many things in common, including a commitment to service. All year long, clubs are taking action to
make a difference in their communities. Here’s a roundup of recent club activities worldwide:
Australia
Last year, flooding in Cambodia killed 247 people and displaced more than 200,000 families. As floodwaters receded, diseases such as cholera and dengue fever emerged. The Rotary clubs of Eltham, Australia, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, coordinated the distribution of Aquaboxes – tanks that can purify up to 290 gallons of contaminated water – to families, medical centers, and schools.
“The Spirit Is Still Alive: American Motors Corporation 1954-1987 by Chad Quella • also see Hudson and Nash
Chad Quella supplied many press photos. Many additions were provided by Frank Swygert of American Motors Cars and by Mike Sealey, Yellow Cab 9033, San Francisco.
Canada
Malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and illnesses caused by lack of sanitation have devastated many villages in South Africa. In rural Hluvukani, the nonprofit Kunavelela Community Project maintains a communal garden to help nourish residents affected by disease. Last year, the Rotary Club of Bowen Island, B.C., pledged to raise funds to purchase and install a windmill, water tanks, and a basic irrigation system to support the garden. Bowen Island club members, working with the Rotary Club of Burnaby, B.C., raised more than US$12,000, and the village now has a reliable water supply.
Through its 34-year existence, AMC created some of the most memorable, inspirational, and exciting cars the world has ever seen. You can read through from the start, or scroll down to any particular year you might be interested in.
American Motors was formed in 1954 from the merger of Hudson Motors and Nash-Kelvinator. The deal was the largest corporate merger up to that point - worth $197,793,366 - but was just one phase of a planned megamerger of Hudson, Nash, Studebaker, and Packard.
England
During an event at St George’s House, Windsor Castle, 2011-12 RI President Kalyan Banerjee spoke
about the success of the fight against polio. The occasion was a charity dinner celebrating a full year without a case of the disease in India. Guests included British Home Secretary Theresa May and Ian Macfadyen, constable and governor of Windsor Castle. BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh,
who traveled to India in February for a series on the polio eradication campaign, was the event’s key-
The combined company would cover all segments of the market, and their size and ability to share
engineering would amortize costs nicely; at least, that was the plan of Kelvinator’s George Mason, whose company owned Nash. The name “American Motors” originated with Mason, who started work-
- ing on the plan just after World War II (thanks, Dan Minick.)
- note speaker.
Celebrations This Month
Birthdays:
July 4 Gale Fairbrother July 30 Roger Riggsby
The standard Hudson cars were an excellent design in the mid-to-upper range, but the lack of money for annual restyling had hurt sales. Racing successes sold Hudson Hornets, but not the bigger cars
that were Hudson’s main business. Hudson was, therefore, receptive to the plan to merge with Nash,
which had strengths in the low-to-middle range.
Wedding Anniversaries:
Aug 14 Doug McElwee Sept 21 Dave Mason
The first casualties of the merger were the Jet, Hudson's slow-selling entry into the compact market, and the little Nash-Healey sports car, which had left its mark on European sports car racing but had
Sept 22 Jim Wilmarth