CHEVROLETTER July 2021 Vol 2021 Issue 07.0 Director’s Report June 2021 Last month’s Director’s report started by commenting on the near record cold and a month later it is near record breaking heat, welcome to Long Island. Life goes on hot or cold and some members headed out last Sunday to attend the Queens Region show at Rock Hall. John Mahoney, Pat Iannone and I, along with Russ Heim as navigator in John’s 54 set off from Wantagh to the Rock Hall Museum in Lawrence. When we arrive we find Carmine Zito was already there waiting on us! The weather was a bit toasty but we found great spots under a shade tree, later to find out it was dropping sap on our cars. There were about 35-40 cars of all makes and models present. The Queens guys were very cordial and it was a nice easy going day. They will be hosting another event Monday, August 23rd at North Hempstead Beach Park, formerly Bar Beach. Perry Goldberg has once again offered his yard and pool for our August club pool party to be held on August 8th. Perry has a great location with plenty of room to park your cars. Perry has hosted this event a number of times and I highly recommend marking your calendar. The club supplies the burgers, dogs and soda and we ask members to bring either a salad or dessert. I am speculating there is a 99.99%, that is how sure I am that our July meeting will be held inside the Oyster Bay meeting hall on Church Street. Once New York hit a 70% vaccination rate, Cuomo opened up the state….I also understand his daughter was having a wedding not long after his proclamation. I am picking up some fresh Dunkin Donuts coffee and come July 12th, I will be getting a dozen of yummy gooey donuts. Just to remind you all our meetings start at 8 PM, see you all there. Normally out August meeting is an open meeting/car display to entice prospective members to check us out. Given the uncertainty of vaccination rates, I could not advertise this event in the G+D but if we decide to have it this year, I can list it on the national website, VCCA.org. I think we should have it as a welcome back party to all our members along with a membership drive. This pandemic seems to have accelerated events and made future history take place sooner. Failing businesses that might have lasted a few more years closed during covid. People thinking about retirement in a few years took it early. Many people reexamined their lives and decided now was the time to “thin out” their stuff rather than wait a few years….or maybe never ! I think car clubs are going to be going thru their own version of covid change for the next few years. Smaller clubs that have gone for over a year without meetings or events may begin to fold. Many club members are aging out, moving out of the area or simply parking their cars because they either can longer drive them or have lost their desire to. All this means that we need to communicate better with local clubs and share common events. An example is our region of the Vintage Chevrolet club participating in events organized by Corvette Society and visa versa. See you all soon. Chris 1 Meeting Highlights June 2021 Schedule of Events 2021 Our club meetings and club breakfasts are still suspended so I will just list the events I have dates for. Some of these dates may be tentative and may change or not happen at all July 12 – Meeting at Oyster Bay July 28-31- Mecum Harrisburg Collector Car Auction- Members of the VCCA get free bidders passes to Mecum events. This could be a possible club event. I went a few years ago and had a great time. August 8th - Club Summer Party, please see Director’s Page August 9th- Long Island Region Open Meeting and Car Display October 5-9- Hershey Swap meet and Car Show Some club members should have a tent set up in the red field near TIP Products tent. It is still too early to confirm whether we will be there. December- Holiday Party Cruise days and nights- The pandemic has not seemed to cut into cruise events and I am sure as soon as the weather warms up there will be many cruises all over the island. Cruise Nights 2021 Thursday- Milleridge Inn Thursday- Kings Park Key Food Shopping Center Indian Head Road, 5 pm-9pm Friday- Bohemia Old K Mart lot, west side Sunrise Highway, starts April 5th 5pm till dark see article As we move farther into 2021 dates will be added, moved or removed so feel free to contact the club Director for current information 2 Long Island Region VCCA – Chevrolet History The Indy 500 was held this past May and the first family of racing at the brickyard was the brothers Louis, Gaston and Arthur. Arthur Chevrolet was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchatel, Switzerland, Arthur was the middle brother of Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941), founder of the Chevrolet car company; and Gaston Chevrolet (1892–1920). After brother Louis immigrated to America and earned enough money, he sent for Gaston and Arthur to join him. Once there, Arthur worked as an automotive mechanic and joined his brothers in auto racing. In 1911, he competed in the inaugural Indianapolis 500 but had to drop out after 30 laps when his Buick developed mechanical problems. In 1916, the year after older brother Louis left the Chevrolet car company that he had co-founded, Arthur Chevrolet became a partner with Louis and Gaston in the new Frontenac Motor Corporation. Driving a Frontenac, Arthur qualified for the Indianapolis 500 again in 1916, but was forced out after 35 laps when the car developed ignition magneto problems. His driving career ended during practice rounds for the 1920 Indianapolis 500 when he was severely injured in a crash. Brother Gaston won that year's race in a Frontenac, but Gaston was killed in a California race a few months later. In 1928, Arthur filed with the US Patent Office for an 'Overhead Valve Engine'. Patent #1,744,526 was awarded on January 21, 1930.[1] In 1929 Arthur and Louis Chevrolet left the auto business altogether to form the Chevrolet Brothers Aircraft Company with a new engine of their design (Chevrolair). The business was unsuccessful and was eventually taken over by investors. Arthur and Louis returned to automobiles, becoming pioneer leaders in the development of sprint type race cars. In 1990 Arthur and his brother were inducted to the inaugural class of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. In 1942 Arthur Chevrolet retired to Slidell, Louisiana. Suffering from depression, he committed suicide by hanging in 1946, only nine days shy of his 62nd birthday Arthur Chevrolet has long been thought to be interred next to his brothers in the Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. A headstone was placed at the grave in 2011 to memorialize his life by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chevrolet Motor Company. The St. Tammany News (which ceased operations in early 2013) revealed in a series of articles in late August 2012 that Arthur was not buried in Holy Cross and St. Joseph Cemetery as previously believed but is most likely in a lost and unmarked grave in Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery in the city where he died, Slidell, Louisiana. The grave thought to be 3 that of Arthur Chevrolet for many years is in fact his son, Arthur Chevrolet Jr. who died at 23 years old in November 1931, 15 years prior to Arthur Sr. death. Long Island Region VCCA – Breakfest at Eisenhower’s Park During the Covid Pandemic – with dinners closed - members of our club will meet at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County – having breakfast under the pavilion - off Merrick Ave - turned out to be pleasant time to talk about our favorite topics - “Chevrolet Cars Parts Designs” ! John Mahoney’s stunning 1954 Chevrolet Pat Iannone’s beautiful 1955 Chevrolet Jeff Friedman’s gorgeous 1956 Chevrolet Chris Geiger’s Corvette was taken out of the photo scene since it was out of the yearly sequence! 4 Long Island Region VCCA – the Chelsea Adult Living Facility Stan Rivera and the Corvette Society sent out an invitation to our members to attend a display sponsored by the Chelsea Adult Living Facility. Pat Iannone and Chris Geiger dropped over for a few hours and had a great time. 5 Editor’s Note: It was a lot of fun and an enjoyable day ! Long Island Region VCCA - Queens Region show at Rock Hall Carmine Zito – Russ Heim - Pat Iannone - John Mahoney – Chris Geiger 6 Long Island Region VCCA - CLASSIFIED AD ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale 1940 Chevrolet Sedan Delux – 4 Door Sedan THE CAR HAS THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS: 6 CYLINDER, 37,000 ORIGINAL MILES ALWAYS GARAGED ORIGINAL OWNERS BILL OF SALE Contact: Anthony Contrino 516-902-8887 7 Long Island Region VCCA - CLASSIFIED AD ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale - ForSale Reproduction Fiberglas Mullins Style Trailer This is a replica of a popular travel trailer from the 30's. This is reproduced in fiberglass with a hinged lid held open by gas struts. The interior is fully carpeted.