The Newsletter of the Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. September-October 2001 I s ue 194 ow David has announced an online ve rsion of the index, and , be t of all , it's free! Any internet user can access the index at http://th eautoindex.com (note th at it's not a "www" URL) . At theauto index.com yo u ca n search multiple titles for a wid e range of years, make refin ed searche based on specifi c criteri a and print selected references. Also, the index is constantly being updated , so yo u'll always acces th e latest data. If yo u're not currently online, this is just one more reason to consid er becoming "wired ." - Kit Fos ter Dale K. Wells Elected New SAH President Paper Proposals Due September 30th Dale K. Well s o f Kalamazoo, Mi chigan, has been elected presi­ Members are reminded that the deadline for submission of pro­ dent of the Society of Automoti ve Histori ans , s ucceeding Leroy posals for papers to be presented at the fo urth bi ennial Auto­ Co le. Currently a Director of SAH , he is a founding life mem­ m oti ve History Conference is fas t approaching. The deadline is ber and retiring pres id ent of The Stutz Club and was a con­ September 30th, 2001, with notificati on of preliminary accept­ tributing author to the Stutz Club's Cugnot Awa rd-winning ance to be made by October 3 1st. Proposals should in clude the book Th e Spl endid Stutz in 1997. Dale is a past president of the title of the submission, names and affili ati on of presenters, Classic Car Club of Ameri ca Museum and research custodi an chairs, parti cipants etc., together wi th addresses, phone/fax num- o f the Museum's libra ry. A graduate of Michigan State rnore News on page 3 Uni ve rsity and a veteran o f th e U.S. Air Force, he is the retired treasurer and com ptro ll er of a fa mily machinery manufa ctur­ ing business. Inside the Journal Incumbent officers, vice presid en t Jose ph Freeman, secre­ tary Michae l Berger and treasurer Christopher "Kit " Foste1; were SAH News 1 re-elected . President's Perspective 2 Elected to three-year terms as Directors were retiring Obituaries 5 president, Leroy Co le, and incumbents Darwyn Lumley and Paul Lashbrooh. The Director vacancy created by Dal e Wells' electi on Smith Hempstone Oliver as presid ent will be fi ll ed by the board at the October llth Henry Walker Mathis meeting. All offi cers and Directors-elect will assume their posi­ John T. Robinson ti ons at the conclusion of the annual meeting at Hershey on Roy D. Chapin, Jr. October 12th. Robert Braunschweig Auto Index Now Online Upcoming Events 6 If, like Leroy Co le ("The Cost of Curi osity," Journal 193), you "Fageol's Fadgl" 7 save all your automotive periodicals, you've probably noticed By John Pera la another problem in addition to the space they occupy: the dif­ Book Reviews 8 ficulty in finding things you'd like to look up. Even if a given title has a periodic index, you have to know where to start look­ Cabrio-1</assiker aus neun jahrzehnten ing-unless you're that rare orderly person who maintains a Aston Martin personal, library-wide index. One resource has been David Letters 9 Plump's The Alita Index, published in print form for about twen­ The Billboard 11 ty years. It was a massive undertaking, though , and has not been updated since 1993. SAH Journal 194 It's Time Samuel V Fiorani ' time to gather stones and a time to cast stones away. Editor A time to keep and a time to cast away" (Ecclesiastes Thomas S. Jakups A 3:5-6). King Solomon wrote a book, now in the Old Associate Edi to r Testament, call ed Ecclesiastes. In it he gives his report on life as Advertising Manage r he has observed it. He notes that life has its times and seasons. 37 Wyndwood Road We t Hartford, CT 06107 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose 860-236-0125 Fax 860-232-0468 under the heaven: A time to ... " Pete Seeger set this to music journal@auto hi story.o rg, tj akup @home.com and it made the Top 40 charts during the 1960s. We could conclude from the words Solomon used that he . Officers Leroy D. Cole had a large collection of automotive literature. Actually he had President 1,000 wives and a whole kingdom. The Hebrew translation to JosephS. Freeman "gather" means to collect, to enfold to heap up. The term trans­ Vice Pres ident lated "stones" means to build , and may also refer to the builder Michael Berger (i. e. mason). The term translated "keep" is to hedge about, pro­ Secreta ry tect, preserve, save. The term "cast away" refer not to indis­ Christopher Foster Treasurer criminate throwing away but means the opposite of collect. My translation reads "There is a time to gather automotive history Board of Directors material , to enfold it, to protect and preserve it and at times to Through October 2001 heap it up (post Hershey shopping). There will also be a time Darwyn H. Lumley that we move it on to another to enfold, protect and preserve." Paul Lashbrook Gregg Merksamer We should not ignore the times of life, nor assume everyone Through October 2002 understands our intentions. Our Society of Automotive His­ Charles W House r LO ri ans should and will have a leading role in directing the Darvin Kuehl "aim" of those of us who are in the "casting" mode concerning Dale K. Wells their collections. Through October 2003 james j. Schild I believe this is one of the most important tasks we have Robert Ebert in the next ten years. How tragic if a collection ends up in a Samuel V Fiorani landfill or a yard sale. Each collection refl ects the personality and the labors of the collector and should be passed on. When Publications Committee and where are the important questions. Christopher G. Foster, Chair Taylor Vinson, Samuel V Fiorani The "time" for the final President's Perspective in the SA H Michael Lamm, &verly Rae Kimes journal is much easier to perceive. The editor said "we need your final President's Perspective," and I started to write. l look Past Editors back over the last two years since l received the gavel from Ri chard B. Brigham Issues 1-29 Sept. 1969-(undated) 1973 G. Mar hall au! Issues 30-50July 1973-Dec . 1976 Sinclair Powell and l ee memories both pleasing and fulfilling. j ohn Peckham Issues 51-59 Feb. 1977- july 1978 You have honored me with this office and it in turn has con­ Walter Goscl en Is ues 60-87 ov. 1978-Dec. 1983 firmed my hope and respect for the Society. My brief acceptance Ri chard B. Brigham Issues 88-117 j an./Feb. 1983- ov./Dec. 1988 Kit Foster Iss ues 118-157 Jan./Feb 1989-July/Aug. 1995 peech two years ago stated that we were a society of gentlemen (gender neutral) and we conduct ourselves with respectful AH j ournal (IS 1057- 1973) is published six times a year by the Society of Automotive Historian , Inc. manners and dignity. My understanding of the ociety then, as ubsc ription is by membership in the ociety. now, was that its purpose was its connectiveness. That has been Se nd membership inquiries and changes of address to confirmed to me and enhanced further through our web site, Society of Automotive Hi stori ans, In c, autohistory.org, and AH-MotorMail. 11 02 Long Cove Road Ga les Ferry, CT 06335-18 12 U A I thank the many pa t presidents, who were an encour­ agement and a help to me, and the officers and board members ©2001 The Society of Automoti ve Histori ans, Inc. who always conducted themselves in a businesslike manner. Find the Society of Automotive Historians Our meetings in Los Angeles, Hershey and Cleveland were a on the web a t www.autohistory.org delight. ow another president will fill this office on our behalf and I wi ll join the "Past Pres id ent 's Club." 2 September-October 2001 There is yet the Hershey board meeting and the annual Help Out at the History Tent banquet, which has become such an important date on my cal­ Rest and Visit at WAY 11-12 endar, and of course the Hos pi tality Tent with its attraction of The Hi story Tent will again offer res pite, shelter and good com­ "who will drop by next? " There are awards to be given and the pany at White Field spaces WAY ll-12. Li ght refres hments will pl easure of seeing, aft er a yea r's absence, YOU . also be avail able. Volunteers are needed to staff th e tent on The applicati on of my sermon? Positively: "It is more Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Pl ease contact hospitality chair blessed to give than to receive! " egatively: "You can't take it Pau l Lashbrook by email at <[email protected]> or wi th yo u! " call him at (954) 587- 5785 to sign up for a two-hour shift. -Leroy D. Co le Celebrate with Bobbie'dine-Build a Library In celebration of Bobbi e'din e Rodda's 80th birthday, I have been continued from page 1 SAH News give n permission by the Petersen Automoti ve Museum to stage bers, e- mail addresses of contact personnel, proposed format a party in her honor.