Club Events

Seventy-fifth anniversary of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. We have been invited to bring Model A Fords and participate in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the opening of the parkway on Saturday, November 10, 2007. The plan is for us to park inside the circle on the grass outside MT Vernon at least 15 minutes before the 1300 (1 PM) ceremony. When designated, the vehicles will go around the circle one time then head down the parkway to FT Hunt Park. The Park Service asks that we remain at FT Hunt until around 3 PM when the program ends. They would like us to wear era clothing if possible, but that is not essential; it is the cars they want to feature. CONTACT Tom Quigley for sign-up or information at aowner@cox.net or call 703-912-4293

Chuck took the Fordor home and came back with the 1929 Truck. Hank's Lincoln also showed up.

Chuck with his 1931 Standard Fordor, and dumb reindeer in front, which looks like a moose!

Southern Railroad Dodge Power Wagon Signal Service truck. Great restoration job!

This is what it is all about: Kids playing Trains. Everyone is an Engineer, and they really get lost in the magic and fun of it.

As our caravan of Model As arrived at the assigned parade formation area early on Memorial Day morning, the National Mall was starting to come alive with bands and marching units from all 50 states unloading from busses and breaking out their gear. This is the best part of a parade. Parade participants unfamiliar with the area, in awe of being in the Nation's Capitol, thrilled and a little scared by the realization that they are actually going to be in a National Parade. Bands getting out their instruments, locating all the parts and pieces, comparing mouth pieces, looking for just the right drum sticks for today. And this morning, a large Bag Pipe Marching Band was getting tuned up. There is nothing quite like 20 or so bag pipes being warmed up on a cool morning on the Mall. "Discordant" does not do it justice! We watched as one of the band members quietly walked about 200 feet towards us, away from the rest of the group, and graced us with a private concert of the music he would be playing in the parade. He did not need more tune-up, he just wanted to practice in peace. There is nothing like the formation of a parade! And somehow, it all comes together, and at the designated time an anonymous loud-speaker voice says "Step-off will be in three minutes." As I dashed down the 85 steps from the Museum of Art (restrooms) to jump in my phaeton and not hold up our unit, it was clear that a parade to honor War Veterans of the United States was indeed formed. Flags were raised and fluttering in the breeze, lines of marchers were nearly straight, and in two minutes step-off occurred.

The 16 Model As from the George Washington Chapter Model A Club carried several club member veterans, and also about 12 members of the Buffalo Soldiers Greater Washington D.C. Chapter of the 9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry Association. Their mission is to perpetuate the memory of comrades who have passed on and the history of the accomplishments of the "Buffalo Soldiers" 9th and 10th Regiments in the defense of our country. The 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments were created by an act of congress in 1866, which authorized regiments of troops to be manned by African-Americans. They went into battle fighting American Indians. After engaging the Black men in campaign and battle, the Native Americans nicknamed them "Buffalo Soldiers" because of their fierceness in combat, not unlike the indestructibility and fearlessness of the buffalo.

We were proud to carry all the veterans in our Model As, and the Buffalo Soldiers made good use of the visibility our cars, especially the open ones and rumble seats, gave them as the parade moved down the route. They saluted sharply the many military men and women who lined the parade route, and received nearly continuous applause from the thousands of spectators along the way, sometimes as many as 10 people deep. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Sixteen Model As lined up double-file, ready for our Veteran passengers and ready for the parade

Buffalo Soldiers Association banner on John's coupe

Trouper Curtis D. Womack, highly decorated Veteran, Parachutist and recipient of multiple Purple Heart medals.

Buffalo Soldier getting settled into the chair which Dan bolted to the bed of his roadster pickup

Dan and passenger turn left onto 3rd St. S.E., passing by the Capitol; at right, Model As drive down Constitution Avenue

Buffalo Soldiers National Public Relations Officer and wife; at right Pop Williams, Veteran of the Omaha Beach invasion of Normandy

Woody "Pop" Williams and Dick Wright talking before the parade Veterans James Warrington and Dick Wright

Clem talking to 102 year old Navy Veteran TV station interviews Tom and his passengers

It was indeed a privilege to participate in this National Memorial Day Parade and in some small way help honor those Veterans who have gone before us to keep this great nation free. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen, for your service. We salute you.

And thanks to all the young military personnel on active duty today, continuing to fight for our freedom.

The party started with a short business meeting, during which the new officers were introduced.

Left to right: Clarice Shaw, Membership; Benny Leonard, Tool Chairman; Andy Jaeger, Activities; Paul Gauthier, President; Bill Worsham, Annual Meet Chairman; Gil Beckner, Treasurer; Phil McCormick, Assistant Treasurer; Stan Johnson, outgoing Assistant Editor and President of MAFFI; Gerry Olexson, Secretary; and Tom Terko, Technical Help.

Not shown: Tom Quigley, VP-Programs; Cliff Colee, Editor; Chuck Shaw, Web Master; Howard Minners, National Liaison; and Woody Williams, Tour Chairman.

The GWC Club presents an award at irregular intervals to a member who has, in the last year, provided outstanding technical help and information to club members. The award is the Carl Patrick Award, in honor of Carl and the years of unselfish giving of his technical knowledge and skills to the club. This year Tom Terko was selected for the award, as a result of his volunteer efforts to help out several club members who were just not in a position to get things taken care of by themselves. Tommy showed up on some occasions unannounced, and brought direction and purposefulness to the effort. He doesn't work with a lot of fanfare and bull, he just applies his skills and gets it done. These traits undoubtedly come from the many years that he was responsible for the reliability and safety of the Montgomery County, Maryland, school buses. Not to say that Tom is all seriousness - after the work is done you better have ready some beer and eats and maybe a cigar or two! Congratulations, Tom Terko. Photo above shows Paul Gauthier, on behalf of Outgoing President Woody Williams, presenting the Carl Patrick Award to Tom Terko.

The tour started under a clear blue sky, with the temperature a comfortable 80 degrees at 9:00 am. That should have told us something. The group that started at Burke Center proceeded down Route 123, across the Occoquan River, and met up with several others folks further down the road.

Clem rounds the bend coming up from the bridge across the River Occoquan, followed by Phil

Who was followed by Paul, and finally by Woody, with Laurel shadowing us in the white Cadillac

Along the road, Mr. Bill's engine transplant, competed two nights before the trip, developed strange problems. One was a cracked intake manifold. JB Weld just got sucked into the crack, so Chuck's special Red 3M Duct tape (it is an intake duct, right?) came to the rescue.

Well, about 55 Model As, and a few newer cars, got to the hotel in Williamsburg, Virginia on Thursday, and on Friday, we split up into several groups to visit the several beautiful plantations on both sides of the James River. Here you see Woody following a John Deere "Follow Me" Plantation Guide Vehicle (FMPGV), picture taken by Clem as he followed Woody and the FMPGV, to a position in front of the beautiful mansion at Shirley Plantation.

The next several pictures show the GWC cars that were at Shirley at this time, plus three cars at the right end of the line from another club.

OK, can we ID this crew? Woody, Clarice, Clem, Sandy, Carol, Jim, Susan, Jon, Janet, George, and then some folks I don't know but the gent by the next to the last car is Dewey Milligan of the Cape Henry Club, I do believe.

Jim and Carol pull away from the front porch, followed by Jon and Susan in her beautiful Sport Coupe

Remember Mr. Bill and the Red Duct Tape? Well, at a restaurant we stopped at on the way down from Fairfax, he walked around all the tables and called out loudly "Anyone here have an intake manifold for a Model A Ford?" Now, 99 out of 100 folks at this big restaurant were thinking about calling 911 on their cell phones - you know - "Gear Head on the loose", but ONE guy said "Sure, I have one underneath the front seat of my Cheborellet, ain't doin' me no good. So that's how Mr. Bill borrowed a good manifold. But I forgot to tell you that lots of accessories on that engine that he got from me, history unknown, he had borrowed from friends and known criminals, as Clem calls them. Including, of course, Clem. (manifold). So Mr. Bill's trouble were far from over. In this picture, he swears he is NOT, repeat, NOT working on the starter or any other miscellaneous part you see on the ground here, he is on a prayer rug, facing Detroit, praying that his car will get him and the Mrs. to the Plantations and back to Fairfax.

Several of our group crossed the James River way up north near Shirley Plantation, and came back towards Williamsburg on the south side of the river so we could eat at a waterfront dive that Woody recommended. Biker bar on the swamp, it was. But the real reason we did this was so we could go back to the hotel on the Ferry Boat! Here we are, loaded on the Pocahontas.

The group of funky old cars on the left was from the Baltimore Model A Club. Funny how they all look alike from the top! Neat sight! The right hand picture shows Woody's roadster, with Clem's Cabriolet behind it, and Miss Sandy, behind the car, giving Clem some directions.

Clem shoots a picture of the back of Woody's and Pop's heads, and I shoot the back of Clem's head, and the dock on the Williamsburg side of the river, just before the Pocahontas landed.

Next day, groups split off again, and those that went south on Friday went north on Saturday, and vice-versa, except for us that went north both days. This time to Berkeley Plantation, which turns out is Mr. Bill and Judy's favorite plantation, and brings back many memories of dinners there when there was a small restaurant. Unfortunately, their car was still rejecting the engine transplant, so they got a ride in another A.

On the side steps at Berkeley Plantation, starting at the top, left to right, Paul, Laurel, Clem; down a step are Gil, Clarice, and Sandy; below them are Charlene, Bob and Linda, with Jane in front of Charlene. Front row is Woody, Bill, Judy, Ashley, and Pop.

Cast of thousands, everybody just adopted a car for the picture, but we see Paul and Laurel, Bob, Bill and Judy, Charlene and Gil (I believe they carried Bill and Judy on this journey), Clem and Sandy, Pop Williams, Clarice (we hitched rides with Clem and Sandy), Linda, Ashley, Woody our Esteemed Tour Originator, and standing by Dan Townsend's truck is Jane, who thought it looked lonely down their with the owner still in the mansion.

Now on to the Saturday Night Ice Cream Social, Door Prize, and Awards Event. Last year there were not many pictures of this event, and Woody asked me to try and do better this year, so I got about everyone except the picture of his wife is blurry, and the one of Clarice getting her award is so bad (funny) that I did not dare use it.

On the left is a general view of the scene when door prizes being given out. I think Don Temple was opening something in the background. And the picture on the right shows Bob Williams just after he opened his Bottle of Love Potion Number Nine! Remember the song? Bob did.

Award for youngest driver went to Mark Case, and the award for oldest driver to Bob Williams.

Oldest car award, the CAR, silly, went to Susan Phillips for her 1928 Sport Coupe. The couple that drove the farthest to get to this event was Loukie and Hugh Smith, who drove over 8,000 miles, from Hampton, VA, to California, up to Oregon, and back in time for this event! At the conclusion of the Ice Cream Social, they gave a very interesting slide presentation about their trip.

Carol Cartmill received one of the Woman Driver Awards. Another Woman Driver Award went to Betty Ann Byrd, who drove the most miles, but was not present for the awards events. GWC Presents a Road Warrior Award to congratulate and honor the member who has the most difficult problems on the trip, but keeps at it and gets things running enough to finish the trip. Woody decided that Bill's wife Judy deserved the award for keeping her cool in the 100 degree heat, and keeping her sense of humor, and supporting Mr. Bill who found out from Don Temple that the real problem with his car, both the last engine and this transplant job, was a BAD DISTRIBUTOR BODY that caused intermittent firing of two of the spark plugs. Mystery solved, and he carried on at 55 to 60 miles per hour the rest of the trip! Thanks Judy!

Not done yet; Janet Merkle gets the General Helper Organizer and Pokeno Game Referee award, and in the picture on the right, Sandy Clement receives a plaque for her work as one of the Woody Williams James River Plantation Tour Registration People. Clarice Shaw also received a similar award.

And what about Bill Worsham? See how happy he looks here, now that his wonderful car is fixed. Woody presented Bill a special award for all the work he did in helping set up the various tours around this area that he and Judy know so well and love so much. The picture on the right shows Linda Williams receiving an award from Woody for all the support she gives him in preparing these adventures (see the last picture below). The family puts in dozens of hours to get these tours planned out, maps made, reservations made, coordination with all the locations we are going to visit, answering 1.6634 Zillion phone calls and e-mails, and then re-checking everything just before the tour, because things change.

The final caravan home, pulling out of Williamsburg. Bill and Judy in the lead (they soon lost everyone because Bill drove at 60), Clem, Paul, George, Laurel in the white car, and then a couple more Model As.

We all want to thank this crew, the real glue that keeps all this together - Woody's support team, without which there would be no Woody Tours: Ashley, Linda, and Pop Williams.

Fifty one cars of tour registrants converged on the Holliday Inn Express outside of Orange, Virginia, on Thursday, August 12. The weather forecast was threatening, but there were just high clouds as we drove through the beautiful countryside. We never determined the total number of attendees, but it was well over 100 people. There were 44 Model As, two elderly VWs, and a few newer cars.

The pictures and descriptions below don't do justice to this fine tour. There were representatives from Greater Baltimore, Colonial, Cape Henry, and Skyline Model A clubs, in addition to the GWC members, and the camaraderie was just wonderful. There allegedly was some rain during the four days, but it did not slow anything down, and I don't really remember it, because there was so many interesting things to see, and such nutty things going on around the hotel, that the rain was not an issue! Not shown below, but several tour members drove their Model As to a nearby nursing home, for the folks to look at and remember the fun of the '30s.

Woody, Linda, Ashley, and Pop Williams, we thank you sincerely for hosting another incredibly pleasant, well thought out, and relaxing tour.

The first tour started at 1:30 Thursday afternoon, led by Patriot Frank Walker, historian, guide, and source of all knowledge about this area, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the North, the South, and who knows what all. The tour was to Montpelier, the home of President James Madison. (This is the Presidents Tour, remember?) Montpelier is on beautiful grounds, but the mansion is undergoing extensive restoration so the house tour was through a "hard hat" area.

Frank somehow obtained permission for us to park on Mrs. Madison's front lawn. We under stand that a military dignitary's helicopter tried this when the duPont's lived here, and Mrs dP came out and sent them a-packing. Or a-flying, or what ever helicopters do when chased away.

If you count the headlights and divide by two, you will find there were 29 Model A Fords lined up on the lawn!

The picture on the right was taken out of the upstairs window of Montpelier; you can see some of the construction scaffolding.

Frank Walker explained the history of Montpelier in with great enthusiasm, and seemed to know an awful lot about the personal lives of everyone involved over the centuries. Some fascinating stories here. I still don't understand about the famous race horses buried under this tree, and the Madisons all being buried somewhere else, but that is Frank's story, and he is sticking to it! Frank is the gent in the brown Patriot's outfit.

The group went several directions on Friday. Some went on a Battlefield Tour with Captain Frank Walker, CSA, and others went antiquing, winery touring, or to Monticello and Highland-Ash Lawn.

Your photographer went to Monticello and Ash Lawn, so here is a little of what we saw.

The Monticello group tries to get lined up for a photo. Well, this will have to do! Is that a white Model A?

Everyone knows about Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, right? Well, I had never been there, and I kept looking for the huge, beautiful, mansion in the photos we have all seen! No such place. The most well known picture, the one showing the dome with great prominence, is almost impossible to take - you have to go way down the side, with no path, and it is not on the tour! Well, so much for Tommy's place. Here we are waiting to get in. Only a few tourists may enter at one time; it just gets too crowded.

Monticello is a very popular place to visit, and for good reason. The grounds are beautiful, the house is full of innovations of the period, and it is built with fine attention to detail. But most important is the incredible amount of history that was created here. The outcome of nations were resolved in the rooms of Monticello, and dignitaries of the United States and many foreign countries traveled here for the meetings and negotiations that would determine their fate and the course of history.

Next we drove to Charlottesville, Virginia, and the home of President James Monroe. The original small house of President Monroe, which he called Ash Lawn, is on a beautiful estate that was called Highland when the Monroe family purchased it in 1793. The gardens are small but beautiful. The tour through the house is informal, the docents are friendly, and there were no crowds here. For many of us, this small tour was the favorite out of the three President's homes we visited this weekend. There are 535 acres in this quite, restful estate, and it is well worth a visit if you are anywhere near this area. Some of the members of our group are shown in this picture.

Woody, Pop, Linda, Ashley, Clarice and I went in Linda's SUV, accompanied by Bill and Alice in their 1931 Town Sedan, to a Drive-In Theatre. Turned out that Ashley did not know anything about these places, and had trouble with the concept that the screen was Outdoors! "Is it like a parking lot?" she asked. Mom Linda said "Yes." Well, we could not leave it at that, so as we got closer to the site, I proceeded to explain the facts of life at the drive-in! At least, as best as could be recalled. With help from the others, such as Woody's comment that he got chapped lips at the drive-in from the kissing. Ashley covered her ears. That is just too yucky.

Well yes siree, bob, as they used to say, your scribe didn't get it much wrong. Here was the real thing, just like described, with the parking humps (remember?) and the posts with the speakers hanging on them, and the curly twisted speaker cords, and the kids, and the pick-up trucks turned around backwards, and the Sims proceeded to jump in the back seat of the Town Sedan with a big jug of wine, and the food place was under the projector beam, and it was all blankets, and folding chairs, and then it got REAL dark! The movie was "13 going on 30", which happens to be Ashley's age (13, not 30), so she could relate to this story. As 30ish adults, we could relate also.

Beautiful cool night, clear skies, silly fun movie, good company, no mosquitoes, and to finish it off, Woody and Bill drove out right after the second feature started, just like we used to do. You had to stay long enough to know what the move was, to tell your parents. Then you slips out with the lights off! And just like I warned them NOT to do, they turned up towards the back of the drive-in too early, before the perimeter road, and we went charging up across the humps at full speed. Nearly got that Sequoia airborne, and it must have stirred Bill's jug of wine something awful. Next time Woody invites you to a drive-in movie, take him up on the date! Ashley will tell you how it all works...

Saturday started with fog. But that did not stop us because we were going to see Fire Engines, and Junk Stores!

Here is Ashley, riding in the rumble seat of Woody's roadster. Pop is looking on. He wanted a turn in the rumble seat.

Edna said she would drive this thing out of here if she could just find the starter pedal! Boy, can that lady ring a fire truck bell! The fire engine collection is owned by retired fireman John Patina.

Loukie, do you know that Hugh made an offer on this truck? That's why he wants a bigger place!

OK, on to Madison, Virginia, and the Feed Store. Note the two local characters. Guy named Jim, and a guy named Clem. The well dressed one (on the left), is Jim. This place surprised even him, and he has seen some kinda stuff in his collection career! That period truck on the left is your webmaster's always starts, always leaks oil, always spreads a cloud from the oil filler, silly '29 pickup. Gets us there, gets us home, and it's paid for.

Saturday evening was Ice Cream Social time at the hotel. The club bought the ice cream, and the hotel staff volunteered to set up tables with table cloths, arrange a nice setting for the ice cream and trimmings, and to do the serving. This hotel could not possibly have done a better job of taking care of this crazy bunch for the entire weekend. If you ever need a hotel down this way, try it. The setting is on top of a knoll outside of town, and the area is completely pastoral.

Views of the Social from the balcony above, and from ice cream level. Click on the balcony thumbnail, and see how many folks you can recognize. That is Frank Walker at the upper left table, who appeared as an Ice Cream Eater, or ICE, and signed copies of his book about Orange County.

Woody presented a number of awards at the Social, but I did not get photos of all of them. Below you can see Janet Merkle, who received an award for all her efforts to support this tour, and especially for the Pokeno Championship Games which she handled in the absence of Barbara White. Clarice won the prize for the Scavenger hunt. Don Temple won the award for the youngest driver (he is HOW young?); J.C. Willis from Cape Henry for the Oldest Driver; Percy Bunch for longest drive to Orange, from Murfreesboro, North Carolina; Phil McCormick was rewarded for all his work keeping the finances straight for this event, over a period of a year; Edna Cross won the second night Pokeno Champ award, and I think Kathie Gray won the first night. The Ice Cream Social was a lot of fun, and a real social event, and it is unfortunate that Woody, who organized this entire thing, was so busy and concerned about everyone else having what they need, that he did not get any ice cream himself!

The Cape Henry group got an early start south. They had been concerned about hurricane damage all weekend, but we understand that everyone came out OK.

Who put this water melon in my car? Woody never did find out, but he took it home with him!

Pop and Woody led our small group of cars back to Chantilly, and here they are turning off towards Ashburn. So long Woody! So long Pop! Thanks for an absolutely wonderful four days!

Only a few members of the GWC club attended this fine meet, held in the middle of the Wisconsin dairy country. It is so rural, that there is a 15 acre corn field between the host Marriott hotel and the next hotel in the "business park! Can you guess that we had a great time? The setting was beautiful, parking was plentiful, and the representatives of the Wisconsin Chapter were everywhere, easily identified by their Holstein Vests. And sometimes by their Holstein shorts. If you have to ask what that means, I guess you just don't know dairy cows and Wisconsin hospitality.

Jon Phillips and Truman Burn entered vehicles in Touring Class Judging. They each were awarded the MARC Touring Class Award of Excellence.

I will post more pictures in a few days, including some scenes from my wild ride in the back seat of Loukie Smith's '29 Phaeton as she led the first Lady "A"s tour. Imagine, a 15 Model A caravan, all driven by ladies, trying to follow Loukie, who drove like she was trying to escape, with me as "navigator", through cow country with none of us knowing where we were going. When we got there, to Paoli, WI, there was no "there" there!

The picture below shows the results of a 15 car "U Turn" in a church yard. The looks on the faces of the ladies in the cars we met on the switch back were priceless! Loukie kept shouting to them "Oops!" We did all find the cheese store, and more important, the ice cream place.

A chilly overcast hung low in the tree tops as dawn started to break, and we turned our Model As toward Washington. Drops of water clung to the tips of the branches, and the scene, as the night tried to become day, was one of grayness. Gray like the forests of Germany, gray like the skies over England, gray like the pictures we have seen in old news reels of World War II. What hope is there in all this? But we pressed on, for we had a mission - to carry as many World War II veterans in their special parade as we could. The weather slowly worsened, until there was a steady drizzle, but the mission was a success. You can see it all in the face of PFC James Warrington, as he passes in front of the Capitol of the United States, and after 60 years, finally has his chance for a victory parade.

And you can see it in the faces of Elbert Tuttle, Nelson Sublet, and Bill Schultz

And honored Vets Nelson Sublet, Wallace Klein, Stan Leizear, Liz Monks, Roland Dawes, James Warrington, Charles Carey, Woody Williams, Richard Wright, and John Creeden.

Also riding in a club Model A, but not pictured, were John Krafft and Frank Krafft.

The total count of WW II Veterans in GWC Model A Club cars, including two who drove their own cars, was 17.

Our guests got a chance to meet each other while the parade was forming up. The social time while waiting for the parade step-off is usually the best part of the event.

Veterans Stanley Caulkins, left, and Dick Wright, right, both 8th Air Force, have the "Where were you?" conversation, under Joe Drumheller's umbrella. And yes, there was a Drummer Boy on Chuck's truck.

Liz Monks, James Warrington, Dick Wright, and Woody Williams watch the activities across the mall.

The Step-Out. Seventeen Model A Fords begin their march in the rain, west on Madison.

PFC James Warrington stood in the rain for the entire parade, and gave the victory sign and blew kisses to the ladies. Someone said this could have been anywhere in Europe in 1944. The Capitol of the United States is in the background, partially hidden by the tree on the right.

His driver, Clement, got a call from the White House just as they passed the Capitol. Yes Sir! Mr. President, as soon as we get done honoring the World War II veterans, Sir, I will swing by and help you out, but this comes first!

The parade turns east on Independence Avenue, and goes past the reviewing stand.

Club President Woody Williams drove his daddy, Woody Williams (Pop), in the parade.

I often begin or end these picture stories with a picture of Pop, because he is so special to this club, but this time he gets the next to the last picture.

Here we see the Drummer Boy, after a long day in the rain, getting deflated so he can fit through the garage door.

The rest of us were pumped up by the experience of the day, with the emotions hard to control as we honored these brave men, and watched them meet each other after 60 years, and watched them salute and recognize the many uniformed veterans in wheel chairs along the parade route, and listened to the applause and words of thanks from the spectators as we rolled by with our veterans. If we made some small difference to the few that rode with our club, it indeed was a privilege and honor.

Visit to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

It was a beautiful day for a ride in the Virginia countryside. After a big breakfast at the Chantilly Bob Evan's, we motored to Dulles Airport and the new Udar-Hazy Air and Space Museum facility. There were six Model As, one Model T, and several modern cars.

The line-up: Bill, Toni, Duane, Chuck, Dolores, Laurel, Paul, Woody Senior (Pop),

The group assembled at the entrance to the museum. Missing: Steve, Roddy, and Steve's mother; Tommy's group; Joe and Alice; and Chuck the photographer.

Four eras of aviation: J-3 Cub, first pressurized airliner, Boeing jet, Concord SST

Woody and Pop in front of the Boeing - 80 jet, built in 1954, the forerunner of the Boeing jet airliners. Woody worked for Boeing, and has been inside this test-bed airplane.

The Udvar-Hazy Center is a stirring place to visit. Great for the curious, and great for the knowing. If you have not had the opportunity to visit it, go soon before the summer crowds descend on Washington. Arriving at 9:50 Saturday morning, just before opening at 10:00 worked well. Remember that parking is $12.00 per car, but entrance to the museum is free. If you carry a bag of any sort, you have to go through the security line on the left for inspection. Temporary food service is available at the far south end of the hangar, at floor level, and consists of Subway box lunches and pre-made salads. Works quite well.

We sure enjoyed the Model A camaraderie and the museum visit, and everyone departed for home knowing a little more about where aviation has been, and where it is going.

Spring Tour, Orange Virginia, May 1 -4, 2003

Several Model "A"s left Chantilly, Virginia, at 9:00 am on Thursday, May 1, and made their way through Warrenton and down to Orange, Virginia. Other "A"s and old cars left from various locations and everyone joined up at the beautiful old train station in Orange, for an afternoon of sightseeing and antique shopping in this historic town.

Woody and Pop lead the way! We took over the Orange Train Station, now used as the Visitor's Center

Friday Breakfast at the Holliday Inn Express. On the right is the entire group, ready for the Civil War Battlefield tour, led by Frank Walker in the Confederate Captain's uniform. Frank has a wealth of information about the War. He rode from site to site in various member's Model "A"s, and seemed to enjoy the day as much as we did!

First stop: Chancellorsville Battlefield, where Frank explained who shot whom (?), and where it happened, and how this beautiful woods changed hands several times. Terrible losses here, as was the case in all these battlefields.

Next we wandered through the rolling wooded hills to The Wilderness Battlefields. Here the South turned the Feds back several times, successfully defending Fredericksburg and thus Richmond, with huge losses on both sides over a period of two years.

Driving through The Wilderness, it was sobering to imagine the scenes described by our guide, Frank Walker: the explosions of the cannons, and the smoke, and the flames, and the screams of the wounded and helpless, as roaring fires in these now peaceful woods overran and killed thousands and thousands of Americans in a single day.

Above right, is our final tour stop of the day, the Exchange Hotel in Gordonsville. Built as a hotel at the intersection of two major railroad routes, the building was pressed into service as a hospital during the Civil War. About 70,000 Confederate soldiers, and numerous Federal soldiers, were treated here and the survivors moved on to larger hospitals or returned to duty. An untold number never went any farther, and were buried in the adjacent cemetery. The building is now a Civil War museum, with an extensive display of medical equipment and procedures used at the time of the Civil War.

On Saturday, as on all three days at the Holliday Inn Express, an excellent breakfast got things off to a good start. Today's tour was in a lighter vein than Friday's history lessons. We drove to the very small town of Madison for walking and shopping, not knowing what to expect. We found a place to park the cars behind an empty store, and fanned out to explore.

It did not take us long to find "The Feed and Grain Store". This place in unbelievable. Here we see Andy, way up a ladder in the rafters, going through stacks of hundreds of old license plates. He finds a rare 1924 Virginia plate!. One spark and this building crammed full of stuff, with just barely room to walk single file between the piles of junk and treasures (yes!) would be gone.

Above right, Clem, standing on an old cane chair, retrieves a tin fire engine. This was just before I spotted a genuine Kentucky muzzle-loading long-rifle in the corner behind Clem, reached for it and started a "landslide" of tin cans, cardboard boxes, dolls, boards, shotguns, oars, and three axe handles. They all came crashing down from the huge pile in the corner, sounding and looking like Fibber McGee's closet. So here I was, up to my knees in tin cans, totally trapped, Clem almost falling off the chair laughing, and I'm trying to keep a straight face and tell the owner that everything was OK! The lady said it was the best avalanche they had seen in weeks! She was kinda proud of it. Strange. Then she helped dig us out, just throwing everything back up in the corner.

After lunch we went a few miles down the road, wandered through the beautiful countryside, and found the Barboursville Ruins and Winery. The brick ruins are of a mansion which burned down at Christmas time in the late 1800's, and was never rebuilt. It overlooks the vineyards in this valley, and the winery main building shown below, left. Some of the group did some wine tasting, but we did not have time for the tour because we had more important things to do...

We had an appointment at the Woody Williams home on Lake Monticello, for Ice Cream! What a peaceful place! Woody presented his wife with a painting of a Model "A" Mail Truck, and said that was a clue to his next acquisition. Linda allowed as to how that was his mail truck, right there in that frame, and it would fit on the wall in the garage just fine. Then he gave her the real present, a large framed painting of magnolia blossoms, Linda's favorite flower. Ashley served the ice cream, but somehow I missed her in these pictures. She was busy making desserts!

Did I mention that another original Henry Ford steel two blade fan came apart on the way to Orange? This time the unlucky driver was Paul. But no problem, only a few holes in the radiator, none in the hood, and no one was hurt. That's the good news. The other good news is that Walt Bratton shipped a radiator down to replace this brand new one with the holes, and a member of the tour had a good aluminum fan, so Paul was back on the road Friday evening. Well, after replacing the generator, but that's another story!

Above, right, how many GWC club members does it take to change a fan blade? Tommy to study things, Jim (far right) to provide quality control, Benny to explain the theory of fan blade shape and end play, Paul the car owner to look worried, and Chuck to turn the wrench!

As we leave the Orange, VA Holliday Inn Express, and its friendly staff, we want to thank Woody and his family for all the thought and effort that they put into making this trip an interesting, entertaining, comfortable, and safe adventure. Three big AHOOGAs! for them!

Pictures in the above story are by Chuck Shaw, Bill Shields, and Woody Williams.

Fall Tour: Shenandoah Valley Hot Air Balloon Festival and Car Show, October 19 - 20, 2002

Arranged and Guided by Woody Williams and Pop Williams

Although the Rockville, MD, Car Show was cancelled because of the sniper activities in the Washington, D.C. area, the Hot Air Balloon Festival went on as scheduled. The Model As were there and the balloons were there, and the balloons went UP! No Model As went up, fortunately.

Our club fielded nine model As, which joined 61 cars from the Yesterday's Cruisers Car Club of Winchester, VA.

Note the neat mix of cars: Two roadsters, two coupes, two Tudors, two pick-ups, and one Fordor.

We took six trophys for "40 Best of Show" - Stan, Benny, Chuck, Andy, Woody, and Bill. Jim is holding his Dash Plaque!

'Course, we had to stop for antiques on the way. They opened the store for us, and we bought one silver spoon!

Stan, Woody, Jim, Ken, Pop, Clarice, Benny, Carol, Sharon, Ellen, and Andy. Chuck was behind the camera.

Tour of the Northern Neck of Virginia, August 8 - 11, 2002

Arranged and Led by Woody Williams and Family

Forty nine families registered for the tour, and one more arrived for the dinner, making it 50.

42 Model As, 1 1966 Mustang, 1 1950 Ford, 1 Model T, 1 VW Beetle, and 4 modern cars made the trip.

Clubs represented: George Washington Chapter/Mount Vernon Region, Greater Baltimore, Cape Henry, Richmond, Skyline, Colonial Virginia, and other friends from Virginia and North Carolina.

Thursday, August 8, was not quite as hot as the previous days, as we gathered in various locations to start the trip to Windmill Point Resort, White Stone, Virginia.

On Friday folks went to the George Washington Birthplace Monument, Stratford Hall - the home of Robert E. Lee, and antique shopping.

Gas stop in the country. One pump. Peaceful place. Forming up after our turn at the pump.

Then we drove to the Mill at Stratford Hall. It has been closed for renovation for a year, but the miller was there, and he showed us the upper floor and explained how the power is created and transferred throughout the building.

On Saturday, we divided into three groups and took turns visiting The Ashburn Collection, a private automotive collection owned by Jack Ashburn, Christ Church, built in 1735, Bobby Diggs Gas Station, another private collection, and the Lancaster Roller Mill. And of course, lots of cruising around the country roads to various small towns for antique shopping.

We enjoyed lunch in the shade of the huge trees at Christ Church, and took a rest from the touring.

Clarice wrings out a wet mystery meat sandwich! Harry knows how to enjoy a tree in the shade!

The Jack Ashburn Collection. Words escape me on this one. It would take a museum 13 times bigger than this place to display all the interesting automobiles, car parts and accessories, trains, and other toy items that are in these buildings. So, not having the space, Jack stacks 'em up, and you have to create your own museum in your mind. Works for me.

Entrance to the collection Check the prices: '36 Dodge $375, Chevy roadster $175

Saturday night we had a grand banquet. A real Model A fine dinner, with actual excellent food prepared by the hotel (don't tell the boaters), and lots of entertainment. Well, the long list of awards and door prizes was entertaining, and the conversations and stories told was the best of it!

The recognition of Linda Williams, Ashley Williams, and Pop ( Woody Williams, Senior), without whose help this event would not have happened, was not recorded on film. However, it is recorded in the hearts of those who attended, as is our appreciation of all the thought and countless hours that Woody put into organizing this wonderful event.