We'll be the Judge of That!

A message from 2012 Convention Concours Chairman Ken Schifftner:

We are in the process of recruiting judges for the Concours d’Elegance to take place during the 2012 CORSA Convention next July in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. We will be needing judges and back-up judges. Since we don't know how many vehicles may enter the Concours, we need to have some extra judges just in case. Volunteers are needed.

The Concours judges just judge for condition and cleanliness... they do not judge for originality or any other standard... If you haven't done this it is a great experience. You can do it even if you have a car in the Concours, you just won’t be judging your own vehicle or those in your vehicle’s class.

By late December I must send a list of names of potential judges to Don Wagner who coordinates the judges. Don then mails a form to these folks. This form asks them what areas they might want to judge (interior, wheels, trim, undercarriage, etc.). You just fill out the form and send it back to Don. Don then sends a return letter to you.

At the Convention, there will be a Judge's Meeting where the details will be provided. If you are a novice, you'll be paired with a "veteran" judge. You may or may not be called upon to judge... depends upon the number of vehicles.

If you are interested, please send your name, address, phone number, email address to me and I'll compile the list for Don. Please respond by the email link here.  Thank you!

Old Car, Young Owner

This 1960 Corvair 700 sedan will be at the Sturbridge convention, and it will be approaching its 53rd birthday at that time.

It’s a relatively early production car, built in the summer of 1959. It’s owner, on the other hand, is a relatively late production, born several years after the last Corvair came off the assembly line.

The car belongs to CORSA Eastern Division Director Jason Cesana, who reports that he never intended to buy such a car but now that he owns one he loves it.

Jason tells us that "I was looking for a late model coupe. I never really liked the style on the earlies and wanted the sportier looking late model. I put down a deposit on a bad-looking ‘69 but it needed everything right away. The car ran but smoked, the paint was gone, and the interior was hardly there. The owner wanted $1000 for it.

"I went home and was looking on Craigslist and lo and behold there was a new ad. I called the guy up and in a week I was the proud owner of the ‘60.

"I was new to the hobby so I didn't realize what I really had. It was not until after I did some research that I realized that this car was an "early" early!

"Now my opinion on earlies versus lates has sort of switched camps!"

Come to Sturbridge this July to see this old Corvair and to meet its young owner.

Another Thanksgiving Tradition

It is Thanksgiving Day, and as we write a New York City radio station is broadcasting Arlo Guthrie’s original Alice’s Restaurant Massacree, as has been done every year since it was first aired in 1967 – when Corvairs were new.

If you are an aging hippie or just a fan of the infectiously catchy tune that backs up Guthrie’s famous monologue, there are plenty of relevant sites to visit while in Massachusetts this coming summer.

One of them is this church in Great Barrington, the church at which the original "Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat" took place.

You could also visit the site of Alice Brock’s actual restaurant, in nearby Stockbridge. Walk right in, it’s around the back, just a half-a-mile from the railroad track.

Where Thanksgiving Began

As Thanksgiving 2011 approaches, we are of course reminded of the special significance the holiday has in Massachusetts, and how you can visit some historically important places during your Massachusetts visit in 2012.

The Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts in late 1620, and today’s Thanksgiving tradition stems from the feast held in the autumn of 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag natives to celebrate the colony's first successful harvest.　

　The First Thanksgiving, 1621, painting by J.L.G. Ferris (1863-1930)

While in Massachusetts this coming summer you can visit Plymouth Rock, along the coastline between Boston and Cape Cod, where folklore has it that the Pilgrims on the Mayflower first landed.

Another modern Thanksgiving tradition is the "pardoning" of the White House turkey in Washington. (No wisecracks, please, about how many turkeys there are in Washington.) In the photo below, President John F. Kennedy is pardoning the 1963 turkey, only a matter of days before his fateful visit to Dallas.

　
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is located in Boston, a city that is a must-visit while in Massachusetts. If you want to further immerse yourself in the history of the Kennedys, you can visit the Hyannis Port Historic District along the Nantucket Sound waterfront on Cape Cod.  You could even go to Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, an utterly charming island village adjacent to Chappaquiddick Island, where Senator Ted Kennedy’s infamous and deadly auto accident took place.

There is a wealth of history and tradition to be explored in Massachusetts. Don’t forget to allow extra time during your convention vacation to fully enjoy all these distinctive attractions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We Do

It has been quite a few days since our last post, due to business committments, but today is Friday and the work week is almost done.

As we write there is a meeting taking place at the Sturbridge Host Hotel.  Among those in attendance are convention chairman Brian O'Neill, convention promotional coordinator Al Lacki, CORSA executive secretary Harry Jensen, and CORSA convention coordinator Larry Claypool.  For Jensen and Claypool it is their first visit to Sturbridge, but of course it won't be their last as both will be back for the convention in July.

Tomorrow (November 19) there will be a larger meeting to include many more persons from the NECC convention committee.  It takes a lot of good volunteers to conduct a CORSA convention and the NECC is fortunate to have a lot of good volunteers.  If you would like to join these volunteers and help make the convention the success it is sure to be, contact us here.

In the meantime, here's a wedding photo, taken on the hotel lawn where our Concours d'Elegance will take place next summer:

If this location is good enough for a wedding, it will be a great place for our concours!

(Thanks to the Sturbridge Host Hotel and Snap Shots Unlimited for the photo)

Michigan in 2013!

Congratulations to the members of the Western Michigan Corvair Club, who will be our hosts for the 2013 CORSA Convention, one year following the gathering in Sturbridge.

Where will that convention take place? This video should answer the question!

It’s never too early for convention planning, and you can plan on meeting members of the Western Michigan group in Sturbridge, where they will have information available on their convention and the locale.

We should note that the Corvair Society of America received convention bids for 2013 from the Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts and the Circle City Corvair Club of Indianapolis, as well as the bid from the Western Michigan Corvair Club. Goes to show that Corvair enthusiasm remains strong in the midwest!

(By the way, the person who put the Nicholas Brothers' video on YouTube got the song title wrong.  It's "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo," not "a Girl from Kalamazoo.")

Room at the Inn

As of November 1st, 2011, more than eight months ahead of the convention, more than 50, yes, 50 rooms have been reserved at the Sturbridge Host Hotel!

There appears to be little doubt that rooms at this convention will be sold out, so you may not want to wait much longer to make your reservations.

Fortunately, even when the Sturbridge Host is fully booked, there are plenty of other hotels in the immediate area.  But that doesn't mean that you should wait -- Sturbridge is a very popular summertime vacation destination, and so chances are good that those hotels will be sold out, too!  We suggest that you make your room reservations sooner rather than later.

An earlier post on this blog reviewed what you need to do to make your reservations either by phone or online, and that information is also available on the convention web site, here .

Of course, some people want to know the convention schedule before they make their plans.  The convention schedule is posted on the convention web site, here, and as more schedule details get filled in we will be updating that schedule.

Keep John Fitch in Your Prayers

John Fitch, known to Corvair enthusiasts as the creator of the Fitch Sprint Corvairs, is well-experienced in life-threatening battles, having raced during racing’s most treacherous era and having served with distinction as a P-51 Mustang pilot during World War II. But now Fitch, a Connecticut resident who has been looking forward to visiting the 2012 CORSA Convention in Sturbridge, is in a life-threatening battle once again.

At 94 years of age and still active in the automotive community, in recent days John has suffered serious medical complications. Having spent just over two weeks in his local hospital, bouncing from the Medical/Surgical Unit to the ICU, he has been transferred to a hospital in Hartford, where the region’s best doctors are. He is eating well, and sleeping better, and his indomitable spirit tells us that he has every intention of surviving this.

Many of us on the Northeast Corvair Council’s convention committee have known John Fitch since the NECC first started staging events at Lime Rock Park, just down the street from John’s home, in 1974. His Fitch Sprint Corvairs recognized the GT potential of the Corvair even where General Motors did not, and his Corvair-based Fitch Phoenix remains a distinctive icon. To this day John defends the Corvair against the unfounded criticism it received, and as noted above he has been looking forward to attending the 2012 CORSA Convention.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, as he continues his gallant fight for life.


UPDATE November 10, 2011: 

At 94, John is still taking a lot of "Adventures on Wheels." Transport between hospitals... gurney rides... to using his IV pole as a walker!

He is now reading the Wall Street Journal daily, walking twice a day, always a little further, and complying with his treatment plan. Glad to say, his own body is healing many of the issues.

He is looking forward to leaving the hospital soon, and upgrading to a rehab center close to home. And he wants very much to return home, as he has "plenty of work to do!"

Looks like his old P51 Mustang, the "Angel on our Shoulders" did not forget him!

This is great news for one of the last and greatest of "The Greatest Generation."

Your prayers and good wishes are working!


UPDATE November 22, 2011:

John Fitch is now in week six of his recovery. "Recovery" is the right word because that is the path he is on. Yesterday he walked three times, up from two and a little further! He is refusing pain meds because they dull his thinking and, as me says, he has "a lot of work to do!"

He finally has new hearing aides (from the VA) so he feels much better and is now a part of the hearing world. He is still in Hartford Hospital, but it is expected the he will be able to move to a rehab facility near his Lime Rock home.


UPDATE December 13, 2011:

To recap: Two months ago, just three days after driving his Fitch Phoenix on the track at Lime Rock, John Fitch suffered a collapsed lung. This, unfortunately, was followed by an onset of pneumonia. A late-night transport to Hartford Hospital, for more intensive care, proved to be the correct decision.

During the first day at the hospital, John was going through a very hard time. The family came, and the little toddler, granddaughter Gwendolyn, and grandchildren Mercedes and James came into Grandpa's room... three little Magic Wands! John’s eyes flew open and he smiled hugely and proudly.

Day to day, progress was made, and last Monday, he was finally without any health support, and functioning on his own, well enough to be discharged from the hospital, and return to his home neighborhood, for rehab at a facility in Salisbury, Connecticut.

He has a beautiful, private room, and the entire residence is beautifully decorated for the Holidays, and the meals are very good. John does not eat in his room as he prefers to get dressed, and meet some old friends, and make new ones at mealtime.

He is even visiting the chapel, which is quite lovely and serene. He is ready to have some changes in his life, so he is now sporting a goatee!

He is doing his re-hab, and complying with his program, all with the hope of returning to his Lime Rock home in the coming weeks and visiting the Sturbridge convention in July.


UPDATE January 25, 2012:

Yet another "Adventure on Wheels" for John Fitch.. And his family!

Having made excellent progress in rehab at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, near his home, he was due to be discharged earlier this month. In preparation for that, he had asked to have his Mercedes brought to the facility, and it was parked in the first parking space, in view of the main entrance. John was not given the keys, but plans were made for him and an assistant to begin packing his clothes, gifts, paperwork, etc., into the car.

They day before they were to do this, John was seen on the security video walking himself out of the building, without a word to staff, or anyone else. He walked straight to his car without any difficulty (after using a wheel chair for the past several weeks) and drove off!

He went to the nearby McDonald's, and then took himself out for a drive, on a beautiful day... without anyone knowing. By that afternoon, family and friends were all out looking for him and a "Silver Alert" was issued.

While everybody looked everywhere and everyone called everyone, the day was turning into evening and was growing more dark and more cold. But then, about eleven hours after slipping out of the care facility, he strode into the lobby of the historic Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and booked himself a room.

The front desk clerk realized that it was quite unusual for a older gentleman to check in, alone, without any belongings, and notified the police. He was transported to the local medical facility where he spent the night, and he was driven back to Nobel Horizons by noon the next day.

His Mercedes was retrieved and brought to the garage at his house.

He was discharged later that week and, returned to his cherished Lime Rock homestead, now compete with two "live in" gentlemen to see that his needs are met.

This latest adventure put all of his loved ones and his many friends in a serious state of alarm and concern. However, the independent spirit that John Fitch has always had is still clearly present!


UPDATE September 4, 2012: 

Having celebrated his 95th birthday in August, John Fitch was able to attend the Labor Day weekend Vintage Festival at Lime Rock, where he was able to spend time with special guest Sir Stirling Moss.  In the photo below, Don Klein (left) chats with Fitch (center) and Moss (right).

Peeking under the Rampside

Here are two more photos of Cal Clark's Rampside in the early stages of its restoration.  Every removable part has been removed!

Cal will have this Rampside at the Convention in July, fully restored and resplendent in new paint.  We know this because the restoration process has moved well ahead of what is shown in these photos.  We will be posting more photos in the weeks to come.

Are you restoring a Corvair to bring to the convention?  If so, send us some photos and information.  You can reach us by email here.

The Passing of a Great Friend

It came in a telephone call – the news that Ward Bourgondien passed away today, following several years of the quietest and most dignified battle with cancer ever witnessed.

Ward was thoroughly dedicated to the Corvair hobby, and in a thoroughly selfless way. He had no personal agenda, caring only about what was best for the organization and its members.

He had been a strong supporter of the 2012 Sturbridge convention, even traveling to Sturbridge (a looong way from his home) to assist the organizers. He also remained a trusted advisor to the convention chairman, offering honest and constructive opinions, always in a positive spirit.

Our community is poorer for his passing.

How to Remember the Dates

If you have trouble remembering the dates of important things, such as the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, the Indianapolis 500, or the AACA Fall Hershey Meet, what you need is one of Hemmings’ high quality collector-car calendars for 2012.

You especially need it because the dates of the 2012 CORSA Convention are shown on these calendars, right where they should be, July 25-28.

That’s right, the Hemmings’ folk have kindly included the CORSA Convention on their 2012 calendars, honoring a submission from the NECC in the summer of 2011.

Nine different calendars are available, including, of course, their iconic "Abandoned Cars" calendar. They can be ordered from the Hemmings web site here. Don’t wait, these calendars usually sell out while the new year is still new.

In addition to all of vital information included on these calendars (Chevrolet Corvair debuts, October 2) there is plenty of room for you to write in information of lesser importance, such as birthdays and anniversaries.