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Lone Star Packards May 21, 2022 Report - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
Despite
the extreme heat, 96 degrees by early afternoon, thirty Lone Star
members and 3 guests ventured west to Bellville and Kenney, Texas.
Thanks to our hosts Mary and Jay for braving the heat and bringing
their '49 Custom convertible, Doug for bringing the '56 Clipper
sedan, Lonnie for bringing the '55 Clipper hard top, and Stephen for
bringing the '53 Clipper hard top. We had planned on bringing one but
it was approximately 84 miles from our home and the heat scared me
off! Those who brought a Packard will be on Assistant Director, John
Lortz' list, which will determine the winner of the David Mc Donald
activity award at the end of the year. Be sure to read our new
improved award program on page 6. Lonnie Gipson won $70 in our 50/50
drawing.
Following
a great lunch at The Kenney Store, which has been featured on the TV
show The Texas Bucket
List,
we traveled approximately 5 miles to the home of our hosts Jay and
Mary. There were two highlights of our visit. The
first was our first look at the new building Jay had built to house
his
collection. It holds all 9 cars and the original building has been
converted to a repair or service garage. The second treat was Jay
demonstrating the process of starting the 1910 Stanley Steamer which
recently won "Best in Show" at Keels and Wheels. Once
started. Jay treated many of us to rides in the Stanley. Let me say
this, in 1910 if you realized you left something at work or you
needed one thing from the market, you could not just jump in the
Stanley and head down the road! It is a complicated process where
each step is predicated on the success of the previous step. Along
the way, the observer is treated to a symphony of sounds only a steam
engine can make. Once it is ready to go, it sounds just like an old
train huffing and puffing down the track with the steam horn adding
to the experience! I would love to have seen a salesman demonstrating
and explaining to a potential buyer why he should buy a Stanley
instead of a 1910 Packard or other combustion engine powered car!
Thanks, Jay, for a really educational and fun experience! Also,
thanks to Mary for the treats inside.
We
have not yet determined where we will meet in June. If you are
willing to host, please let me know. Thanks to the Sartins, we will
have our summer fried chicken picnic in their air-conditioned car
barn. The date will be Saturday July 2. More information to follow.
Summer
heat is upon us as well as high gas prices, not a good scenario for
keeping our Packards going. However, the mornings are nice and you
can always take a spin in the early evening.
| Lone Star Packards February 26, 2022 Report - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
On
February 26, the Lone Star Region met at the Pizza Shack in downtown
Willis, Texas. A total of 38 Lone Star Region members and a few
guests enjoyed a great Italian lunch. Unfortunately, the cold and
steady rain kept the Packards at home.
The
Darrow’s conducted our monthly 50/50 drawing and the lucky winner
was Ed Fleming winning $67. This was Ed’s first LSP meeting and he
was glad he came. Following lunch, we caravanned to the nearby home
of Gayle and Bob Bucher. Gayle gave us some history on how the two of
them were personally involved in the construction of their beautiful
log home and their personal backgrounds. We were also treated to a
tour of the house and some great refreshments.
Following
the tour, we conducted our monthly business meeting. We welcomed new
members Herman and Lynda Dentler to their first meeting. They have
several Packards and are anxious to become regulars.
We
discussed the upcoming calendar and decided we would meet in March.
We will try to set something up soon. Probably it will be on the
19th. When we know where we will let you know. At the invitation of
Jay and Mary Matthews, we will tour to Belville on Saturday, May 21.
Perhaps we can meet along the way and caravan. Though Jay and Mary
have a great collection to see, the highlight will probably be the
firing up of the Stanley Steamer that Jay has been working on for
several years. We had cancelled the January meeting scheduled in The
Heights at Ed and Mary Flemings. He said he would be willing to try
again in October.
We
also announced that Rich Trokey is not doing well and was about to be
transferred from the hospital to an assisted living center. They
really need to sell their 1938 Packard business coupe. It is a
running, fully restored car. Jack Sartin and Doug Carlson have been
firing it up periodically.to make sure it is still in running
condition. Karen is asking 20K but will entertain offers if
interested. Also, Jack and Doug would be happy to answer any
questions you might have about this really nice car.
Don't
forget to get your Texas Packard Meet registration into Rena soon.
See Salado Registration form in the LSP Newsletter. Also, we still
have several members who have not paid their $10 dues for 2022.
Please get that to Tony as soon as possible if you wish to remain
active and receive LSP news.
We
voted to make a $200 donation to the Packard Foundation for the
restoration of the Packard proving grounds in Shelby Township,
Michigan. It was also mentioned that members who wish to add to that
donation could send a check to Tony Darrow with PPG in the memo and
he will add it to the amount sent to the PPG We were recently told
the Foundation will be adding a plaque to hang in the lodge building,
recognizing the $3800 our club has given towards the restoration over
the years. That sum will be changed when they get our newest
donation.
Following
our visit to the Bucher home, we caravanned about 2 miles to the
facility where most of their collection is housed. This is a great
collection of Studebaker/Packard products plus many other interesting
cars. There was something for everyone to enjoy! We sincerely
appreciate the Bucher's hospitality and look forward to visiting
again. | Lone Star Packards December 5, 2021 Report - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
On
December 5th, 2021, 47 members and 9 Packards met at Babin's Seafood
in Katy, Texas. The Christmas meeting and lunch was made possible
mostly by the hard work of the Sartins and the Carters. It was set up
and run flawlessly. Thanks to
Steven for bringing us the invocation before the program and lunch
began. In addition to the good food, we had a short meeting with some
important announcements, a singalong of Christmas songs and lots of
good tire kicking.
During
the short meeting, I announced dues would remain the same at $10 per
family and Tony would be happy to accept them for 2022. Members were
asked to put on their thinking caps and offer suggestions as to what
the club could offer monthly as an incentive for members to bring
their Packard to a meeting. This month the Darrows name was drawn and
they received $50 for driving their Packard. We also announced we
would resume awarding the annual David McDonald participation award
which we had suspended two years ago due to Covid We
asked members to be prepared to give us suggestions as to what reward
the winner would get for that.
December
birthdays were recognized and we enjoyed a gorgeous Christmas Packard
cake after dinner, which was cut and served by Zoe and Maya. Rena was
assisted by Gianna by passing out lovely Christmas napkins. Rena and
Jack furnished song sheets for the sing along. Rena led in the
singing and Jack accompanied on the guitar. Most of the songs on the
sheets were traditional favorites but the highlight was the familiar
"Twelve Days of Christmas" which was changed to "The
Twelve Days of Packards". Each table was given the name of a
specific Packard model and that table would represent one of the 12
days and sing it out when their number came up in the song. Our part
of the sing along was "two 900 Roadsters". It was a lot of
fun. Evelyn Timmins surprised us with Packard posters she offered to
those who wanted one to frame for their car garage. We can’t forget
the work our Treasurer, Tony did to collect all the payments for the
Christmas Luncheon and paying the bill!
Following
the singing, I was surprised by the gift of a really pretty Packard
winter jacket. I have never seen one like it before and am really
looking forward to wearing it. Thank you very much. If I ever got any
accolades as a principal, because my school performed well, I always
gave credit to the faculty. I was just there to help them. It proves
true with our Packard Club as well. Our region is running against the
car club trend in most places as we continue to have activities, a
newsletter, a website and we picked up still another new member this
month. The success of the club does not depend on me, but of all
those people doing the work in the background. I am so grateful for
all of them and our members.
There
was a really good turnout of Packards, which makes it
two months in a row that we have had a good showing. A special treat
was getting to see new member Lonnie
Gipson's 1955 factory stick Panama for the first time. We had a total
of 6 V8 Packards, 2 six-cylinder Packards and 1 straight 8. We
brought our trusty '55 Clipper Custom to not only today's event, but
also to the AACA Christmas party at the Monument Inn the day before.
Calculated between the two events, we added just under 170 miles
round trip to our Packard. As far as we know, all made it home
safely.
As
this is the end of the year, a little reflection on 2021 is
appropriate. Despite Covid, we remained a viable and somewhat active
club. Our newsletter still went out. Though we did have 3 "zoom"
meetings, we also had 8 in person meetings with proper precautions.
In addition, we managed to pick up a couple of new members! We are
also moving full speed ahead with our plans to again be the chair
region of the Annual Texas Packard meet in Salado! The TPM dates are
March 31 -April 3. Under the circumstances, we did good in 2021!!
I
have confirmed with Ed Fleming that we will tour their collection as
well as his shop in the Heights on Saturday, January 15, 2022. Ed
owns and operates a music store that sells and repairs musical
instruments. Both his home and shop are located in the Heights area
of Houston and that makes it one of the most central locations we
have had lately. We have arranged to meet at 11:30 am on January 15
at the Spaghetti Western on Shepherd and then we will tour Ed
Fleming’s collection.
| Report on
the November 13, 2021 Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Jan Carter, Co-Editor of the Owners Manual
On
a beautiful fall Saturday, November 13 our meeting was held at the
Ole Railroad Café in Rosenberg’s Historic District with a total
of 28 members in attendance with 7 Packards, 1 Studebaker truck and
Cadillac convertible. In addition to members, we had four guests,
Rick and Nancy Mock who drove
their ‘62 Studebaker Truck and surprising all of us was Ann
Stebenne and her daughter Jennifer. Great to see all of them
again.
Since
Tommy was not able to attend,
our Assistant Director, John Lortz
led the meeting for him. It was good to see Jamie
and Martha Roberts who drove in from Brenham. Also attending
for the first time in a long time was Lenny
and Paula Holzband in their ‘41 Packard, Tom
Drisdale who drove his ‘91 Red Cadillac Alante Convertible
and Dale Wilpers and Donna
Williams.
Rena
gave an update on the Christmas Luncheon that will be on
Sunday, December 5 at 1:00 pm at Babin’s Restaurant in Katy. Cost
is $25/person. To make your reservation send your check to our
Treasurer, Tony Darrow before the
deadline of November 29.
Our
Treasurer was kept busy accepting checks and cash for the Christmas
Luncheon and the 50/50. Dale Wilpers
was the lucky winner and took home $40. Tony
says our finances are in good shape. Ben
gave the membership update that included a “new” Packard
now on our list that belongs to John
Dalton. His 1932 coupe convertible is now undergoing a
complete restoration. Ben also
reminded everyone that we have not collected dues for the past two
years, but will start collecting $10 dues again in 2022.
Jan
reported the November birthdays, and we recognized Tony
and Dale as they were the only members present with a November
birthday.
Rena
then reported on our
upcoming 2022 scheduled meetings and reminder that – WE
WILL HAVE THE TEXAS PACKARD MEET IN SALADO MARCH 31 – APRIL 3,
2022!! Tommy has been
working on Salado for the past three years and the last two years it
was canceled. He is busy getting everything set up for 2022. Everyone
should first make their Holiday Inn Express reservation as soon as
possible. The hotel rates have not increased and are the same as two
years ago. You can complete the Salado Registration form and send to
Rena Sartin with your check.
She has already received
three registrations. Since time flies by so fast, it will be time for
TPM before we know it. So don’t delay! You will find the
registration form and much more information you will need on the TPM
website. One thing is the car classification system being used next
year to help you fill in your form.
Jack
Sartin gave an interesting program on Tire Safety Tips. Your
tires may look good, but not be good! See his presentation handout in
the November issue of the Owners Manual.
As
the Supinas were to host the
November meeting, but were not able to attend, others pitched in to
make this meeting successful. Thank you goes out to Patricia
and Ron Orr for making arrangements with the Ole Railroad Café
owner and had the room set up and ready when we arrived. Also, to Ben
for arriving early in the morning to reserve parking spaces in
front of the restaurant/Vogelsang building with his orange cones and
Reserved for LSP Packard Signs,
and to Ron for helping with
parking.
We
were disappointed that the Editor of The Ft. Bend Herald did not show
up. Ben visited Scott Monday
morning and gave him Saturday pictures/information and he will
publish our story in the newspaper. We will have copies of the
newspaper at the December luncheon.
Wishing
you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope to see you at the Christmas
Luncheon.
On
a beautiful fall Saturday, November 13 our meeting was held at the
Ole Railroad Café in Rosenberg’s Historic District with a total
of 28 members in attendance with 7 Packards, 1 Studebaker truck and
Cadillac convertible. In addition to members, we had four guests,
Rick and Nancy Mock who drove
their ‘62 Studebaker Truck and surprising all of us was Ann
Stebenne and her daughter Jennifer. Great to see all of them
again.
Since
Tommy was not able to attend,
our Assistant Director, John Lortz
led the meeting for him. It was good to see Jamie
and Martha Roberts who drove in from Brenham. Also attending
for the first time in a long time was Lenny
and Paula Holzband in their ‘41 Packard, Tom
Drisdale who drove his ‘91 Red Cadillac Alante Convertible
and Dale Wilpers and Donna
Williams.
Rena
gave an update on the Christmas Luncheon that will be on
Sunday, December 5 at 1:00 pm at Babin’s Restaurant in Katy. Cost
is $25/person. To make your reservation send your check to our
Treasurer, Tony Darrow before the
deadline of November 29.
Our
Treasurer was kept busy accepting checks and cash for the Christmas
Luncheon and the 50/50. Dale Wilpers
was the lucky winner and took home $40. Tony
says our finances are in good shape. Ben
gave the membership update that included a “new” Packard
now on our list that belongs to John
Dalton. His 1932 coupe convertible is now undergoing a
complete restoration. Ben also
reminded everyone that we have not collected dues for the past two
years, but will start collecting $10 dues again in 2022.
Jan
reported the November birthdays, and we recognized Tony
and Dale as they were the only members present with a November
birthday.
Rena
then reported on our
upcoming 2022 scheduled meetings and reminder that – WE
WILL HAVE THE TEXAS PACKARD MEET IN SALADO MARCH 31 – APRIL 3,
2022!! Tommy has been
working on Salado for the past three years and the last two years it
was canceled. He is busy getting everything set up for 2022. Everyone
should first make their Holiday Inn Express reservation as soon as
possible. The hotel rates have not increased and are the same as two
years ago. You can complete the Salado Registration form and send to
Rena Sartin with your check.
She has already received
three registrations. Since time flies by so fast, it will be time for
TPM before we know it. So don’t delay! You will find the
registration form and much more information you will need on the TPM
website. One thing is the car classification system being used next
year to help you fill in your form.
Jack
Sartin gave an interesting program on Tire Safety Tips. Your
tires may look good, but not be good! See his presentation handout in
the November issue of the Owners Manual.
As
the Supinas were to host the
November meeting, but were not able to attend, others pitched in to
make this meeting successful. Thank you goes out to Patricia
and Ron Orr for making arrangements with the Ole Railroad Café
owner and had the room set up and ready when we arrived. Also, to Ben
for arriving early in the morning to reserve parking spaces in
front of the restaurant/Vogelsang building with his orange cones and
Reserved for LSP Packard Signs,
and to Ron for helping with
parking.
We
were disappointed that the Editor of The Ft. Bend Herald did not show
up. Ben visited Scott Monday
morning and gave him Saturday pictures/information and he will
publish our story in the newspaper. We will have copies of the
newspaper at the December luncheon.
Wishing
you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope to see you at the Christmas
Luncheon. | Lone Star Packards October 16, 2021 Report - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
On
October 16th, the Lone Star Region had its regular monthly meeting.
Approximately 30 members enjoyed great BBQ as well as fellowship in
the private room of Rudy's BBQ and Country Store on the Gulf Freeway
in Webster. We had our
traditional opening ceremony involving a prayer as well as the pledge
of allegiance to our flag.
I
began the meeting by sharing the results of a phone call I received
just before leaving for the meeting. A lady in the Port Neches area
called regarding problems she was having getting the Ultramatic fixed
in her late husband's '50 Custom. She had called a month or so ago
and asked if I could help her find someone to fix it as the locals
did not want to try. I gave her a recommendation after asking club
members for suggestions. It is not working out and she wanted to know
if someone would go over there on her behalf and check it out. Ben
volunteered as it is close to his home, plus the establishment has
done work for him and he was pleased. I think she would like to sell
once she has it fixed. I texted her that Ben was going to check it
out and she was very happy.
We
began our committee reports and I reported for Tony regarding our
balance. Tony also asked that you either begin sending him the money
for the Christmas party meal or bring it to the next meeting. Ben
reported that he is in contact with a prospective new member in
Huntsville that has a '37 Packard but not sure of the series. It just
occurred to me that the late former member, Bob Knight had a mostly
restored '37 120 convertible and a project '47 Clipper. Since it is
Huntsville where Bob lived, it could very well be the same car.
Thanks to our friends in the heart of Texas Region for giving us the
lead. Chris reported the next meeting will be in Rosenberg at the
Ole' Railroad Cafe. I think the meeting will be on the 13th. We moved
it up to get it away from Thanksgiving plans. Jan gave a report on
birthdays and both JC and Anthony were present so we had them stand
for a picture and we sang Happy Birthday. Jan then gave a report on
the Christmas luncheon which will on Sunday, 12/5 at Babin’s
Seafood in Katy. Please get your money in to Tony.
I
think the Astro game kept our attendance down a little but we still
had 4 really nice cars present. Chris brought our family's '48 “sedan
for seven" and Anthony, Carol and I brought the '47 Custom. In
addition, Stephen brought his 1949 Deluxe Super 8 all the way from
Spring. We were also lucky to once again get to see the beautiful
1950 2 tone blue Studebaker belonging to Glen. Glen's two Packards
went to someone in Livingston so we will follow up on that lead.
Following
the business meeting, I gave a short talk on how I renewed the wood
grain on the dashboards, window frames, etc. on our '47 and '48
Packards. Details are found in this October issue of the Owner's
Manual, which is distributed by email and is archived on the Lone
Star Packards website.
Please
do your best to bring a Packard to the Rosenberg meeting. The owner
of the cafe always blocks off about 10 spaces in front of the cafe
and we usually have pictures and a story on the front page of the
Rosenberg newspaper. We know that the Supinas
have spoken to the newspaper reporter already.
| Lone Star Packards September, 2021 Report - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
Happy
Days (Packard driving days) are about to be here again. I heard last
night and this morning that within a few days there will be a cold
front hitting the Bayou City area. To natives, that means temps in
the 80's or below. Looking forward to driving ours and seeing more
Packards at LSP functions. Get them polished up and running. I want
to thank the AACA Gulf Coast region for inviting us to participate in
their hot dog and ice cream social this last Saturday in Tomball.
Unfortunately, we needed to stay in League City as I needed to work
on finding an electrical issue with our '55. I spent most of the day
to no avail. I am sure the picnic was a lot of fun. I have encouraged
our members to join the National as it is a requirement of all
Regions. Even if it wasn't, there are so many advantages that make it
worthwhile. Did you know if someone sued us saying they were injured
or suffered a loss due to someone participating in one of our
activities, the PAC's liability insurance would help us?
Just
last week I learned an important tech tip from a PAC member in Ohio.
When I removed the radiator, water pump, and water distribution tube
in the block of our '47, I had a really hard time getting the air out
of the system when we put it back together. Several times I got a
steamy radiator spewing out of the cap. The tech tip was this, "
before filling the system remove the temperature sending unit from
the back of the block. Clean it and wrap the threads with Teflon
tape. Begin filling the cooling system, but do not re-install the
sending unit until you see the colored coolant coming out of the
hole. This insures you got all of the air out of the system." I
would have paid double the dues to get that tip when I was having
that overheating issue.
I
continue to have increased concerns regarding future meetings as well
as Salado because of Covid. Hopefully, we have reached the peak. We
have not published the TPM registration information yet. I will try
to finalize the banquet arrangements in the next few days and then
share it with Rena and Jan. Hopefully, we will have it on our website
as well as the Texas Packard Meet site soon.
John
Lortz attended the Barret / Jackson auction this past weekend at the
NRG, He said a really nice 1950 Custom Victoria convertible was sold
to someone in Houston. Was it one of our members? If not, we need to
see if we can sign them up.
Please
make plans to join us at Rudy's Country Store and BBQ in Webster on
Saturday, October 16 at 1 PM. We will start asking for your RSVP
after the first. When we do, please tell us if you are going to try
to bring a Packard or even one of your other classics if needed. If
we know about the cars, we will try to reserve some spaces for them. | Report on
the August 21, 2021 Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
On
Saturday, August 21st, we had our monthly LSP meeting. The site was
the private room at Spring Creek BBQ in Humble. Despite the
blistering heat, we had 33 members present. A
big thanks to Tony and Shirley for finding the site and making all
the arrangements. The room was nice and clean and there was room for
all. The food was excellent and we will have to remember it the next
time we rotate to that area.
A
big thanks to Pam and Leon for bringing their gorgeous 1941 120 4
door convertible. John also brought the shiny red 1953 convertible
with the top down. Kevin and family brought their newly acquired
elegant 1956 Patrician. One of the advantages of moving our meetings
around is you get to see different cars. This time all three cars
that braved the heat were located close to the meeting site. In
June, we met about 60 miles away in League City on a day almost as
hot. Three of the 5 classics present lived close to that site. We
brought our '48 and '55 that day. (In the LSP website
Activities Schedule you will find events going through April of
2022.) We have a lot of great things planned but we cannot overlook
the resurgence of the virus, especially with the new strain. That
does cast a shadow over our plans and I urge you to consider the
safety of you and your loved ones as you consider attending some of
the events. As in the past, if things are really bad I will discuss
it with our club leaders and if necessary, cancel meetings. Most of
us have had the two doses of vaccine, but most of us are also in the
most vulnerable group. They are now recommending a booster shot for
those 65 and older. All of our family is vaccinated except for the
7-year-old granddaughter and I worry for her. At first, we were told
that age group was the least vulnerable but Texas Children's Hospital
now has many cases. Without getting into politics, the situation at
the border makes the Houston area particularly vulnerable as it is
the destination of choice for many of those folks and most are not
vaccinated. I hope not but if the situation continues to worsen, we
will revert back to "zoom " meetings. Even Salado may be
threatened. Pray for Covid to subside.
If
you have news or pictures, you think the group would be interested
in, please send that material to Jan. Ideally an editor is just that,
they edit by putting everything together. It is a much harder job
when you have to do all the research and write it without the
submissions from members. Not only do we have one of the best
newsletters, we have one of the best websites in the PAC.
We
have several new cars in our region, as well as new members. Please
send a picture to Doug so he can include it in the Members Cars
section of the LSP website. Also, if you would like your car to be
considered for the star Featured Member Car, please write a story
about it and get some nice pictures and send them to Doug. It might
just be your star car. | Report on
the July 24, 2021 Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director Thanks to the continued hospitality
of Jack and Rena Sartin, we had a wonderful meeting in their
air-conditioned car barn on Saturday, July 24th. By my count, we had 34
members and guests participating. We had that and a few more last month
so we continue to have a very active club. The Katy ladies decided to
make this our delayed 4th of July celebration so we set the menu up as
southern fried chicken picnic with all the sides plus desserts. Due to
our RSVP list Rena was able to order the chicken from Brookshire Bros.
deli department and pick it up that morning. It was really good and I
wish we had a Brookshire store close to us. In honor of the 4th, we had
our invocation said by Stephen Morris, we said the Pledge of Allegiance
and Jack and Rena led us in one verse of God Bless America. We also
acknowledged 3 of our couples recently celebrating their SIXTIETH
wedding anniversary. Congratulations for the big 60th to Tony and
Shirley Darrow, Ron and Juanita Jordon, and Rich and Karen Trokey. Following
lunch, we began the meeting. First on the agenda was recognizing
guests. Then I acknowledged we had received a thank you note from John
Lortz and family for our support following the recent passing of
Vivian. We also got a nice letter from the Packard Foundation for our
donation to the restoration fund at the Packard proving grounds in
Vivian's name. Leon and Pam Ahlers recently returned from a 3000-mile
round trip to an AACA meet in Indiana and a side trip to the Packard
Proving Grounds. They made the trip in their 1969 Dodge Charger which
Leon's mom bought new. Leon gave us a little insight to the trip and
especially his trip to the Packard proving grounds historic site. A
more detailed description is in this months Owner's Manual. Following
Leon, we began to get some reports and make some decisions. Ben related
that we now have 55 Packard families in our region and that works out
to be over 100 people and Packards. Tony has had no trouble paying our
bills and he gave us our balance. The winners of our 50/50 were Ben and
Jan Carter who split the total with the club and received $40! This
little event always makes someone happy they came to the meeting. I
then went over up-coming activities. At this time, nothing is scheduled
for August. I asked if someone would volunteer to find a Spring Creek
BBQ that would have their room available for us on the 3rd Saturday.
They have a nice private room and they don't charge and don't hassle us
to set up a buffet. (It is fine if it is another restaurant just so
they don't charge for the room.) We could return to Big Horn on 288 but
they do charge for the room. If we can get one free that would be the
best). Shirley volunteered to look into finding one. In
September AACA has invited us to participate in a hot dog and ice cream
picnic on September 18 at Spring Creek Park in Tomball. We voted to let
that be our September meeting. In October, we are working on visiting
Ed Fleming's collection in the Heights area. We previously were
contacted by the editor of the Rosenberg paper, through long time
member Bob Supina, inviting us to once again display our cars in front
of the Old Railroad Cafe in historic downtown Rosenberg. We will meet
there at noon on November 13. It should be cool so please bring your
Packard if you can. They give us a ton of publicity, front page last
time, and we have picked up members there in previous years. The last
Christmas party was here in our area in 2019 at the South Shore hotel
and resort. The 2020 Christmas party was scheduled for a restaurant in
Katy, but due to Covid we had to cancel. We planned to go there this
year but unfortunately, the restaurant had a serious fire and will not
be rebuilt in time for Christmas. I can probably get the hotel again
but that would mean everyone would have to travel a great distance two
years in a row. After
the meeting, one of the members asked how Salado planning was going. I
confessed that I have been holding off on getting my team together for
you guessed it, Covid fears. I am watching numbers go up with this new
strain and I am hoping and praying it will be put down and out of the
way by the Texas Packard Meet time in April 2022. It is a lot of work
on our helpers to get the registration materials designed, posted, and
collected. For two years now our team has worked to get all this done
and then had to shut it all down and start giving out refunds. I have
reserved the dates at the hotel, the museum for the banquet site, and
the brewery where we go on Friday night. We have not picked a caterer
but am thinking about getting BBQ again as it will be cheaper and most
people seemed to enjoy it in 2019. The only complaint we had was it was
too slow, but I will stress we must be served from both sides of the
table this time. I think we will wait to get our "worker bees" started
in late September with the goal of getting the information out in
October. Hopefully we will have a clearer picture by then. March 31st
through April 3rd are the dates. |
Report on
the June 26, 2021 Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director On
Saturday, June 26th, 38 members of LSP got to visit a large personal
collection near our home in League City. I have wanted to get our
group in to see this collection for several years and I think
everyone enjoyed seeing the very eclectic collection of classic and
military vehicles. A big thanks to Dan
Becker for
getting the ball rolling for a visit to this collection.
Unfortunately, with the 95-degree temperature most of our 38
participants came without their Packards.
Carol rode with Chris and his family who
brought the family's 1948 "sedan for seven" and Anthony
and I brought
the 1955 Custom Clipper. (It should be noted that we only live a
couple of blocks from the site or we may have come in an
air-conditioned SUV ourselves.) In addition, a couple of members
brought a non-Packard classic from their stable. New member, Glen
Grace brought
a really nice 1950 Studebaker and Tom
Drisdale brought
a sharp Cadillac Allante convertible. I assured them their brand x's
were always welcome as long as they get to the meeting. We were also
happy to see some of our good friends from the Gulf Coast Region of
the AACA. I think we have about six families that are also members of
that group including all the Baccaros. I remain very proud of our
region as it continues to grow even during a pandemic.
This
was the first meeting for Glen
Grace and he brought his son Mark and his friend Mary Krill-Erickson.
Bill and Diana Osborne traveled
from College Station to make their first LSP meeting. Following
Siri/GPS took them 2.5 hours to arrive as GPS took them to Sugar
Land. (We have all had our problems with GPS!) They toured the
collection and the AACA group wanted them to go to lunch at Joe’s
BBQ, but Bill
said
“no, we gotta meet our new Packard friends!” They have a
collection of over 20 cars and recently added a '51 Packard
convertible to that collection. We are looking forward to seeing it.
We
had other guests who came out to see the collection. We enjoyed
having Jay Matthews bring his neighbor
Tony Stewart who helps Jay with his
Stanley Steamer, and the Sartins brought friends Rick
& Nancy Mock who expressed interest in joining our club.
Following
the tour, we traveled a short distance to Luna's Mexican Restaurant
on South Shore Blvd. Luna's is a restaurant our family frequents
often but they obviously do better service with individual families
rather than large groups. The food did come out in a timely manner
but distribution of the plates could have been better. And the
billing was confusing, causing a wait for some. Our
club has grown and that is a great thing, but it is getting harder
and harder to find a place to accommodate us. This time it was
further complicated because I made the decision Tuesday that there
might be too big a crowd to eat in Alvin with the AACA group so it
was short notice, but Luna's was available. When I called, they
wanted to set up a buffet at $18/per with a minimum of 40. Finally,
they agreed to reserve the room with everyone ordering and paying
their own ticket. My first choice was Spring Creek BBQ, but their
room was already reserved. There were a couple of other options, but
their rules of a private room were inconvenient. Anyway, my late
decision limited our options and I accept that responsibility. On a
good note, we had the 50/50 drawing and Bob
Ess was
happy as he won, resulting in a jackpot of over $50.
For
up-coming events Jack
& Rena Sartin have
volunteered to have us back in their
air-conditioned car barn for a July get together. More
information will be available as plans are formulated. If anyone has
an idea for August or would like to host an August event, please let
us know. We
would appreciate an air-conditioned facility!!
Bob
Supina sent me a
note regarding a fall or early winter meeting. They have a friend who
is the editor of the Ft Bend Herald in Rosenberg who would like to do
a story about our club. The gentleman suggested we make another visit
to historic downtown Rosenberg and he could tie his story to that
visit. Bob
explained to him
that in our southeast Texas heat the number of Packards in attendance
drops significantly in the summer. I asked Bob to relay to the fellow
that we would love to come back maybe in October or November.
As
I mentioned in a previous note, our family visited Salado recently
and we have begun working on the 2022
Texas Packard Meet.
I must confess that all this talk about the recently discovered
"Delta Variant" of the virus is beginning to make me
nervous regarding the planning. Keep your fingers crossed and stay
safe!
Every
year the National judges the various regional newsletters.
Jan and Ben put together a packet of our last year's OWNERS
MANUALS to send in for the competition. I know they will do well.
Please
remember in your prayers the several in our group that are facing
significant health challenges. | Report on
the May 15, 2021 Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
I
am sure you have heard someone say, "that was worth waiting
for". Well, that can be truly said about our LSP meeting held on
the 15th at the Dalton's ranch outside of Cleveland. Because of the
distance for many of us, the meeting was originally scheduled for
late winter or early spring in order for more of us to drive our
Packards. However, it had to be postponed 3 or 4 times due to Covid
concerns. This was our first face-to-face meeting in over a year and
over 40 people and 5 Packards (counting the Dalton's car) showed up.
Those of us who came from the south had a real obstacle course due to
TX Dot closing Highway 59.
Mary
Ann and John were wonderful and gracious hosts as they treated us to
a great Mexican buffet in the beautiful facility they built to house
their collection. The location was spectacular with their home and
car facility in a clearing behind a lake in the thick Texas "Piney
Woods". The Dalton’s presented each family a commemorative
linen dish towel featuring historic points along Route 66. This was a
great souvenir for our first "in person" get together.
Again, it was a meeting worth waiting for! Thank you, Mary Ann and
John.
The
Dalton collection features Willys, Packard, Hudson, Chrysler,
Terraplane etc. There are more Willys than any other make, and I
think they must be among the top collectors of that brand. When I
think of Willys, I think of WW2 Jeeps and the Willys sedans and
hardtops produced by Kaiser. This collection includes some really
classic Willys models from the company's early days.
Jan
made me aware that our meeting coincided with Armed Services Day. We
recognized our members that are veterans and recited the pledge of
allegiance in their honor.
We
picked up two new families at this meeting. Kevin and Shellie
Lortz and son Tommy have recently purchased Ron and Juanita Jordan’s
‘56 Packard Patrician and they joined our club at the meeting. They
have not taken possession of the Patrician yet but hope to have it at
a meeting soon. Carlos and Mary Ann Dos Santos are friends of the
Lortz's and the Jordans and they have a 1940 Packard convertible.
Carlos called me earlier in the week and I referred him to someone
who could help him with his Packard. We look forward to seeing them
at future meetings. We were also happy to see Jill Burtchaell and
Ginny LaGroue. They have been members for a while, but this was their
first LSP meeting with their really nice '58 Packard Hawk. Stephen
and Lyn Morris have also been members a while and this was their
first LSP meeting arriving in style with their 1950 Custom.
A
return to normal with an in person meeting also meant a return to our
monthly 50/50 activity. This month Karen & Rich Trokey got to
split the $86 proceeds with the LSP treasury.
John
Eanes also showed some pictures of his new 1940 convertible. We look
forward to seeing it.
We
have several members who could use some prayer warriors due to
serious health challenges. Please include Vivian Lortz, Judy
Anderson, and Jamie Roberts in your prayers.
Though
it seems like forever "ago", we went west for about 3 of
our last in person meetings and we went pretty far north for this
one. Therefore, we have tentative plans to go south next month to
League City. Evelyn Timmins and Dan Becker are working on a joint
visit of AACA and LSP clubs to a large private collection in League
City. Details as to exact date, etc. are being worked out. Since we
are members of AACA, we visited the collection with that group 5 or 6
years ago and I have wanted to get LSP in since then. As details
emerge, we will keep you posted. | Report on
the April 17, 2021 Zoom Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
On
Saturday, April 17, LSP had its 3rd and maybe last for a while
‘zoom' meeting. There were 25 participants counting spouses and
children. In addition to a regular business agenda, we had a special
guest speaker. Craig Handley, our PAC National Director, agreed to
visit our meeting. Craig had a very interesting career mainly making
training films etc. for Chrysler and then General Motors with a
little of Ford thrown in. He founded his own film production company
and not long ago retired when his partner bought him out. He has been
a member of the Packard Club for 23 years and currently serves as its
leader. Craig reported that our membership is up about 5% and the
number of patrons has also risen. The next national will be in
northern Virginia with many activities planned around Washington DC.
The 2023 national meet will be in California which will be
appropriate because the national was founded there and it will be 70
years old that year. Craig also related that in the future the
national officers and trustees will pick the site of coming national
meets and make necessary arrangements with the assistance of the
nearest region. This will make it much easier on the local region not
having to do everything like we did in 1984 and 1998. Craig also
answered some questions regarding judging and roster keeping by the
national club. We are most appreciative that he took the time to be
with us.
I
was also pleased to have Heart of Texas Director David Miller and his
wife Princess join our group. Like us and most of the other regions,
they have been in hibernation but recently had a get together and are
hoping to have more in the near future. As you may recall, our
January meeting was supposed to have taken place at the Dalton's
ranch in Cleveland on our regular weekend but it was postponed due to
Covid concerns. It was again postponed in February, March and April.
it was decided we would go for it in May. The Daltons are going to
have our lunch catered so when we ask for the RSVP, please give it to
us as soon as possible as they need a good count for the caterer. The
meeting will be the 3rd Saturday in May. We will meet at 11. John
said there is plenty of room for trailers if someone wants to tow
their car. If enough of us bring a Packard, John will arrange for the
local Constable to lead us on a tour through the winding east Texas
piney woods following lunch and the meeting.
Chris
and I shared that Dan Becker is working on getting us in to see a
large private collection in League City. I have mentioned it before
as we went there with our AACA group and I have always wanted to take
LSP. We just have never been able to work out details but Dan thinks
since the owner has retired there is a better chance now. It is
actually less than a mile from our house. However, if it does not
happen, we have a backup plan for a fun activity in the same area.
This will be an opportunity for members in Orange, Friendswood, Santa
Fe, League City, and Clear Lake to shine and show their Packards
relatively close to home.
Our
last Christmas lunch was held at the South Shore Harbor Resort here
in League City. We canceled the 2020 event due to Covid. The next one
was supposed to be on the opposite side of town and Midway BBQ in
Katy was selected. Unfortunately, Midway suffered a serious fire
recently and will not re-open in time for the 2021 Christmas Holiday
party. Please have your suggestions for a Christmas venue ready at
the next meeting. | Report on
the March 20, 2021 Zoom Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
On
Saturday, March 20 we had our second "Zoom" meeting. While
these are not as much fun as our in-person meetings, they do give us
a chance to actually safely see and talk to each other, bring us up
to date on how our friends are doing during the pandemic meet new
members, and check on the progress of some of the more than 80
Packards in our region.
The
biggest news coming from this month's meeting is the group decision
to continue to be cautious and have the April meeting on Zoom. We
will watch the news on the several flu variants that have appeared
before we make a final decision about May. It is hoped that we can
accept the Daltons' invitation to meet at their ranch in Cleveland to
see their collection on Saturday, May 15. John said if enough members
bring a Packard, he will arrange with the area Constable to lead us
in a parade through the scenic woods in the area. When we finally
meet there, please bring a Packard if you can.
I
offered up several names for a guest speaker at our April meeting and
the members present asked me to contact National Director, Craig
Handley. I did reach out to Craig and he replied that he would be
happy to attend the meeting by Zoom and speak to us.
We
reminded members that just because we canceled the 2021 Texas
Packard Meet, it does not mean your hotel reservations were
canceled. You need to call the Holiday Inn Express personally to
cancel your room reservation or you will be charged for at least one
night. We also announced that the biggest Texas Packard Meet ever
will be April 1 -3, 2022 in Salado. Most of us come on Thursday the
31st to be ready for the "early bird tour" on Friday
morning. Ben announced that Keels and Wheels is still on for the
first weekend in May and the deadline for registrants was today, the
20th. He also shared that you could do it all on line and he would be
happy to share the link. Jack reminded everyone that the annual
Second Baptist West Campus Car show will be held next Saturday, March
27 from 10 to 12. This is basically a "show and shine"
event with no registration. It typically has more than 100 cars on
display. It is outside so it should be safe and there will be food
and drinks for sale.
I
asked members to send pictures and stories to Jan for the newsletter
and also to Doug for the website. Jan said she would send Doug's
contact info to each of the new members. Once they send a picture or
a write-up, he can post it on the Member's Car section and/or the
Packard "Featured Member Car" page.
Tony
reported we have not spent any money since last month and we have
been reimbursed the Salado refunds.Ben reported we currently have 55
member families, and Jan read the list of March birthdays.
We
had 15 families represented this time and our last item of business
was a round table. Since the screen looked like Hollywood Squares, we
went left to right and asked each family to tell what they had been
up to and inquired if they had any Packard stories to relate. That
was fun.
Since
we had a smaller number for our meeting, some suggested that maybe we
need to publicize it closer to he time of the meeting. I feel as
though I have sent out more LSP emails since the Covid 19 has kept us
home and hope that our members computers will not start treating us
as spam. I think there may have been just one reminder this time,
therefore I'll try to get an email out loser to the meeting date.
Zoom is a great way to have a meeting. There is nothing to download
on your computer. Just click the link, join the meeting, and see our
friends.
Get
your Packard road worthy for the trip to Cleveland in May Hopefully
we will be able to make it a date. | Report on
the Febuary 20, 2021 Zoom Meeting of Lone Star Packards - from Tommy
Baccaro,
Region Acting Director
Mark
this day in history, your director with the able assistance of his
wife and family, was able to conduct an LSP meeting on "Zoom".
All together we had 19 families represented making a total of around
26 people. Participants included new members Jill Burtchaell who
lives close to lake Livingston and Tony Sakkis who lives in Richmond.
Since we have been unable to meet our new members, Zoom was a perfect
way to put a face on a name. Hopefully we can meet the other four new
members on our next Zoom and perhaps in person in April or May
(depending on the Covid situation.)
During
the meeting, we discussed members who have been ill in recent months.
That included Dave Lucas
who has been in the
hospital for a couple of weeks with Covid. We also mentioned Jamie
Roberts who has been in
the hospital a couple of weeks but is back home as of last night.
After he rests a little, he will resume his cancer treatments. Vivian
Lortz has been fighting
pneumonia off and on since the summer. John
said he is making her
return to the doctor soon. We also learned that Keels and Wheels
founder and chairman Bob Fuller has been in the hospital and had
heart surgery while there. Please say a prayer for these members to
have a quick and complete recovery.
If
you are comfortable going out, there are several car related
activities coming up. Jay mentioned the big car show that Bellville
has each year around their square. Rena and Jack told us about the
annual show that Second Baptist church sponsors each year. Covid
precautions will be followedcarefully. Evelyn mentioned a car show in
Tomball,which is coming up.
Tony
reported we are solvent
and have not spent any club funds in roughly a year. He has made
refunds to all our members who had paid their registration fee for
Salado. Rena gave
Texas Packard Meet treasurer, Beverly Teel, an accounting of all
funds collected for the state meet. We will get a refund to our
treasury since we refunded the six families in our region who had
registered. Ben gave
the membership report and we have 55 families and102 cars.
Doug
would be happy to get
pictures for the web page of new cars in our region as well as
stories for the feature car section.
Thanks
to all who participated in our February meeting. It was good to see
faces that we've not seen in a while and hear from those who did not
have video working! We will set a date and time for the March meeting
and let you know. Hopefully, even more can participate.
It is fairly easy to just click the link if your computer or cell
phone is co-operative. |
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