The December issue of The Goddess devoted a page to the 20 November “Before We Put ‘em Away” event, but we omitted any mention of it in our note. I don’t know why, as it was a particularly enjoyable day, as explained further on. The event was planned by the Delaware Valley Region of the Classic Car Club of America (DVR). VFR members were invited to attend, and many joined in the fun and helped make it a success.

There was breakfast at the Desmond, following the usual tire kicking and story telling as we arrived in what turned out to be a wide spectrum of toys, including classics, Cadillacs, and LaSalles, but also sports cars, two modern British saloons, and a street rod (see the December issue of The Goddess). After breakfast, Pollock Restoration principal Dave Hutchison led a tour that he had laid out from The Desmond to Pollock Restoration in Pottstown, PA.

Those who participated in the 2010 tour to Shady Maple will not be surprised to hear that the tour was outstanding. We traveled narrow roads (no dirt roads, though!) through forests and hamlets that we guessed hadn’t changed much since our tour cars were manufactured. Dave Hutchison led the tour in a 1937 Auburn boattail Speedster, taking pictures of the procession that trailed behind him. The roads, although narrow and sparsely traveled, were in good repair, with twists and turns enough to add up to several full circles in both directions. The leaf fall was mostly complete, and we could see deep into the woods the damage caused by the October storm. There were broken trees and limbs were everywhere in the woods and at the edge of the road. We suspect many of the roads we traveled were impassable after the storm, judging from evidence of tree removal along the way.

We were behind the lead Auburn camera car. We haven’t seen Dave Hutchison’s photographs yet, but even so, we suspect many will show us behind the windshield of Bud Coleman’s 1938 Series 75 Fleetwood 7-passenger sedan grinning from ear to ear. You see, Bud took leave of his famous prudence and good sense and offered to let us drive his magnificent Fleetwood on the Tour. Of course, we accepted after the briefest moment to confirm that the offer was serious. This is a great machine, with all the wonderful Cadillac sounds and gearbox and clutch as smooth as a Fleetwood robe. A conspiracy to drive the return leg was smashed when Bud regained his good sense and the keys.

Many of us returned to the Desmond on 10 December for a Holiday Party planned by the DVR, with VFR members invited. By all reports, the occasion was a success. The fine meal was enjoyed while a slide show that with scenes from 2011 car events played in the background, accompanied by excerpts of recorded Christmas music played on the Wanamaker Organ. The weather was fine, so several arrived in their collector cars. We were thrilled that Andrew Rosen accepted our challenge to drive his (Red Hexagon) Caribbean to the event.

I mentioned the HCCP gathering at Massey House in Broomall, PA in my last note, but with no mention of the Frostbite run. The event lived up to its reputation as the premier pure-fun car event of the year, and this year witnessed the consumption of an astounding 70 dozen doughnuts! Traditionally, the event concludes with a tour to a local point of interest, and this year it was the restored Rose Tree Tavern at the corner of PA 252 and North Providence Road, to the north of Media. We had looked forward to seeing inside this handsome historic building. We toured two floors, now the offices of the Delaware County Brandywine Conference and Visitors Bureau. The inside is built as offices and conference rooms with an historic look but with all the expected functionality of a modern office. It was nice to see the Moravian tile around the first floor fireplace as a reminder of the historic nature of the building. The event let us roll our 1934 V16 7-passenger sedan with its awful grey paint that continued to flake off to the amusement of those who came over to see if anyone had been hurt in the accident. That’s all right, although a handful, the beast, years ago dubbed “Big Grey” by our oldest child, is a blast to drive, and we hope that soon the broomed-on grey paint will be gone, and the car will be back in its original black.

That’s it for 2011. We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you want to help make 2012 even better, please attend our monthly meeting on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 at Baxter’s Great Valley, located at 20 Liberty Boulevard Malvern/Great Valley, PA. This is our normal meeting day (3rd Tuesday of every month) and location. However, watch our publications closely, as we have conducted meetings in connection with other scheduled events with great success, and there are likely to be more in the future.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the help of my Home Office Assistant in completing my note in time to miss the deadline set by our Editor/Publisher.  Please see the photograph nearby of my assistant checking the draft for faux pas. 

Christmas and Hanukkah are over, so we wish you happy memories of 2011, and a Happy and safe New Year!

Regards,

Please join us at our monthly meeting at Baxter’s Great Valley (also called Baxter’s Malvern on their Website), located at 20 Liberty Boulevard MALVERN/GREAT VALLEY, PA, 610.722.5920. Get directions from Baxter’s Website. It is in a shopping center on Liberty Boulevard in Malvern directly across from the Desmond Hotel. Drive into the shopping center and around behind the first row of shops.

Dinner starts at 6:00 to 6:30 pm, meeting starts at 7:30 pm, with all good intents to finish by 9:00 pm. A draft Agenda can by found here, on our website.