The Steering Wheel
Our Mission Statement:
To share the love of our antique cars and to show them off.
To enjoy fellowship of other car enthusiasts.
APRIL 2012
Vol.12#02
Officers:
President:
Vice President:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Al Preisner
Carl Esakson
Nancy Brailey
Leon DeLange
(616) 874-9336
(616) 677-5816
(616) 363-3947
(616) 878-3618
11/12
11/12
11/12
11/12
12/13
12/13
12/13
Dennis Biggins
Nancy Brailey
Craig Chalmers
Sally Thelen
Fred Brailey
Cecil Chalmers
Jim Nyman
(616) 365-1371
(616) 363-3947
(616) 361-2220
(616) 363-4121
(616) 363-3947
(616) 874-6889
(616) 949-7879
April Auction
Virgil Phelps
Al Preisner
Louise Phelps
Judy Swift
Roseanne Lynch
John & Bonnie Woodman
Al Preisner
Leon DeLange
Bonnie Woodman
Marcia Rossman
Cheryl Chalmers
Linda Biggins
Ruth Esakson
Cynthia Smith
Sean & Cynthia Smith
Chuck & Judy Swift
Al Preisner
(616) 874-1289
(616) 874-9336
(616) 874-1289
(616) 450-7245
(616) 460-2161
(616) 997-6413
(616) 874-9336
(616) 878-3618
(616) 997-6413
(616) 784-5274
(616) 361-2220
(616) 365-1371
(616) 677-5816
(231) 937-4513
(231) 937-4513
(616) 450-7245
(616) 874-9336
Board of Directors:
Committee Chairs:
Christmas Banquet
Club Historian
Club Picnic
Membership
Metro 28th Cruise
Newsletter – Typing
Newsletter – Mailing
Retirement Visits
Sick & Shut-Ins
Special Events
Tours: Dust-Off
Late Summer One-Day
Fall One-Day
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Events Calendar
** Indicates a SPECIAL Event
Mar 27
Tue
NOTE: Spring Potluck – eating at 7:00 pm
GRACC Membership Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm – Greeters: Sig & Margie Buamgart
Entertainment: Spring Potluck
Apr 10
Tue
GRACC Board Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm
Apr 24
Tue
May 5
Sat
May 8
Tue
GRACC Board Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm – Hosts: Leon & Shirley DeLange
May 18
Fri**
VISIT: Whispering Woods - 3956 Whispering Way Dr. SE
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. – Coffee & Doughnuts in middle by pond
May 22
Tue
GRACC Membership Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm – Greeters: Leon & Shirley DeLange
Entertainment: Guest Speaker – GVSU Professor Frank Boring
May 25
Fri**
VISIT: Bishop Hills - 4951 11Mile NE - 11:00 am - 2:00 pm - Lunch
RSVP by May 21st
May 28
Mon**
EVENT: Standale/Walker Memorial Day Parade
June 12
Tue
GRACC Board Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm – Hosts: Craig & Cheryl Chalmers
June 14
Thurs**
VISIT: Christian Rest Home 1000 Edison NW D
5:30 pm - Ice Cream Social - 6:45 pm cars in front & back
RSVP by June 11th
June 15
Fri**
VISIT: Whispering Woods - 3956 Whispering Way Dr. SE
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. – Coffee & Doughnuts in middle by pond
June 16
Sat**
EVENT: Sparta Moose Lodge Car Show
June 23
Sat**
VISIT: Villa Maria - 1305 Walker NW
11:00 am - 1:00 pm – Hot Dogs
June 26
Tue
GRACC Membership Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm – Greeters: Craig & Cheryl Chalmers
July 7
Sat**
VISIT: Tender Care Nursing Home - 2786 56th St SW Wyoming
9:30am - 11:30 am - Coffee & Doughnuts
NOTE: ANNUAL AUCTION
GRACC Membership Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm – Greeters: Virg & Louise Phelps
Entertainment: April Auction
DUST-OFF TOUR – hosted by Sean & Cynthia Smith
Details in future newsletter.
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July10
Tue
GRACC Board Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm
July 24
Tue
GRACC Membership Meeting – 2161 Leonard NW – GR – St. Ann’s Home
Meeting @ 7:00 pm – Greeters: Sally Thelen & Frank Scofield
Dates marked in BOLD, Underlined and marked with a double asterisk ** are SPECIAL Events and Visits.
Please make note of these dates. These events and visits earn points toward the year-end awards.”
** We will now have a 50/50 Raffle and/or a prize drawing at all membership meetings – this is to
help offset the cost of the Awards Banquet.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hi Everyone,
Hopefully everyone is doing well and enjoying the nice weather this early spring. We will soon begin
our Spring & Summer events. Our Annual Auction in April will be here soon and it is one of our club’s
money-making events, so it’s time to start collecting the items to sell. Please remember that we also have a
bake sale along with the auction. Our March membership meeting is a potluck, and there is always lots of
good food to eat. We hope to see all of you at the Dust Off in May and also the upcoming “2” tours during
the summer. If you have any suggestions for tours, please see a board member or your president.
Your GRACC President
Al Preisner
Board Of Directors’ Report
NOTE – The Board of Directors has voted a recommendation that the November Board and Membership
meetings be eliminated. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this change, please see one of the
Board members or one of the officers. All comments are welcome!
A Reminder: the Board Meetings are open to all Club members. If you have suggestions for the club, please
join the Board Members at one of the meetings.
$ Treasurer’s Report from Leon DeLange $
This is the Report beginning Jan 1, 2012:
Treasurer's report
Balance Jan. 1, 2012
Receipts
Disbursements
Balance March 12, 2012
$3,574.06
396.62
- 122.15
$3,848.53
Note: a further detailed report will be available at the March membership meeting.
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Committee Reports
Sick & Shut-Ins
Linda Biggins – Chair
Alyce Cooke – had a heart attack while in
Florida, she is home now and doing better –
cards may be sent to: 13677 48th Ave –
Coopersville, MI 49404
Babe Averill has been in the hospital and will
be receiving Dialysis treatments – cards may be
sent to: 10756 Osborn Rt #1 – Grand Haven, MI
49417
If you yourself, or if you know of someone else in the club who has been ill and/or in the hospital, has
had a death in the family, etc., please call Linda and let her know – 616-365-1371.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Retirement Visits
Brought to you by Cheryl Chalmers
(616) 361-2220
Happy spring! We are starting to get some retirement homes calling all ready. Hope everyone is gearing
up for a good summer. Thank You for your dedication to giving them something to look forward to.
Cheryl Chalmers
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Special Events
Brought to you by Ruth Esakson & Cynthia Smith
(616) 677-5816
Thanks again, Ruth & Cynthia
Upcoming Events: (watch for further details)
May 28 – Standale/Walker Memorial Day Parade
June 16 – Sparta Moose Lodge Car Show
NOTE: Parade organizers will not allow business advertising on our vehicles for Parades.
If you have any on your vehicle, please be sure to cover them up. Thank you.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Membership
Al Preisner – Chair
Dues are $20.00 per family for the year. They can be paid by check made out to GRACC and mailed to:
Al Preisner at 7973 Ramsdell Dr NE – Rockford, MI 49341-8079. They can also be turned in at the next club
meeting.
Currently we have 47 paid families – 11 life members and 7 who did not pay from last year.
Note: we have blank applications and some fliers that you can pick up at the meetings. Keep them handy so that
if you talk to someone who may be interested in joining, you’ll have contact information to give out.
Extra-Newsworthy News
MARCH
It’s time for all the cooks to get the cookbooks out and work up something grand for our March Potluck
The date is Tuesday, March 27th. Bring a dish to pass and your tableware. Beverages will be
provided. Come early to grab your spot. There will be a meeting after we eat. We usually try to eat at
7:00 pm that night – hope to see a great turnout!! Be sure to bring the recipe of the dish that is brought
so it can be published in the next newsletter.
April Auction
April 24th - It’s not too early to start thinking of the April Auction. We will have a short meeting
starting at 7:00 pm, with a brief break following, then the fun begins with the auction. For those who
are new to this, you may bring in stuff laying around the house (sorry ladies, no husbands), such as gifts
you received and didn’t like, something you haven’t used in awhile, or you can request donations from
businesses (such as restaurants, oil-change garages, car washes, auto parts stores, etc). We do have
letters for businesses for donations given – if a business would like one, let us know.
Everyone
receives a number at the door, then when the ‘auction’ begins, you just shout out your bid or hold up
your number. Good times are had by all!!
A Note to the ladies – there will be a “Bake Sale” during the auction, so bring in some
goodies to be purchased.
up for the baked goods.
Have them tagged with a price for selling. There will be a separate table set
NOTE - Remember all proceeds from both the Auction and the Bake Sale go to
our ‘general fund,’ which helps us provide the services we all enjoy.
Come with a carload of goodies to sell and a full wallet to spend.
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The Following is our ‘Greeter and Treaters’ Schedule for 2012.
Note these are for the membership meetings unless otherwise noted.
 February – Carl & Ruth Esakson
 March – Sig & Margie Baumgart
 April – Virg & Louise Phelps
 May – Leon & Shirley DeLange (for both Board & Membership meetings)
 June – Craig & Cheryl Chalmers (for both Board & Membership meetings)
 July – Sally Thelen & Frank Scofield
 August – Carl & Ruth Esakson
 September – Fred & Nancy Brailey (Board Meeting) and
Chuck & Judy Swift (Membership Meeting)
 October – Jim Nyman (for both Board & Membership Meetings)
 November – Dennis & Linda Biggins
** Auto Trivia Answer: The mystery car from the March issues was a 1958 De Soto Fireswept
Sportsman
Visit our web site at http//:clubs.hemmings.com/gracc
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Upcoming Car Shows & Swap Meets
(If you hear of any – let me know so that I can publish it here.)

May 19, 2012 - Bumpers on the Boulevard Car Show –Lamont Civic Assoc - 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

Sun., June 10 - Haslett Good Old Days – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm – Lake Lansing Park – Call (517) 898-6573

Sat., July 21 – 16th Annual Paw Paw Classic Car & Truck Show – 8:00 am to? – Call (269) 687-5395

Sat., Aug. 18 – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm – Kalamazoo Car Fest – downtown Kalamazoo – Call (269)344-0795
Gilmore’s Car Museum – 2012 Special Events Listing
May 19 – Sat – Gilmore Car Museum’s ‘Dust Off’ Car Show
June 2 & 3 – Sat. & Sun – CCCA Museum ‘Grand Experience Concours’
June 10 – Sun – Vintage Motorcycle Show
June 15 – Sat – All Air-Cooled Car Gathering
June 22, 23 & 24 – Fri, Sat & Sun – Antique Tractor, Engine & Machinery Show
June 30 – Sat – Pierce-Arrow Society National Meet
July 5, 6 & 7 – Thur – Sat – American Horseless Carriage – High-Wheeler Meet
July 8 – Sun – Mad Dogs & Englishmen British Car Faire
July 14 – Sat – Walter P Chrysler Club National Meet
July 28 – Sat - Mopars at the Red Barns
August 4 – Sat – Red Barns Spectacular Car Show & Swap Meet
August 18 – Sat – Relix Riot Traditional Hot Rods, Customs & Motorcycles
August 26 – Sun – Pierce-Arrow Gathering at Gilmore
September 9 – Sun – Muscle Cars PLUS Show & Swap Meet
September 17 – Sat – Model A Ford Gathering at Gilmore
September 23 – Sun - Cadillac –LaSalle Club Meet
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A Little Automotive Humor
#1 - Near the end of their racing careers, a Ford and a Chevrolet made a pact. The first one to reach racing
heaven would let the other know if heaven even had car racing.
As luck would have it, the Chevrolet was demolished in a fiery wreck. A few days later, it revealed itself to
the Ford in a vision. "I have some good news and some bad news," the Chevy told the Ford. "The good news
is that heaven is crazy about auto racing. They have everything here--NASCAR, Indy cars, Formula 1, you
name it."
"So what's the bad news?" the Ford asked the deceased Chevrolet.
"The bad news is that you've won the pole position for next Saturday's race."
#2 - A motorist runs a red light and is photographed by an automated police camera. In the mail a short time
later, he receives a photo of his car committing the infraction and a citation for $60. Instead of paying the fine,
the motorist mails the police department a photograph of three 20-dollar bills. Several days later, he gets a
letter back from the police department. Inside is a photograph of a pair of handcuffs.
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Back Seat Drivers
APRIL Recipes
Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Soup
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1/3 cup onion
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 bag (12oz) frozen broccoli steamers
2 cups milk
1 1/3 cup plain mashed potato mix (dry)
½ tsp. salt
In a 3-qt. saucepan, heat broth, onion & frozen broccoli to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
Stirring occasionally. Stir in potatoes until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat over low heat
about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soup is hot and cheese is melted.
Grilled Turkey, Bacon & Swiss Sandwich
8 slices bacon
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
8 slices whole-grain bread
6 Tbsp. finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
8 slices Swiss Cheese
12 oz. oven-roasted turkey breast slices
In 12” skillet, cook bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels. Meanwhile, spread butter on one side of each
bread slice. Spread rounded tablespoons of the tomatoes on unbuttered side of 4 of the bread slices. Top each
with one slice of the cheese, turkey, bacon, the second slice of cheese and the remaining bread slice, butter side
up. Heat griddle over med. heat. In hot skillet, cook sandwiches 3 minutes or until cheese is slightly melted
and bread is browned. Turn sandwiches over, cook 3 min. or until bread is browned.
Cheesecake Shot-Glass Desserts
2 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
Fresh blueberries and/or raspberries
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tsp. grated lemon peel
In large bowl, beat cream cheese & sugar with electric mixer on med. speed until smooth. Stir in lemon peel.
Spoon 2 tsp. graham cracker crumbs into bottoms of 12 (2 oz) cordial glasses. Top each with 2 Tbsp. lemon
cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with 2 tsp. graham cracker crumbs and another 2 Tbsp. lemon cream cheese
mixture. Top with berries. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
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The Car Radio
(NOTE: this is for those who don’t have e-mail – I sent this along via the Internet and thought others
would enjoy reading it.)
Seems like cars have always had radios, but they didn't. Here's the true story:
One evening in 1929, two young men named William Lear and Elmer Wavering drove their girlfriends
to a lookout point high above the Mississippi River town of Quincy, Illinois, to watch the sunset. It was a
romantic night to be sure, but one of the women observed that it would be even nicer if they could
listen to music in the car. Lear and Wavering liked the idea. Both men had tinkered with radios (Lear
had served as a radio operator in the U.S. Navy during World War I) and it wasn't long before they were
taking apart a home radio and trying to get it to work in a car. But it wasn't as easy as it sounds:
automobiles have ignition switches, generators, spark plugs and other electrical equipment that
generate noisy static interference, making it nearly impossible to listen to the radio when the engine
was running.
SIGNING ON: One by one, Lear and Wavering identified and eliminated each source of electrical
interference. When they finally got their radio to work, they took it to a radio convention in Chicago.
There they met Paul Galvin, owner of Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. He made a product called a
"battery eliminator" a device that allowed battery-powered radios to run on household AC current. But
as more homes were wired for electricity, more radio manufacturers made AC-powered radios. Galvin
needed a new product to manufacture. When he met Lear and Wavering at the radio convention, he
found it. He believed that mass-produced, affordable car radios had the potential to become a huge
business.
Lear and Wavering set up shop in Galvin's factory, and when they perfected their first radio, they
installed it in his Studebaker. Then Galvin went to a local banker to apply for a loan. Thinking it might
sweeten the deal, he had his men install a radio in the banker's Packard. Good idea, but it didn't work -Half an hour after the installation, the banker's Packard caught on fire. (They didn't get the loan.) Galvin
didn't give up. He drove his Studebaker nearly 800 miles to Atlantic City to show off the radio at the
1930 Radio Manufacturers Association convention. Too broke to afford a booth, he parked the car
outside the convention hall and cranked up the radio so that passing conventioneers could hear it. That
idea worked -- He got enough orders to put the radio into production.
WHAT'S IN A NAME: That first production model was called the 5T71. Galvin decided he needed to
come up with something a little catchier. In those days many companies in the phonograph and radio
businesses used the suffix "ola" for their names -- Radiola, Columbiola, and Victrola were three of the
biggest. Galvin decided to do the same thing, and since his radio was intended for use in a motor
vehicle, he decided to call it the Motorola.
But even with the name change, the radio still had problems. When Motorola went on sale in 1930, it
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cost about $110 uninstalled, at a time when you could buy a brand-new car for $650, and the country
was sliding into the Great Depression. (By that measure, a radio for a new car would cost about $3,000
today.) In 1930 it took two men several days to put in a car radio -- The dashboard had to be taken
apart so that the receiver and a single speaker could be installed, and the ceiling had to be cut open to
install the antenna. These early radios ran on their own batteries, not on the car battery, so holes had to
be cut into the floorboard to accommodate them. The installation manual had eight complete diagrams
and 28 pages of instructions.
HIT THE ROAD: Selling complicated car radios that cost 20 percent of the price of a brand-new car
wouldn't have been easy in the best of times, let alone during the Great Depression -- Galvin lost money
in 1930 and struggled for a couple of years after that. But things picked up in 1933 when Ford began
offering Motorolas pre-installed at the factory. In 1934 they got another boost when Galvin struck a
deal with B.F. Goodrich tire company to sell and install them in its chain of tire stores. By then the
price of the radio, installation included, had dropped to $55. The Motorola car radio was off and
running. (The name of the company would be officially changed from Galvin Manufacturing to
"Motorola" in 1947.) In the meantime, Galvin continued to develop new uses for car radios. In 1936, the
same year that it introduced push-button tuning, it also introduced the Motorola Police Cruiser, a
standard car radio that was factory preset to a single frequency to pick up police broadcasts. In 1940 he
developed the first handheld two-way radio -- The Handie-Talkie -- for the U. S. Army. A lot of the
communications technologies that we take for granted today were born in Motorola labs in the years
that followed World War II. In 1947, they came out with the first television to sell for under $200. In
1956 the company introduced the world's first pager; in 1969 it supplied the radio and television
equipment that was used to televise Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon. In 1973 it invented the
world's first handheld cellular phone. Today, Motorola is one of the largest cell phone manufacturers in
the world -- And it all started with the car radio.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: The two men who installed the first radio in Paul Galvin's car, Elmer
Wavering and William Lear, ended up taking very different paths in life. Wavering stayed with
Motorola. In the 1950s he helped change the automobile experience again when he developed the first
automotive alternator, replacing inefficient and unreliable generators. The invention lead to such
luxuries as power windows, power seats and, eventually, air-conditioning.
Lear also continued inventing. He holds more than 150 patents. Remember eight-track tape players?
Lear invented that. But what he's really famous for are his contributions to the field of aviation. He
invented radio direction finders for planes, aided in the invention of the autopilot, designed the first
fully automatic aircraft landing system, and in 1963 introduced his most famous invention of all, the
Lear Jet, the world's first mass-produced, affordable business jet. (Not bad for a guy who dropped out of
school after the eighth grade.)
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