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Weekly News April 19, 2010Description
A Fateful Week in April: The week of April 12-19 has been an important week in U.S. History. Paul Revere rode out of Boston (actually Charlestown) on April 18, 1775, to warn the Minute Men at Lexington and Concord that the British were coming. The shots fired near Lexington Green the next day were heard “’Round the World” and signaled the beginning of the American Revolution.
The first major decision of Lincoln’s presidency was on April 12, 1861, when he sent supplies and Federal troops to defend Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor (the Confederates captured it on April 14), which was the official beginning of the War Between the States. President Lincoln’s last day alive was on April 14, 1865, when he was shot at Ford’s Theatre, and died shortly after 7:00 the next morning in a room across the street.
The TITANIC, flagship of the White Star Line, hit a huge iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 14, 1912, and sank off the coast of Newfoundland with over 500 fatalities. The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, beginning America’s official involvement in World War I (one week earlier than the fateful week).
On April 12, 1945, I was flying training missions from Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, and upon returning to my barracks late in the afternoon, I heard that President Franklin Roosevelt had died at Warm Springs, GA. Although he was in very poor health and showed it at the Yalta Conference with Churchill and Stalin in February, he was nearly three months into his fourth term as president, and we “assumed” he would go on forever. Whether you liked him or not, people my age had really never known another president, as I was 8 years old when he was elected the first time in 1932. What would we do now? How could the nation get along? Who was Harry Truman? Why didn’t we elect Tom Dewey the fall before? These were the questions on everyone’s lips. With World War II nearly over, the nation survived well, history has given Truman good marks, we have had good times and bad, but as Winston Churchill aptly said “Democracy is the worst possible form of government, until compared with everything else”.
Last week, the Collections Committee and the Events Committee both met on Tuesday night. Good work sessions occurred Tuesday and Thursday. With our volunteers having cleaned and prepared most of the parts from the Stanley Model 607 to be painted, we will soon be ready to take these to the paint shop for priming and painting. Our thanks go to those who have taken responsibility for performing the many facets of this work on a timely schedule. Work on the rear gears of the Rauch & Lang continues.
The Railroad Committee has been busy. Jim Personti has Locomotive #402 back together, after making new pistons. Bill Schwoebel had six or seven volunteers in his track crew on Saturday, who leveled, replaced ties, removed the tunnel doors, and made preparations for our first A.V.R.R. runs in May.
POINT-TO-POINT at Winterthur will be our major focus for the next two weeks, prior to our participation in the annual event on Sunday, May 2. Those who have committed to take a car have been preparing for the 10-mile round-trip drive in about 12 of our cars. The following Stanleys are almost ready to go, including the 1905 Model CX, the 1908 Model EX, the 1908 Model K, the 1910 Model 71, the 1912 Model 87, the 1913 Model 76, the 1913 Model 78, the 1915 Mountain Wagon, and our three condensing cars. The two Packards are also being checked out and Rose Ann Hoover and Jerry Novak plan to take them. All the Stanleys except the 71, 87, 76, 78, and Mountain Wagon have been on the road in the past days, and these are expected to be ready also. We urge all going to wear period clothing. Winterthur has given us 35 arm bands, which permit us to get on the grounds without charge, so long as we arrive in one of our cars. Steve Bryce is keeping tabs on those going, and says we must leave Auburn Heights no later than 9:00 A.M. If you are “on the fence”, or if there is a change in your plans, please let Steve know right away. The Country Butcher in Kennett Square is preparing lunches for those of us desiring same, thanks to Art Sybell. The cost will be $15 per person, and Steve also needs to know of your luncheon requirements.
One or two cars will be taken in our trailer(s) to Dover on Saturday, May 1, for participation in “Old Dover Days”. Dan Citron plans to take our 1918 Model 735, and possibly another 5-passenger car will go also. This requires a major time commitment, as those who go to Dover will probably go to Winterthur the next day. Both are long days.
The Collections Committee approved a plan to have our Model 78 roadster professionally restored by the Stanley Shop, Charles W. Johnson, proprietor. This will be a “frame off” restoration, with the end product being similar to our Model 71, which was done by the same shop in 1998. Most of the cost will be covered by a donation from one of our members. The car is expected to leave Auburn Heights immediately after the Point-to-Point event on May 2.
During 1913 and 1914, the Stanley factory offered only two color schemes (except on Mountain Wagons, which were always red), and since we don’t want the color to be identical on our 1914 Model 607 and our 1913 Model 78, we will use one of these color combinations (Prussian Blue and Black) on one car, and the other scheme (Gray and Black) on the other car. Tom
