Part 2
A small change had taken place on the Board by this time. Lee Henshaw was now the Treasurer. We also added a club Historian and special events chairman, Steve Kosarko.
At our January 1988 meeting we thanked four ladies, Sue Russo, Mary Lou Krawczyk, Nancy Fox and Joyce Vella for the wonderful Christmas Party we all enjoyed. They did not know it at the time but they had become our first Social Events committee.
The main topic of discussion among members was the Auto-Rama and the Club display. This year we would use the Big Boy Drive-In Diner Theme. It was set up by Mike Defoor and his crew. The Big Boy figure that we borrowed from the front of Manners Big Boy on Granger Road added a nice touch, so much so we would win Best Club Display and a special ISCA award for our Club Display.
We also won nine individual display awards plus seven of our Club Members were given Assistance Awards for escorting Show Celebrities.
We had become active with other Clubs in many ways such as Test and Tune and Car Shows. On March 19th we participated in Bowling with the Midnight Cruisers at the Stardust Lanes on Brookpark Road. April 17th saw us at Hern Oldsmobile for another Swap Meet.
Our second annual Car Show was scheduled for May 29th at Aurora Road Elementary School. Tom Krebs our Club Photographer was hospitalized with a heart-attack around the same time. Our second annual Car Show was scheduled for May 29th, Memorial Day weekend, at Aurora Road Elementary School. Show day was to be Sunday with Monday planned as a Rain Date. Bedford Hts Mayor Jimmy Dimora was there along with members of City Council. The Midnight Cruisers were their for Tech Support. Lenny Polumbo brought out his alcohol Funny car “Top Gun”. George Bartos’ brother displayed his Batmobile. We also displayed a Testarosa owned by Bruce Adelstein and a 1987 Firebird Circle Track Race Car owned by Tony Depaulo. To quote Chuck Vella from the June 1988 Club Newsletter, “What a great show”.
Pictures of these events can be see in our early Club Photo albums. Our present day Club Historian Sam LaNasa brings them to our monthly meetings.
At this point I should mention that a change has taken place on the Board, Chuck Vella is still President, Sam LaNassa is now Vice President, Joan Henshaw is our Secretary and Lee Henshaw remains our Treasurer.
Our normal meeting day June 19th was the 3rd Sunday of the month, It was also Father’s Day. We decided to go to Club Days at Norwalk Raceway Park for a day of Drag Racing. This was one of our early Test-N-Tune events. We all had fun and the Club earned a few dollars as a side benefit.
July always has been a very active month for our club and 1988 was no exception. Starting with the Garfield Hts. Home days on July 2nd where 15 members displayed their cars. Next on July 3rd the Maple Hts. Homedays where 21 members displayed their cars.
Each July 4th our club takes part in the Bedford-Bedford Hts, 4th of July Parade. At the end of the parade the hosting city for that year have a party, with food and drink for the participants.
Bedford Reservation was again chosen as the sight for another Picnic in July. Everyone came in their Club cars and we filled the parking lot in front of the Pavilion. It had the appearance of a Car show in the woods.
Board members from the Midnight Cruisers and the Buckeye Drag Club were invited to attend our July Club Meeting. Plans were to combine our Clubs efforts for a Car show, Swap meet, Test-N-Tune event at Norwalk Raceway Park. Sept 11th was the date the track would be available.
Plans were made to award Trophies at our Tuesday Night Cruise. Each Tuesday night between Aug 16th and Sept. 11th the owners of Pals Drive- In would pick a “car of their choice” At the end of the night they would present the winner with a “Pal’s Choice” trophy.
My life changed forever the day I attended the August 21st 1988 meeting. Some rather persistent people insisted that I accept their nomination for President. I agreed only to get them to go away, I also felt that I did not stand a chance of winning.
Our president Chuck Vella, decided to proceed with the elections that night instead of waiting until the September meeting. Here are the results of that election. President Joe Artale, Vice President Steve Kosarko, Secretary George Lemmerman, Treaurer Lee Henshaw and a staff consisting of the following appointed people: Special events chairman Mike Defoor Co-chair Mark Dienes Club Historian Jerry Magyar Club Photographer Tom Drebs Club Videographer Stan Witkowski Newsletter Editor Rich Krawczyk
We started making plans for the 1989 Auto-Rama at our Sept 18th meeting. A Gasoline Service setting was to be our new Club Display Theme. Pressing our luck weather wise we also made plans for one more picnic at the Bedford Reservation. The event took place Oct. 2nd.
Our Christmas party was planned for Dec. 18th at the Bedford Hts. Civic Center. Though I don’t remember the main food source old notes indicate it was delicious and plentiful. Mary Lou Krawczyk rounded up volunteers to prepare desserts. Rich Krawczyk portrayed Santa Claus for the children. Our Sponsors were very generous with door prizes. Everyone would home go with something worth while.
1988 was looked upon as a a busy year for our young car club. History now shows it was merely the beginning. The Club would continue to grow with new members and lose old members. I have been told this is normal for most organizations, this may be true but it is always sad to see good people fade away.