Part 13

The year starts off on a very somber note.  A tragic accident involving Club members Richard Nero and past member Ray Ashworth was a reminder that life comes with no guarantees.  On Monday, January 4th these two fine gentlemen headed North on Rt. 608.  Their destination was a flea market auction in Middlefield, Ohio.  For some unknown reason a truck traveling South, crossed the center line.  The head on collision killed both men. It was later learned that another Club member, Dan Bassani, passed on the invitation to go along, and thus was spared the fate of his two friends.

It is mid January, 1999 and we are trying to finalize our plans for the Clubs 13th year at Auto-Rama.  The show runs from February 5th through the 7th this year.  There are many questions beyond our control that need to be answered.  In years past we had shared our display area with radio station WMJI.  In turn they helped with the expenses.  This year there is turmoil at the radio station.  With only a few weeks to go we are still waiting for their commitment.

We know our display area is being moved this year but the size and location have not been finalized  Luckily, at the last moment everything fell into place.

The Club display was moved to the rear portion of the Auto-Rama.  WMJI’s truck was in front of our display.  We had no electricity but the lighting was very good.  Our Club display was small this year but “Mighty”.  We displayed four high quality 1955 Chevy’s which won many awards.

Dave Shostek won 1st place in his class, best restored original ISCA’s Best of Show award for original car and $500.00.  Joe Rhea won 1st place in his class and 1st place in “Best Engineered”.  Terri and Art Codner won 1st place in their class.  John Levicky won 2nd place in his class and a “Best Chrome” award. 

Mike Predina displayed his car as an independent and won 1st place in his class.  Our Club display may have been small but it won 2nd place and $150.00 cash.  The Club display was referred to as the “Quad 5” and “Small but Mighty”.  Either theme name said it all.

Once again the annual Club trip to Detroit was a sellout.  Forty seven people filled the bus to Cobo Hall on Saturday, February 20th to see the Grand Daddy of Autoramas.  The after show dinner stop this year was in Toledo Ohio at the Hometown Buffet.

Cruisin’ Times Magazine has named our Tuesday night cruise “Best Weekly Cruise” in the area.  That was true then and we have remained #1 ever since.  Our 1999 cruise season at the Solon Commons started May 18th and ended on Sunday, October 17th with the Halloween cruise.  Rain (as usual) was an ever present problem the entire season.

Rain caused a one week delay in the Charity Night Cruise.  We did however, have perfect weather on our second try.  The night started with only 1/3 of the tickets sold.  But by 8:00 P.M. the last of the tickets were gone.  The bands “Turnaround” and “Memory Lane” donated their time to entertain the crowds that showed up with 650 cars.

The benefactor of our efforts was once again the Ronald McDonald house. They became a touchy subject with many members by not showing any gratitude for the hard work our members did raising money for them.  Afterward, other charitable organization were discussed but no changes were made for several more years.

The Club held two Test-N-Tune events in 1999 at Thompson.  The first was held on July 18th.  We had 118 cars show up to race on a 92 degree day.  Clouds rolled in as the day went on.  After a few sprinkles everyone headed for home and into some very heavy rain.

The second Test-N-Tune was held on Sunday, September 26th and drew a Thompson Raceway record of 317 cars.

Regular Club events for 1999 included the Bedford, Bedford Hts. 4th of July parade,  Bedford Hts. Home Days on July 9th, the Highland Hts. parade on July 11th and the Bedford Hts. Street Fair on July 17th.

Back by popular demand, a Club picnic took place July 25th at Timberlake Park in Solon.  We were the featured Car Club at the Streetsboro Wal-Mart on July 29th and the Shops of Willoughby on August 8th.  On Sunday, August 15th the Club participated in the Solon Home Days parade and car show.

Once again some of our Club members participated in the week-end Graffiti Cruises in Brucyus, Ohio and the Sandusky, Ohio Cruisin’ By the Bay.  As a Club we were featured in the Garfield Hts. Home Days Car Show.  The event theme focused on the new millennium.  Unfortunately, this event was cut short by rain.

Two mystery Cruises took place in 1999.  The first cruise headed East to the Grand River for lunch at a riverside restaurant.  The day ended at the Eastlake Car Cruise.  The second Mystery Cruise was a short trip to the Southwest for ice cream cones at Country Maid Ice Cream & Bakery.

The Club’s annual Fall Social took place on Saturday, October 2nd at Grantwood Golf Course in Solon.  Just like the two previous years, this was a dress up affair.  Beer and wash were included in the ticket price of $18.00 for members and $28.00 for non-members.  BYOB if you wanted something with more kick. The buffet dinner was served by Maple Hts. Catering.  Adventure Productions provided the entertainment for the evening.  The Club provided corsages for the ladies and everyone had their picture taken.  Except for the drinks the night was like a prom flashback.

Year thirteen ended with the annual Christmas Party on December 19th.  This party, like always is a treat for the young and old alike.  Plans are already in the making for the coming year, 2000.