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It is with very mixed emotions that I write my last message as President of this great Buick club. Wendy and I joined in 1988, the same year we joined HASC. We subscribed to "Old Autos" in those days and saw an ad for this club. We had our "Baby", a black 1965 Riviera, which we owned for over 30 years.
We attended our first "Homecoming" in Brantford and we were "Hooked". We have only missed one Homecoming since then and we have hosted one in 1998 and co-hosted in 2003 and 2017. We have hosted many "tours" over the years. We have met some great people and formed long lasting friendships.
At that event in Brantford I asked Wally Biernacki, the President, to point out Lis Balson to me. He asked why and I mentioned the ad in the Accelerator saying the club needed a librarian and I would be interested in chatting about it. At the banquet that evening he announced that I was the new librarian, to great applause. That was the start of a long time on the Board of Directors. I enjoyed the work that came with the position, helping people from all over the world who were looking for information about their McLaughlin Buicks. This, of course was long before the internet, so it was by "snail mail" and telephone.
As we got closer to the actual closing of the club, we had to give some thoughts as to our extensive Buick library which took up a large part of our basement. We decided that it should go to an establishment which would continue providing assistance and advice to people in the hobby. We checked with Alex at Canadian Automotive Museum and he felt at that time he did not have the space or staff to continue what we had done for years. I did contact the Reynolds Alberta Museum and we could not come to a satisfactory arrangement.
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Then I had established a contact with David Landow. He was the President of the Buick Heritage Alliance, based in the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) Library in Hershey PA. After many discussions we decided to donate the library to the BHA. They have helped many members of our club and others who contacted me and I forwarded the questions to the BHA. They paid me to list every thing and pack 16 boxes with the library. It took a while to do this and my basement was a bit of a mess.
I am proud to say that over the years I personally brought over 250 new members into the club and was awarded the "membership award 10 times. I wonder how we lost them?
As we close down our club with one final "Homecoming" at Parkwood, where it all began 50 years ago at the time of Col. Sam's 100th birthday, I must extend my sincere thanks to Wes and Lois Ebbs for all their hard work setting up the tour and arranging for the hotel. There were a few members who joined us that weekend without their vintage Buick and I would like to thank them for coming. Larry and Pam Splane - Michigan, Lester and Margaret Northeast - Cobourg, William and Lise Prince - Quebec, Bill Bressmer and Carol Pierce - Burlington, AI and Shirley Lambert - Hamilton, Lee Smith and Mary Steffler - Wilsonville.
The event was a success, small but fun. We missed a lot of the regular attendees at these events. The weather was good, sunny and warm.
A big thank you to Keith Corby for his great articles over the years and thanks to the Board of Directors for their support over the years. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as President of this great club and I will miss everything about the club, especially the members. Wendy and I had the good luck to meet many of them on club events and on our own travels in our motor home and Buicks.
Keep well and safe,
Keith Horsfall MBCC #1218
| LIBRARY Reminder
If you have questions about your McLaughlin or Buick car, please contact either of these two avid Buick enthusiasts and directors of the Buick Heritage Alliance (BHA):
John Fields - luvbuicks@gmail.com
189 East Schreyer Place, Columbus, Ohio, 43214
Mobile Phone: 614-296-5596
Please allow extra time for a response.
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