COMING EVENTS

MG Crier Volume 20, Number 4 August/September 2013

By George

This year NAMGAR GT-38 was in Ashville NC. Asusual Bonnie and I went, but since Bonnie does notlike long rides in the MG, we towed our MGA to theevent. We left early Sunday morning and arrived inAshville late in the afternoon. I used Google mapsfor directions and they were good, except every timeI use these maps I wish that I had a real map for eachstate so I could look at the map and see where I am. Ikeep thinking that I’m going to drive fifty miles inthe wrong direction before I figure out that I went thewrong way. The maps that AAA gave you when yourequest a Trip Tic left no doubt where you are going.The good old days!

As many of you know, I am the treasurer ofNAMGAR and on the board of directors. This wasmy first GT with some official organizationalresponsibility. Usually my main job is to get myshare of the beer each night at the hospitality room.What is the hospitality room? At NAMGAR GTs,each night we have an area where you can gettogether with other MG owners, drink a few beersand shoot the bull. At my first GT the beer was onice in the bath tub, and the chips and pretzels wereon the bed. We’ve come a long way. This year wehad a group from a NAMGAR chapter host thehospitality room. They served the beer and wine andalso had many different snacks. As most of youknow, we are a chapter of NAMGAR, but we wereunable to host the room because only two couplesfrom our chapter were there. George and BonnieKress and John and Tony Bender.

GTs are a great way to see the country. Somebodylocally maps out directions to a lot of places ofinterest. There are always a lot of things to do, andAshville has a lot to see. On the car rally Bonnie andI saw a black bear on a hillside about twenty feetfrom us. He looked as interested in us as we were inhim. Needless to say we did not win the car rally.One evening ten MGAs took a trip of about thirtyfive miles out of town to an area called StandingRock and Lake Lure. We found a restaurant there

and had dinner. We came home around ten in theevening. It was a beautiful drive out on some of thebest MG roads around, but in the dark on the wayhome was a little different. But we made it. Each MGgroup has some kind of get together in a different partof the country each year. They all have a differentname but I am sure they are somewhat the same. Youshould attend one at some point. George Kress

JOHNSTOWN FUN RUNSaturday July 27

Yes indeed! The Johnstown Fun Run is on again forthis year. It is the last Saturday in July, the 27 . Theth

meeting place is the Cracker Barrel (Exit 57 of IS 70)in New Stanton. Meeting time is around 10:30 amwith all cars gone by 11:00 am. We will travel somenice back roads with a pit stop at the Sheetz inLigonier. Yes, the Boulevard Grill in Johnstown is ourend point with their great food and cold beverages. This is a combined MG Club /Triumph Club run withthe Altoona British Car Club joining us for lunch. Please don’t miss this great event! Questions orcomments, call Rich or Judy at 724-379-5172 or emailus at britcarnuts@comcast.net.

ANNUAL CLUB PICNICSaturday August 10

We have a new venue this year for our summer Picnic. Randy and Ruth Fertelmes have graciously volunteeredto host the picnic. They have lots of room for parking,but lots of trees, so there will not be room for drivinggames this year. I’m sure we will enjoy the shade. Plan to arrive by 3 PM with dinner served at 5. PleaseRSVP to 724-352-4355 and let us know what you wantto bring for appetizer, side dish or dessert. The clubwill be providing chicken and sandwiches along withbeverages. This has worked pretty well in the past,having a nice balance of munchies to go throughoutthe afternoon.

Directions: From the South: Get on 28 North and takeexit 17, Route 356. Turn right onto 356 North and go7.3 miles to Marwood Road. Turn right onto MarwoodRoad and go 0.8 miles to Keasey Road. Turn left ontoKeasey and go 0.9 miles to our driveway.

GREATER PITTSBURGH MG CLUB

President George Kress5048 Bakerstown Road Gibsonia PA 15044724-625-7264

Vice Pres. Chuck Keller140 Verdant StreetNorth Huntingdon, PA 15642724-863-5860cfk930@yahoo.com

Secretary Norbert Sliwinski856 Cottonwood DriveMonroeville, PA 15146412-372-7338nsliwinski@hotmail.com

Treasurer Randy Fertlemes251 Keasey RoadCabot, PA 16023

Newsletter Don Stewart324 Canterbury DrivePittsburgh, PA 15238412-963-1893britcardon@verizon.net

Greater Pittsburgh MG Club Membership is $20.00 per yearper family, payable in April. New memberships receivedafter October are credited for the following year.

CLUB WEB SITE: www.greaterpghmgclub.orgWEBMASTER: greaterpghmgclub@yahoo.com

From the west: Take Route 228 from Route 19 (orRoute 8) east towards Saxonburg, but following 228until it ends at Route 356, go left (north) on 356 for4.8 miles to Marwood Road. Then follow the abovedirections. I'll park my yellow MGB at the end of mydrive. As far as good MG roads Saxonburg Blvd hasa major detour as does 910. A lot of roads around usget tarred and chipped. I can't predict what it will belike on the 10th but my road should be fine.

Randy Fertelmes

WPTA NIGHT OWL RUNSaturday August 17

The Western PA Triumph Association invites you tojoin them for their 2 Night Owl Run. Meet at 6:30nd

PM for this year’s “I Thought This Was SupposedTo Be Fun” Night Owl Rally. We will meet at thePark-n-Ride on Rt. 528, directly off I79 Exit 85(Evans City). Well be driving on the most boringroads I can find, and have some sub-par food at theend. Plan on having a really mediocre time.Hope to see you there. Doug Foyle 724-452-5218(Ed. Note: Bring a flashlight... Last year I needed oneto be able to read the driving directions towards theend of the run!)

WPTA QUAKER STEAK & LUBE TOURSaturday August 24

The details are still being worked out, so check theWestern Pennsylvania Triumph Association web site atwptriumph.org for details as the day approaches.

CENTRAL PA BRITISH CAR FESTIVALSeptember 6,7 & 8

The Central PA British Car Club will be featuring JohnTwist of University Motors at the show. On Saturday,September 7 a Funkhana will be held. You must pre-th

register for the event. You also won't want to miss theSaturday night pig roast dinner and desserts.

On Sunday, September 8th its off to the DelGrossoAmusement Park. Registration will begin at 10 am.Sunday is simply a day of showing your car andenjoying the friendship of other British Carenthusiasts. Good food, rides, mini-golf, go-karts andprizes. NO Judging!! All British Cars are welcome,any condition. John Twist will be conducting technicalseminars and troubleshooting issues throughout theday on Sunday. Pre-registration prices until August29th: Entire Weekend is $25.00 per person andincludes: Friday 9/6: Hospitality suite at the RamadaInn of Altoona. Saturday 9/7: Funkhana and scenicdrive to Pig Roast & Desserts party. Sunday 9/8: Carshow, Goodie Bag, Chicken Dinner, DelGrosso Saucesgift pack, All Day Ride pass, Miniature Golf pass, andprizes. Sunday only is $17.50 per person and includes:Car show, Goodie Bag, Chicken Dinner, DelGrossoSauces gift pack, All Day Ride pass, Miniature Golfpass, and prizes. Sunday - car display only is $10.00Visit our website for all the details atwww.wentzauto.com or pa-british.com. Contact: Jim & Lori Pastore. Phone: 814-942-7742.Email: mgnut@atlanticbb.net.

If you are going to Altoona’s British Car Festival andleaving Friday, some of us will be meeting at Dean’sDiner on Route 22 in Blairsville for breakfast at 10am. We plan to leave somewhere around 11 am traveling back roads toward Altoona. Our first stop will be theMotel in Pinecroft where we hope to register early forour rooms. Then onto Penn’s Cave for a water tour ofthe caverns past State College. If you have questionsor comments, please contact Rich or Judy at724.379.5172 or better yet email us atbritcarnuts@comcast.net.

BRITISH CARS AT HARTWOODSunday September 29

This annual British car show will be at the lawn infront of the mansion at Hartwood Acres. If you’veattended in the past you should receive yourregistration form from the Jaguar Club of Pittsburgh in

ACTIVITY REPORTS

the mail or as the date approaches checkjaguarclubofpittsburgh.com. This is a low key,popular vote show which is conducive to having alazy Sunday afternoon picnic. Bring some chairs andpack a picnic lunch. Be prepared for any weather,because it’s ranged from blistering hot to coolenough to try out that new winter jacket. Even theSteelers are going British this day. The game will beat Wembley Stadium in London! Don’t worry, asthere will be lots of radios and a few TVs to keepyou updated on the action. Hope to see you there.

MINI GOLF & ICE CREAMThose who braved roadworks, ramp and tunnelclosures on June 8th were well rewarded by abeautiful evening, fun company and a very cleverlylaid out miniature golf course. Equally enjoyable wasthe subsequent visit to the local Dairy Queen. Sad tosay, Don and Suzanne had every intention of joiningus but the Austin Mini pickup had a different plan,losing its drive shaft and having to be towed home.We missed them! Thanks to Dick and Judy forarranging such an enjoyable evening. Sylvia Affleck

SUMMER SOLSTICE TOURWhat was the weather for this one? In a word...HOT. But at least there was no rain. We had a nicevariety of MGs and Triumphs at the starting point.

Wil and Linda Schweitzer arrived in their beautiful1949 Triumph 2000 Roadster. We managed to avoidmost of the recent tar & chip work done in the area.

The first part of the tour took us through the Sewickleyarea, where we got to look at some of the huge“McMansions” which have sprung up in area recently. But there were some far more picturesque older horsefarms, with some nice old barns. We went throughdowntown Sewickley while the library was holding itsHow-to-Festival, and got a few “thumbs up” for ourlittle British cars.

Our first stop was at the Wild Flower Reserve inRacoon Creek State Park. This must be the in-betweenseason, as there was lots of greenery, but not too manyflowers to see. It was nice to have a break to rest andstretch your legs for a while and chat. While we were

W atch out for that water hazard!

At the Park-N-Ride lot getting ready to ride!

W il and Linda in their Triumph 2000 Roadster

This is what an Austin America looks like.(The MG version was the MG1100 and later the MG1300.)

POINTS & PLUGS

CLUB REGALIA

relaxing at the stop, a couple came in driving anAustin America. At first I thought it was an oddcoincidence, but when I stopped to speak with them,I got the real story. They live near the park, andwhile working outside their house, saw a bunch of usdrive by in our MGs and Triumphs. So they went onthe internet, did a search, and found our SummerSolstice Tour information. Seeing that we would bestopping at the Wild Flower Reserve, they hopped intheir Austin and drove on over to check out our cars. How nice!

After the break at Racoon park, we headed back outon the road, and made a circular route around thesouth end of the park. From there, it was more backroad driving to arrive at our final destination, theCadillac Ranch restaurant in Settler’s Ridge. Parking was at a premium, but most of us managedto hang on for a nice late lunch and moreconversations before heading home.

Point:The clock is counting down on the newsletter. Only2 more issues left for me. Don’t let your newslettergo away! If you are interested in giving it a try, giveme a call at 412-963-1893 or email tobritcardon@verizon.net . I’ll help you get started forthe first few issues. Thanks for your consideration.

Don Stewart

Plug:Remember you can read the latest newsletter on theclub web site: www.greaterpghmgclub.org. And thephotos are in color! It is in the Members Onlysection. You need a user name and password toenter Members Only. If you have not set up a nameand password, your default name is the initial of yourfirst name and the first 4 letters of your last name. The default password is: mgclub. If you forgot your

user name and password, send a note to:webmaster@greaterpghmgclub.org and ask for it to bereset.

Point:Lately attendance at Triumph Club events has been onthe upswing while MG attendance has been declining. That’s probably part of the normal ebb and flow ofmost social groups. Since we’ve been sharing eventswith the Triumph club, there is lots to do all summer. Members of both clubs put in their own time andmoney to plan these summer driving events, so pleasetry to come out for at least a few throughout theseason. Even if your MG or other British car is notfeeling too well and needs some garage rest, you cancome out in your daily driver. After all, the fellowshipof other British Car afficionados is as much part of thefun as driving the winding back roads. So considersupporting the WPTA by becoming a member. Theywon’t turn away MGs. And there are a good numberof WPTA Triumph owners who are also GPMG Clubmembers. There’s plenty of good times to go aroundfor all!

Summer is here and we’re already well into peak MGdrive time. Get your summer MG Club togs andaccessories at Tees-n-Tops in Vandergrift, PA, ourofficial club regalia supplier so you can show them offat our picnic! They have many styles and varieties ofshirts, hats, jackets, visors, tote bags and lots of otheritems to complement and color coordinate with yourMG. Call Cutta at Tees-n-Tops at 1-800-313-0009 ore-mail at teesntops@verizon.net for your club regalianeeds. Their web site is www.tees-n-tops.com.

Please support our affiliated registers:North American MGA Register Registrar: Ben NolanP.O. Box 89Elmer, NJ 08318www.namgar.com/membership

North American MGB RegisterP. O. Box 55Whittington, IL 62897800-NAMGBR1www.namgbr.org

Enjoying lunch at the Cadillac Ranch