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We departed Thursday morning for an
easy drive downtown and the boat tour on the Buffalo River with a
guide sharing the history of the area. We saw many landmarks and
grain towers that were once the mainstay of the Buffalo waterfront.
After departing the boat, we went to Chefs Italian restaurant for
lunch. Chefs is famous in the Buffalo area and has a wall of
photographs of many celebrities who have dined there. The food and
service was fantastic.
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The afternoon event was a visit to
the Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum, where the owner Jim
Sandori gave us a
guided tour. We saw the Frank Lloyd Wright
gas station that was recreated inside the building along with an
interesting collection of cars and other vintage memorabilia.
Following the tour, we had our business meeting at the museum thanks
to Jim’s hospitality. Our president John Begian was unable to
attend the meet due to prior commitments so vice president Noel
Hastalis conducted the meeting.
We left the hotel Friday morning for
a short drive to the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum where Ian,
the museum curator, gave us a splendid tour of the preserved
manufacturing facility. He walked us through the step-by-step process
of how the craftsmen carved and created the ride figurines. The tour
was followed by the majority of us climbing aboard a restored vintage
carrousel for a thrilling ride. Ian told us that we were only going
at speed 5 and that the carrousel could go as fast as 12. I cannot
imagine going much faster. Lunch was at the Hideaway Grille, a
favorite stop for locals.
We were then off to see one of the top
wonders of the world with Mark and Marylou Rawls leading the way
along the scenic Niagara Falls Boulevard. Arriving at Niagara Falls,
we broke into smaller groups and took a
shuttle to see the Falls. Some of us went into the gorge for the Cave
of the Winds tour. Everyone got wet from the American Falls and it
felt good on the hot, sunny day. Others boarded the all-electric Maid
of the Mist boat for an up close view of the Canadian Falls. Again,
everyone got wet. It was an amazing spectacle.
On Saturday morning, we were off to
the car show, which was held at a local dealership just down the
street from the hotel. The dealer provided a washing station for us
to spiff up our brutes. Thanks to Jim Krausmann and Mike Falcone for
arranging the cars on the show field.
The long-awaited debut of Joe
Jordon’s Andy Granatelli Bonneville Salt Flats racer was
unveiled to a large group of admirers. Joe shared the racer with our
club first, feeling that this was most appropriate. Thank you, Joe,
for bringing the racer to this meet. We look forward to hearing that
it returned to the Salt Flats once again. The dealer arranged for a
food vendor and an ice cream truck that we gladly used. It was
another hot day and club members huddled under the shade of pop-up
tents. The show was lightly attended by local clubs, but many people
stopped and visited when they saw the cars lined up on the front row
of the dealership.
Heading back to the hotel, members took a rest and
got ready for the awards banquet at Classics V. After a great buffet
dinner, Noel led an auction for items donated by Jim Birr and Charlie
Valentine. Thanks, guys, for donating items and thanks to the bidders
whose proceeds help support our club.
It seems like we always learn something new when we go to meets. The stop lights were out on Jeff Miklas' L.
He found a blown fuse in the breaker box. He also noticed the console lights lit up each time
he pushed the brakes. It turns out the wiring on these cars is such that the console lights come on if your
stop lights aren't. Who knew?
Sunday morning broke wet with heavy
rains that ended when a group of us boarded a vintage double decker
red bus with an entertaining “1860s cop” who provided an
interesting history tour of downtown Buffalo. Even Chad from
Australia enjoyed it. I did not know that Buffalo was once the 8th
largest city and the 6th busiest port in the United States
until the Erie Canal took business away from the port. We will learn
more about the history of the Erie Canal at the Spring 2027 meet in
Canandaigua, NY, so plan on attending that meet. The bus dropped us
at the hotel and it was bye for now, but just until the Spring 2026
meet that is being hosted by Heath Towson in Ashville, SC.
Many thanks to Ron Klinczar who did
most of the legwork for this fantastic event. It was great to see his
grandchildren accompany him to the car show.
Photo credits: Carl Bilter, Jim Birr, Hank Hallowell, Noel Hastalis, Dave & Kya Mason, Bob Merritt, Jeff Miklas, Gloria Moon, Mark Obermann, Don Verity, Mike VanDerVeen.
