Side Roads Sep/Oct 2024
As happens every year, it sure seems like the year is flying by. I also think my increasing personal years on this planet are helping to speed things along. Along with several of my fellow club members, I managed to attend GOF Central in Newark, OH. The GOF is, of course, a T Register event, but It was also the MMM Register’s national event. In addition, all MG’s were invited to the event. It was fun to see all the different MG’s that were on the show car field – quite a collection. The down side was that it was a very hot week while there which made it tough to spend as much time as I would have liked checking out all the cars.
Of course, the major event I attended was GT-49 in Welches, OR. With Mt. Hood almost always in view, it made for a different view than those of us from the mid-west are used to. Several of us decided to take an Amtrak from mid Michigan to Portland. That was a 2 ½ day trip with lots of interesting things to see out the windows as we traveled. We were in a sleeper car which added to the novelty, but which also made for learning to sleep at night interesting. We were basically rocking and rolling all night long, but I got used to it by the second night. My son, daughter-in-law, and grandson also traveled along as they wanted to take the time to see some of Oregon. My 7-year-old grandson, Daniel, was in the upper berth of the sleeper and liked it so much he said “he could live there!”.
Our stay was at Mt Hood Resort and it was very nice with lots of separate buildings that housed our individual rooms. Our host club, the Columbia Gorge MG Club, did a very nice job throughout the week. I suspect their handling of the Hospitality Suite was a favorite of many attendees. It was open most days with good food nearly always available, usually prepared by club members. That included an every afternoon English tea that was also very well attended.
I hope many of you were able to attend GT-49. I think all of us that attended can easily say that we had a great time. The car show was held less than a mile down the road from the resort. Of course, the winners were announced at the Thursday night banquet. However, you’ll also find those details elsewhere in this issue of MGA!.
Another highlight of the banquet was the NAMGAR board’s presentation of the Mac Spears award to Mike Tooke, former editor of MGA! magazine for the past 13 years. The Mac Spears Founder’s Award was inaugurated in 1994 to recognize people who have made, or continue to make, a significant contribution to the MG community. Mike, Pam and their son Eric were at Gt-49 in Welches, Oregon to receive the prestigious award during our banquet. Mike accepted the award and was very pleased to have been chosen as this year’s recipient. It was also very nice that his wife and son were present for the presentation.
We owe a great deal of gratitude to Mike for his long tenure as editor of MGA! Thanks again Mike! We wish you and your family all the best. Keep in touch, we’d like to hear from you occasionally.
Speaking of GT’s, the location of next year’s GT-50 was, of course, announced. It will be held the first full week of June, 2025, in Traverse City, Michigan. The host club will be the Michigan Rowdies. This will be the 5th GT hosted by the Rowdies as they continue their tradition of hosting every 10 years. There’s lots to see in Michigan and this location will prove to be an opportunity to visit more of those interesting areas.
My ‘A’ and I recently participated in a “Day in the Garage” at a fellow club member’s house. A total of four of us worked to convert my front drum brakes to disc brakes. The changeover was successful and I can sure tell the difference with the way the car brakes. Hard to explain, but applying the brakes feels more solid and firm. Next up in early October will be a Day in the Garage for my Magnette. The plan is to hang all four doors to check that the fit of the doors and the rockers “agree” with each other.
Also in October, don’t forget that Oct. 5th will be this year’s Drive Your Magnette Day and it will be here before you know it. Hopefully those of you who are Magnette owners can manage a day out with others or with fellow club members. Be sure to send details of your day to our esteemed editor, Steven Mazurek, for publication in MGA!.
In the meantime, I continue to urge all our NAMGAR clubs to consider hosting a GT. It looks scary from the outside, but give it a chance and find out how much fun it can be showing off your area.
Happy Motoring to all!
