GBMAFC Christmas Party - Dec. 9, 2017

It was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas when we arrived at the Friendly Farm Restaurant for the GBMAFC Christmas party. Snow was falling heavily and there were 2-4 inches of snow on the ground. Fortunately, the roads remained clear and two intrepid club members even drove their A's (see photos later in this article)! Way to go, Milt Hartig and Dave Shahan! Holiday spirit was in great abundance inside the restaurant as well. More than 60 club members had signed up for the event and all were in great cheer. Photos

Historic London Town and Gardens - Nov. 11, 2017

On November 11 the Model A club visited the Historic London Town and Gardens in Edgewater, Maryland just below Annapolis. It was perfect weather for the Model A's but just a tad brisk for us human types. Temperatures were in the 40s but the sun was shining brightly and the sky was crystal blue. All seven Model A's ran smoothly and without a hitch. Photos

Road trip to Pottsville, PA - Oct. 27-29, 2017

Story and Photographs by Jon Miller
Several months ago, our creative Activities Director, Steve Meyer, crafted another interesting overnight road trip, this time to Pottsville, PA, to visit the Yuengling Brewery and Jerry's Car Museum. This trip intrigued enough club members so that 19 folks decided to participate. This group included 13 Model As and one modern car divided into two driving groups. Members may read details of the trip in the December Steering Column
Please enjoy these photos of the road trip. Photos

Fall Workshop At John LeBon's - October 21

By Steve Meyer
Saturday, October 21, was a great day for a Model A Workshop. The morning was sunny and cool: perfect weather for shade tree mechanics like us! Fifteen club members showed up at John "The Good" LeBon's garage to work on our cars and various Model A parts. Projects ranged from sandblasting to brake shoes and everything in between.
Enjoy these photos. Photos

Cumberland Antique Car and Truck Show - Sept. 15-18

By Steve Meyer
As we gathered together at the McDonald's in Frederick there was a deep sense of foreboding in the air. Before we even met that morning we had lost our fearless leader, Bud Carroll, because his wife took a fall that caused her to break her shoulder just the night before our departure that morning! Bud spent most of the night in a hospital at Phena's bedside and would need to spend the weekend taking care of her. We wish you, Phena, a speedy recovery! Luckily, Butch agreed to pick up the reins and get us going westbound. Oh, but wait - we already had two breakdowns before meeting up in Frederick! Milt Hartig had some electrical problem, and Kenny Godfrey had a loose alternator that caused his fan belt to fly off. These were only minor issues for this Model A gang and really caused hardly any delay at all - but were they harbingers of troubles to come? Was there a dark cloud hanging over us that we could not detect? Time would tell.
Members may read more in our award-winning Steering Column newsletter. Photos

Annual Car Show at Carroll County Farm Museum - Sept.9, 2017

By Laurie McLeish
September 9 dawned bright as club members started their trek to the Farm Museum in Carroll County for the GBMAFC Annual Car Show. In all, about 23 cars made the trip and most paraded across the field at 1:00 pm. Dave Sturges agreed to help the announcer by providing year and car type to the host.
Members may read more in our award-winning Steering Column newsletter. Photos

Annual Club Picnic - August 26, 2017

By Dave & Laurie McLeish
It was a perfect day for the club's Model A picnic! The Washington/ Baltimore weather was unseasonably cool and dry on August 26 for the club's gathering held this year at Jeanette and Scotty's "Once in a Blue Moon Farm". Besides lots of fabulous cars driven in by our members (about 12 Model A's and the Model T tow truck), we were treated to an amazing assortment of cars and motorcycles collected by our hosts. All were beautifully restored and displayed. Photos

MARC National Meet - Gettysburg, PA, July 30 -Aug 4, 2017

The MARC National Meet in Gettysburg, PA was held on 30 July 4ty, August 2017. A number of club members attended this meet the entire week, and some attended for at least a few days. We saw some fantastic Model As! Of special note, Dick and Betty Fisher received MARC's prestigious Ken Brady Award for their success in elevating MARC's Mileage Program to the highest level. Congratulations to Dick and Betty! By all accounts, the MARC meet was an overwhelming success, so congratulations also to the host club, the Hub City Model As!
Jon Miller Photos

Fort Frederick State Park - July 16, 2017

On Sunday morning, July 16, Butch Cornes, Milt Hartig, Danny Godfrey, and I met at Taylorsville around 8:30 AM. We were on our way to discover Fort Frederick, way out past Hagerstown. Once there we were to meet with Mike and Mary Grear, who drove modern due to family commitments. Danny was doing a ride-along with Butch in his Fordor Sedan and Milt and I were travelling in our Fordor Sedans. Sedans were the Model A of the day! By Steve Meyer Photos

Automotive Open House - July 9, 2017

On Sunday July 9th the six of us met up at Rita's on Frederick road around 8:30AM. Our group was made up of Milt, Jon, Butch, Bud, Dave, Ron ( traveling with Jon), and myself. Ron wanted to take pictures of us traveling through Ellicott City past the train station and the railroad bridge so he and Jon went ahead by a few minutes. After waiting the rest of us pulled out of Rita's and slowly wound down the hill into old Ellicott City. About half way down the hill at 8:45 in the morning we hear Dave's horn steadily sounding off waking up the town!! As most of you know Dave is a great mechanic so he had the horn disconnected before I could get out of my car to find out what was going on. Within a minute sleepy Ellicott City went back to snoozing! We again proceeded down that steep grade and as we approached the station Ron and Jon took pictures as we cruised on by. After we passed them we gathered up on the other side of the bridge and continued our journey to CCBC. By Steve Meyer Photos

Sheperdstown WV - 4th Of July Parade

On July Fourth four intrepid travelers gathered at the Lisbon McDonald's for the journey to Shepherdstown, WV. We hoped to be part of the July Fourth parade but we hadn't signed up yet. I called Peter Smith, the parade organizer, from McDonald's and asked if we could join in the fun and he enthusiastically replied YES! He gave me the details and I assured him we would be there by 10:30 at the designated meeting area. I didn't bother to add unless one of us had a car problem because I was with Mike and Mary Grear and Milt Hartig and I knew those guys would get us there! By Steve Meyer Photos

Jonathan Hager House and The Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum - June 3, 2017

On Saturday, June 3, ten GBMAFC members made the long journey to Hagerstown, MD. I say long because we took the roads less traveled! Butch Cornes, Dave Kehne, Milt Hartig, Don and Linda Keller, Mike and Mary Grear, Jon Miller, Ron Fayer, and I traveled in five Model A's across gently rolling foothills crisscrossed with freshly plowed farm fields, up and down steep mountain grades, following crystal clear rocky rivers, and through the bustling downtown streets of Hagerstown to reach the city founder's humble two-story home with a fresh, clear spring in the basement. We arrived in only 5 Model A's because (a) we wanted to carpool for environmental reasons, (b) our cars weren't running, or (c) because we wanted to take advantage of the club ride-along program. By Steve Meyer Photos

Youth Outreach at Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School - May 12, 2017

On May 12, 2017 Jon Miller and I went to Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School in Howard County to talk with and show our Model 'A' Fords to some students in first grade. The students are part of a group studying transportation in the United States. We talked briefly with them in the classroom about the Ford Motor Company from the time of its founding in 1903 up to the introduction of the Model A in late 1927. We also talked about the moving assembly line that Ford used to assemble cars as quickly as possible and the salary that Ford was paying his workers. The students were split into two groups before we went outside to look at Jon's 1931 Slant Windshield Fordor and my 1928 Special Coupe. We asked the students to identify the feature they liked most on their modern car and noted how many of those items were not available in the Model A era. We will probably go back to this school next year, and the teacher was planning on talking to teachers in other Howard County elementary schools who also teach this transportation unit about having club members visit. Text by Dave Sturges Photos

National Capital Trolley Museum - May 20, 2017

After Lunch at Mamma Lucia's, it was a pleasant 15 minute drive from the restaurant and we all made it without difficulty. We took a brief tour of the garage where some trolleys were stored and listened as the docent shared with us the age and history of each one. Many of our group were quickly going down memory lane at this point. Photos

Tour to Hudson Valley, NY - April 28 - May 5, 2017

Story and Photos by Jon Miller. Another wonderful GBMAFC road trip, this time to the Hudson Valley region in New York state. Our club’s talented Activities Director, Steve Meyer, prepared and coordinated a full agenda of interesting things to see and do. 15 club members joined in this fun road trip. We shared a wonderful week together touring in our Model As, seeing sights that we might otherwise have never seen. For me, I drove 921 miles of pure fun! Truly an extraordinary trip! Photos

Martin State Airport Museum - March 18, 2017

Story and Photos by Steve Meyer. The following GBMAFC members had a great time on Saturday, March 18, at the small but quite interesting Martin State Airport Museum. Due to the massive snowstorm the previous Tuesday and Wednesday no one ventured out in their Model As. All of us were afraid to drive our cars thru the mounds of fresh salt!! But on the positive side, as you can see, the number of ladies present on this trip was quite high! Aahh, the benefits of the modern car! Photos

The Baltimore Museum of Industry - Feb. 18, 2017

…and Lunch at Little Havana By Steve Meyer. We started our visit with a free museum tour which was very interesting since our tourguide could enhance our experience with all kinds of obscure facts and trivia. She started us off in the old cannery section, then the “oldtime” belt-driven machine shop, through the textile and clothing manufacturing area,to our last stop in a turn-of-the-century drug store complete with homemade remedies and a soda fountain. Photos

Butch’s Train Garden - January 21, 2017

By Steve Meyer. On a dreary, foggy Saturday morning the following GBMAFC club members gathered for breakfast at the Bob Evans Restaurant in Eldersburg. After a huge breakfast (at least mine, anyway), we said our goodbyes to those not going to Butch’s, and Tom, Bob, Mike, Dave, Bud, Ken and Nancy, and I made our way cross-country to Butch’s house. He has a fantastic layout comprised of trains and lots of train paraphernalia collected over an entire lifetime! He never sets it up the same way twice ’cause he doesn’t have to! He has many different themes and different ways to lay things out. Overall the trains ran well and we only saw several minor derailments. (They were the engineer’s fault!) We enjoyed ourselves greatly and thank Butch and Mary Jo for their wonderful hospitality! Photos