JERSEY LATE GREATS, INC
PO BOX 1294 Highstown N.J.08520
Chevrolets 1958 to 1972 Chevrolets
January 2024
On behalf of JLG Board let me be the first to wish our Club Members and their families very happy, prosperous and promising New Year! We enjoyed a wonderful December Gathering, and I must recognize the Dennery’s for insuring this was a festive event. From the beautiful decorations to the wonderful food and desserts! Members that weren’t in attendance really missed out on a good time and a productive club meeting. During the meeting, we discussed upcoming club events including our January 14th meeting at the Bordentown Community Center. The January meeting will feature our rescheduled giftexchange game, managed by the ever-popular Lydia Schmidt. Members are also encouraged to bring good parts for a mini–Swap Meet. Joe DiNoia – long time Jersey Late Great member – has graciously committed to providing a seminar covering Late Great Brake Systems. You won’t want to miss this interesting, fun-filled meeting!
A reminder from the Treasurer – January 1st club dues are due with a goal of 50 paid members. As previously noted, those members who have ‘snail mail’ copies of the newsletter sent to them will need to include an extra $5 with their dues to help cover the postage, or they can provide an email address and forgo the $5 surcharge. It costs the club at least $15 a year for those receiving a mailed hard copy and we need to reduce these costs. Please consider providing an email address to save the club funds -Thank You! Please keep in mind, we are always seeking new members, and have red club flyers that can be passed out at car shows to solicit their enrollment. Please see Warren or me at a meeting and we can provide you some.
The club would like to recognize Mr. and Mrs. Philobosian for their very generous donation to the Treasury. Thank you!
Finally, we are making initial plans to travel to Dayton, Ohio in July for the National Impala Association (NIA) Convention. Please consider joining us at this event. Those who are aircraft
fanatics will be able to tour the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum, just outside of Dayton – I have been there and it is outstanding.
That’s all for now-“Keep Them Chevy’s Rollin”
TOM
Febuary 2024
Now that we are in the dead of winter it’s time to get those essential planned upgrades to your Chevy completed. I have been working on my Flatty installing cruise control, and plan to work on my convertible – welding new sheet metal and body parts. Hope you all are doing similar activities in preparation for spring weather, as it will be here before you know it!
At January’s meeting there was a lot of productive discussion regarding future club activities. First off, I would like to acknowledge Joyce Tinnes for taking the club meeting notes and Cindy Philobosian for providing some dessert items. As always, our club Sgt@Arms, Al Bernotas did a fantastic job with the refreshments. Some items were brought by members for our Swap Meet tables, always making things more interesting. We discussed the possibility of running a Club Car Show, consequently our members are researching different locations and support possibilities. We’ll discuss it again at subsequent winter meetings. Also in discussion was April’s meeting, which may be a trip to one of the museum locations in the south eastern Pennsylvania area. Perhaps Barry’s Car Barn or the Car Mall, more to follow. We are also in the planning stages for our annual Club Picnic at Washington Park, hopefully on Sunday, May 19.
Looking to next month, our meeting will be at the Bordentown Community Center on Sunday. February 11 at 3 PM. We have yet to play the gift exchange game so we have scheduled it for this meeting. Those that would like to participate are encouraged to bring a wrapped gift costing between $20-25. This always proves to be a fun-filled event. I would also encourage our members to bring car related items they would like to sell as we had a couple of transactions at our January meeting.
Just a public service announcement: If you have not done so yet – PLEASE send in your dues – Thank You! We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.
‘Til then – Keep ‘em Rollin”!
Tom
March 2024
Hello folks – we have been fortunate so far this winter with the weather. One can only hope itkeeps up; fingers crossed. We had a veryproductive meeting last week and even gained some new members! Thanks to all members who have already remitted their dues, and to those who haven’t, we want to keep you in the club so
please do so soon. The club also voted to take a trip to Barry’s Car Barn in April which should prove to be a fun outing. We will tour the museum, snag a bite to eat while we are in the area, and hold a brief meeting. Please consider joining us and bringing your old car! We also discussed attending a car show in force with our members and their cars in an attempt to gain some recognition for the club and possibly recruit some new members. More to follow on this as we settle on a location.
I wanted to share with the membership that our dedicated Treasurer, Warren Jablonski, recently spent some time in the hospital. Thankfully all went well and he’s home now recovering. Best
wishes to Warren from the club.
Looking to next month, our meeting will be at the Bordentown Community Center on Sunday, March 10th at 3 PM. I encourage members to bring car-related items they would like to sell as we had a few transactions at January’s meeting.
I am hoping that we will have an automotive related seminar provided by Joe DiNoia at this meeting. Joe has been a mechanic all his life and has some great ideas related to our cars and the
hobby at large. It’ll be spring before you know it, so it’s time to be prepping our vehicles for cruising. Don’t forget the NIA Convention to be held in Dayton, Ohio this year, July 21-27. A few of our club members have already committed to attending – it should be a fun outing. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.
‘Til then – Keep ‘em Rollin”!
Tom
April 2024
It gives me great pleasure to say WELCOME SPRING! We have been quite fortunate and thankful for the mild winter, but it’s time to enjoy some classic car cruising. We enjoyed a
productive meeting this past Sunday, discussing upcoming events and club business.
One of those events will take place on Saturday, April 13 at 10:30 AM sharp. We will be visiting Barry’s Car Barn located at 3504 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, PA 17534, which offers quite an extensive collection of vintage cars, including muscle cars. We will take a short cruise to a local eatery and hold a short meeting after. You won’t want to miss this one. I also encourage you to bring your classic vehicle if the weather allows. Please RSVP to me by April 2 if you plan to join us. I need a headcount for the museum. Please reach out either by phone 908 612 9342 or email [email protected] Thank You!!
I want to share with the membership that Don Hahn, an all-around good guy and for years a dedicated JLG member, has been hospitalized due to an accident. We want to wish him the best for a speedy recovery.
Our next event will be at the Roebling Museum grounds, where they will be holding a vintage car show on Saturday, April 27. We would like members to come out to this event with their cars. We will be setting up a table and attempting to recruit new members for our club. The address is 100 2nd Ave, Roebling, NJ 08554, and we request club members be there at 8:30 AM. Our Club picnic is now scheduled for Sunday, May 19th at Washington Lake Park located at: 626 Hurffville-Cross Keys Rd, Sewell, NJ 08080. We will rally there at 11 AM to enjoy some club time together, including a bar-b-que. It’s always a fun time, so please plan to join.
On another note, our long-time and seriously dedicated club photographer Mike Berry, has a fabulous idea. He has the club archive photo albums and is converting these historic
photos to electronic files. Therefore, the original photos will be up for grabs at our meetings for those that are interested. No charge to club members. Thank you, Mike!!!Don’t forget the NIA Convention will be held in Dayton, Ohio this year, July 21-27. A few of our club members have already committed to attending – it should be a fun outing. At our last meeting we held a conference call with Don Keefe, the head of the NIA, so he could share the convention schedule and answer questions. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.
‘Til then-Keep ‘em Rollin”!
Tom
May 2024
All I can say is WOW what a great club event at Barry’s Car Barn Museum. And we had a wonderful club member turn out. Barry Baldwin, the owner of the establishment was kind enough to provide a personal two-hour tour, sharing stories for each vehicle. We were honored to have him host the event. Our club members enjoyed the beautiful cars and motorcycles, and afterward we traveled down the road to the Smokehouse. We enjoyed a late lunch together and some storytelling, all in all, I think it was a most excellent outing. The club presented a well deserved award to Dawn and John Dennery for their continued support of events held by our club. They are always asking what they can do to support our events, and it greatly appreciated by all. Job well done!
Our next event will be at the Roebling Museum grounds, where they will be holding a vintage car show on Saturday, April 27. We would like members to come out to this event with their cars. We will be setting up a table and attempting to recruit new members for our club. The address is 100 2nd Ave, Roebling, NJ 08554, and we request club members be there at 8:30 AM.
Our Club picnic is now scheduled for Sunday, May 19th at Washington Lake Park located at: 626 Hurffville-Cross Keys Rd, Sewell, NJ 08080. We will rally at 10:45 AM to enjoy some club time together, including a bar-b-que. It’s always a fun time, so please plan to join.
Given the fact that we have two events so close in the month of April, we will take a break in June with no club event scheduled. We will pick up club activities in July at the Dennery’s Back-Yard Picnic. You won’t want to miss this fun filled outing.
‘Til then-Keep ‘em Rollin”!
Tom
June 2024
The weather is finally cooperating – took it long enough! The club rallied with no less than seven cars at the Roebling Car Show, we were well represented. The weather was iffy, but our club members braved the storm. It was a nice outing, and I was pleased with the turn out.
We just held our annual Late Great picnic, and it was a huge success. Thanks to Maureen Humphreys for managing the event along with Dawn Dennery. Additionally, I would like to thank Karen and Jim Thackeray for purchasing and cooking the food. If you left hungry, then shame on you. There were hot dogs, burgers, smoked pulled pork and many salads and desserts. Thank you to all who brought food and participated. Once again, it was a stellar club event. Be sure to check out the event pictures included in this newsletter.
During the picnic, Jim Thackeray shared how to remove rust from chrome surfaces. He brought a corroded 1962 Dog Dish hub cap and proceeded to demonstrate how to restore it to its original appearance using dish soap, water and aluminum foil. He dampened the tin foil with water and soap, then rubbed the hubcap to bring it up to a brilliant shine. Way to go Jim!!
We have enjoyed a busy club schedule the past two months, including the museum trip, the Roebling Car Show and the club picnic. Therefore, we will not be holding a club event during the month of June. Our next meeting will be held at the Dennery residence on July 13 located in Gloucester City, NJ. Details of this event can be found in this newsletter. Please make plans to join us! The Dennery’s always go above and beyond to support our club. Please remember to contact Dawn and RSVP! We will have a brief meeting then enjoy time with friends and delicious food! Our August event will be a car show at Macungie Memorial Park, located in Macungie, PA, on Sunday, August 4. The event is titled Das Awkscht Fescht and is a tribute to our old car hobby. That Sunday is Club Day, therefore I would like to see our members join in with their old cars. For more information on the show
and to register online, visit: Home -Das Awkscht Fescht.
‘Til then-Keep ‘em Rollin”!
Tom
July 2024
Summer has finally arrived! Our pool is now a comfortable 85 degrees, quite relaxing indeed. On June 8th, some of our club members attended the most awesome Gasket Goons show held at Macungie, PA Memorial Park. What a great show with nearly 1,000 cars, all older than 1969. There were quite a few Late Great Chevys there, so we passed out several of our club flyers. Please see pictures on page five of this newsletter.
BTW-I wanted to let the membership know that we sent a Thank You note and a copy of April/May’s Newsletter to Barry’s Car Barn for his support during our club tour in April. He was quite the accommodating host and deserved our thanks.
Please remember to mark your calendars to attend the Annual Dennery Club Picnic on July 13 at the Dennery’s home. More information is available later in the newsletter. You do not want to miss the picnic!
Looking ahead to August. I am hoping the club can rally with their cars at the Das Awkscht Fescht show to be held at Memorial Park located in Macungie, Pa on Sunday, August 4th. Please view this link for further details: Home – Das Awkscht Fescht(https://awkscht.com/).
Our September meeting will be held at the Bordentown Community Center on September 8th. This will be a regular meeting plus if you have parts to sell, please bring them along. Enjoy your Summer. Hope to see you all soon!
‘Til then – Keep ‘em Rollin’!
Tom
August 2024
Happy HOT summer to you all! I trust your air conditioners are working overtime. On Sunday, July 14, the Dennery’s opened up their home and treated the club to a wonderful event. Dawn and John decorated their backyard with all kinds of auto memorabilia and had the barbeque grills going in full swing. What a nice job they did featuring salads, burgers, hot dogs and chicken. Our members enjoyed quite the summer feast, and Dawn even placed some spray bottles on the tables to help cool the summer heat. The Dennery’s are to be highly commended for such exemplary support of our club, many well deserved thanks to them. Please see some photos from this event elsewhere in this newsletter. BTW – the club was kind in recognizing me with a very nice plaque. I was humbled and honored to accept it. Additionally, we are pleased to have increased our club member count to 49.
Mike Berry, Scott Haring, Ron McDermott and myself will be attending the 2024 NIA Convention in Dayton, Ohio on July 21-26. We will meet up in PA and caravan the rest of the trip together. If you have any interest in joining us, please contact me ASAP!
Looking ahead to August. I am hoping the club can rally with their cars at the Das Awkscht Fescht show to be held at Memorial Park located in Macungie, PA on Sunday, August 4th. Please view this link for further details: Home – Das Awkscht fescht(https://awkscht.com/). You should plan to be at the park no later than 0900. If we have enough
cars representing our club, we may win an award. If you have remaining questions on this event please contact me.
Our September meeting will be held at the Bordentown Community Center at 3PM on September 8th. This will be a regular meeting but if you have parts to sell, please bring them along. We plan on reviewing the club By-Laws and possibly updating them as necessary.
Enjoy your summer, and I hope to see you all soon!
‘Til then – Keep ‘em Rollin’!
Tom
September 2024
I trust you have been out cruising in your Late Great, considering how many shows the summer months have to offer. A few of us, Mike Berry, Ron McDermott and myself cruised out to Dayton, Ohio for the National Impala Convention in July. We had an enjoyable couple of days out there socializing with friends and fellow club member. Scott Haring. The annual CORSA Corvair Convention was held the same time and the Corvairs far outnumbered our full-size Chevy’s, probably four times as much. It is quite impressive what a close-knit group they are, and I was slightly embarrassed there weren’t more Late Greats in attendance. Carl Snelling from the land down under’ was also there. He is a seriously focused Cowl Tag expert and is was a pleasure meeting him. A true highlight of the trip was visiting Wright-Paterson Air Force Base, featuring aircraft from the early 1900’s up to the present day. Truly an experience any aircraft aficionado shouldn’t miss!
Our next club outing was on August 4th at Macungie Memorial Park. It was Car Club Day at the show. Our club members including Warren Jablonski, Ron Strisofsky, Barry Beitler, Scott and his dad John Haring, Lydia Schmidt, Bob Keiffer, Mike Berry and yours truly, enjoyed the day. The weather held out and there was a good turnout of other club’s cars too. We found available covered picnic tables by one of the vendor stands and held a club meeting. Plenty of show cars, but the vendor spaces selling car parts were very few. Check out the pictures later in this newsletter.
Looking forward to the September 8th meeting at 3PM back at the Bordentown Community Center. We will be discussing various club items including by-law updates. We look forward to your suggestions on the subject, so please bring your thoughts to the meeting. Additionally, I encourage our members to bring their cars out and if you have parts you may want to sell, brin those as well!
Keep ‘em Rollin’,
Tom
October 2024
Welcome autumn! Such a fun time of year for a cruise in your old Chevy! What a nice September meeting we had at our new location in Bordentown. Many thanks to Al Bernotas for arranging a super accommodating location. We enjoyed a good turnout of club members and celebrated some birthdays as well. The Dennery’s brought a cake and decorations as we celebrated Cindy Philobosian’s, Mike Berry’s and John Lucas’ birthdays. We discussed many important club issues including some plans on future recruitment ideas. Emil Philobosian contributed a generous sum to cover the club’s annual insurance bill. A hug thanks to him! Afterward, we lined up some Late Great Chevys for a photo opportunity outside the new facility, see the photos on other pages of this month’s issue.
Moving forward – we look forward to our next club event on Sunday, October 13 featuring some fun activities at Johnson’s Farm and then a cruise to a 50’s-style diner. This promises to be a great event you won’t want to miss. Plan to come out and enjoy the fun. There are details elsewhere in this newsletter issue. I hope to see you all there. We will be holding the first round of nominations for our club officers, so bring out your ideas and thoughts and let’s start to formulate next year’s board.
On another note, we lost a very valuable club member in September – Jim Krous. He was a member since the the mid-eighties and was a wealth of information to the hobby. He will be greatly missed. There will be a Celebration of Life in his honor on November 9, 2024, at the Long Valley Brew Pub located in Long Valley, NJ. We need to get a headcount for thisevent so please RSVP by October 23 to me at my email address or by contacting me on my cell: 908 – 612 – 9342. Thank You!
Keep ‘em Rollin’,
Tom
November 2024
What a fantastic outing we enjoyed on October 13th at Johnson’s Farm and the 50’s diner. Huge thanks again goes to our Pumpkin Run Committee: Dawn Dennery, Cindy Philobosian and Mike Berry! Please review Dawn’s article covering this event on page 4 of this issue. The weather was outstanding and the company even better. If you weren’t in attendance, you certainly missed a fun time. We opened the floor of the meeting to take club officer nominations. Those results are posted in this issue. This is your club, so please carefully decide who you would like to see in the officer positions.
As a reminder – January 1st all dues are due to the Club. The dues for those members who receive the newsletter via email are $25. The dues for those who receive the newsletter via USPS are $30. We look forward to having you for another year – and thank you for your continued support. Don’t forget our next meeting will be a tthe Hamilton Township Switlik Park Center on Sunday November 3rd at 3PM. The following meeting will also be at the Hamilton Township location and will be our Christmas celebration on December 1st. Please contact the committee and inform them of what favorite covered dish you will be bringing. More details on that as we get closer.
Just as a reminder – there will be a Celebration of Life for our long-time club member Jim Krous on Saturday, November 9 at 12pm at the Long Valley Brew Pub. This facility is located in Long Valley, NJ and we are trying to get an accurate headcount of those planning to attend. I have had manyresponses already, but please contact me if you plan on attending by October October 30th, thank you. That’s all for now, hope to see you all soon.
Keep ‘em Rollin’,
Tom
Coming in December 2024