This Month's Article(s)

2012 Get-the Dust-Off Rally

 By Dennis Blevins

The MG's of Baltimore "Get the Dust Off" Rally was held on Sunday, May 6, 2012 - starting from Mary & Eric Saminen's home in Kingsville, MD. A total of 39 teams registered. Unlike in the past several years, there were only two teams competing for national SCCA points. That meant a whole lot of our "historic" teams plus novices and "seat of the pants" competitors. LANCO MG teams entered were Alan and Carol Tucker, Richard Barnes and Mike Reick, Michael and Silvia Swift , and Dale and Claudia Glatfelter . A special award of a $100 gift card from the Dejon Winery (the finish location) was presented to the best scoring MGOB team - Carol & Alan Tucker .

Richard Barnes and Mike Reick

Michael and Silvia Swift

Dale and Claudia Glatfelter

Eric Congratulates the Award-Winning Tuckers

Visitors from Across the Pond

 By Steve Dellinger

Several months ago, LANCO MG member Charlie Baldwin caught wind of a planned visit to the U.S. by several members of the Gloucestershire ( England) MG Owners Club – whose planned itinerary included stops in Lancaster and Gettysburg. They included Adrian and Rita Mullins (Secretary/Web Administrator and Regalia/Welcoming Officer, respectively) and Club Chairman Bruce Clarke and his wife Teresa. After some emails back and forth, several LANCO members arranged to meet for dinner when they stopped in the Lancaster area. On Wednesday, May 2 nd, Gloria and Larry Ciarrocca, Charlie Baldwin, Dennis Blevins, Bob McFarland and Steve Dellinger met the two couples for an “Amish Farm Feast” at the Plain and Fancy Farm Restaurant in Bird-in-Hand. After introductions and the exchange of club memorabilia, we all settled down for lots of good Pennsylvania Dutch cooking.

Adrian presents Gloria with a Club Banner

There was no excuse for anyone to go away hungry. After several hours of eating, talking cars and numerous other topics, we parted ways, as they had to get up and travel on to Gettysburg – where LANCO members George and Ann Partlow had more activities planned for them (see George’s article below). It was a very enjoyable evening for all involved, For those who may be interested, the Gloucestershire Club’s website is http://www.glosmgoc.co.uk/.

Ready for the Amish Farm Feast!

Gloucester Invades Gettysburg

 By George Partlow

Generally MG articles are about taking a trip and the trials and tribulations that are entailed, such as breaking down or getting stuck in a storm. Despite all the problems there is nothing else you would rather do. Or you buy a piece of junk and you transform this into a thing of beauty (at least in your eyes). This is neither of these. This is about a friendship that developed where the only common thread was a love of MG’s.

At the March meeting of the LANCO MG Owners Club, Charlie Baldwin, one of the club members, mentioned that members of the Gloucestershire MG Owners Club were coming to visit the states. Charlie had a copy of an email from a Gloucestershire member which had a copy of their itinerary. I noticed they were going to visit Lancaster County and then move on to Gettysburg. Since I live in between the two locations, I thought it would be nice to meet them and show them some American hospitality. I emailed one of the Gloucestershire members and offered an invitation to lunch and a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield. My wife Ann makes Philly cheesesteaks better than you can get in Philadelphia, so these went on the proposed lunch menu, along with English mince pies, in case they missed their homeland. My mother was born and raised in Liverpool, so my wife was taught how to make them the correct way. Because of my love of history and my proximity to Gettysburg, I have studied the battle rather extensively, so I thought I was somewhat able to give them a memorable tour. My contact, Adrian Mullins, replied to the effect that it would be lovely, but only if it was not too much bother. He said the group would consist of him, his wife Rita, and Brian Clarke and his wife Teresa.

After numerous emails, many of which did not pertain to MG’s or their trip (it was as if we were pen pals) we made arrangements for when they would arrive at my home. I told him that as a point of reference I would park my bright orange MGB in my driveway. Prior to their arrival, I was somewhat apprehensive as to how our meeting would turn out. After all, they are from a different country with a somewhat different culture, and I wanted them to be comfortable. All we had in common was our love of MG’s. What would we talk about when MG material ran out?

Look – A Familiar Car!

They pulled into my driveway at 12:30. We had a brief discussion about our cars. Then we went inside where we exchanged some gifts. I got each of them a LANCO MG Club baseball cap. I received various Gloucestershire MG Owners Club goodies. The most important gift I received was a bar of Cadbury’s chocolate—“Made in England.” If you have never tried this treat, please do! It is the best tasting chocolate in the world.

We then had lunch. It must have been pretty good, because almost all of the four pounds of cheesesteak was eaten. In addition, only a few of the mince pies remained. My wife deserves the credit for a successful lunch. She was not only able to make the meal; she was also able to socialize and take care of my one year old granddaughter. Our British guests stayed until after 5:00.

Ready for Philly Cheesesteaks

They left to make sure they checked in to their motel in time. During their visit of over five hours, we very seldom discussed our cars—except they could not understand why Americans had to change a perfectly good car. What was the purpose, they asked, of putting in a V-8 engine, adding air conditioning, or modifying a perfectly good MGB? I told them it was an American thing, part of our identity that they would probably not understand. In addition to our brief talk about Americans desecrating LBG’s, our discussions ran the gamut from language and cultural differences, to politics and history and even British television. Their visit was so relaxed that it was as if we all had known each other for thirty years. When they were leaving, we set a time to meet for the tour of Gettysburg.

We met at their motel at 10:00 the next morning. I gave them all handouts that consisted of a map of the battle area and an itinerary of our stops. I also packed water and chairs for the wives. So they could better relate to the battle, I brought up English and European history. We started where the battle had commenced on that first day and concluded at “The Angle,” where Pickett made his charge on the third day. Of the ten locations on our agenda, the one they most wanted to visit and hear about was “Little Round Top.” I tried to give them both the Northern and Southern perspectives so they wouldn’t be too swayed by the famous movie’s account. We finished at 6:00.

On the Battlefield at Gettysburg

20 th Maine Monument on Little Round Top

My wife and I have plans to visit England and Scotland next year. They wanted to know our schedule so we could all meet up on their stomping ground. I am happy to say I have friends in England.

Return to top of page

Past Articles

To view past articles of meetings and discussion click on the desired month below.

2009

Return to Top of Page