October 2018October 2018

Acorn A’s — Our 47th Year

Coming Events The NutShell

Oct 18 Third Thursday Tour CSC 10 am Mona and George Dec 1 Annual Meeting

What a fun Septem-ber this has been es-pecially the meeting. Congratulations to Tony Shull who won the drawing and by the way, thank you Tony for buying Monday’s coffee at Rudy’s. October we will start another drawing so be sure to come to the meet-ings. I want to welcome Paul and Mary Kempel to the Club. Paul joined us during September’s meet-ing. Paul and Mary live right across the street from the meeting hall. They have a 29 Roadster pickup that Paul is restoring right now. We are all ready and willing to pass along any informa-tion, expertise and elbow grease to help Paul as he restores his Roadster pick up. We were sorry we missed the Twinkle Martin

Pee Wee Golf tour but it sounded like a lot of

fun. Which brings me to tours. Mona and I will

be leading a third Thursday Tour in October we

will be meeting at 10 AM at Creekside and head-

ing to Livermore for lunch. There will be a sign

up at the meeting and we hope everyone will join

us on the tour. If you have a destination in mind

for a tour, please contact our permanent (ha-ha)

tour leader, Tony Shull to get on the calendar.

George Diamantine

Pre-meeting Dinner Rigatoni’s

Castro Valley Blvd October 9 at 5:30

NutShell

December 17, 2005

Page 2

General Meeting —September 11, 2018

Page 2

Meeting Minutes

.Meeting was called to order promptly at 7:30 pm by Sergeant of Arms Max Romero with a Here ye, here ye and introduced the esteemed, man about town, President George Diamantine. George welcomed everybody then asked if there are any corrections or additions to the minutes? Motion to approve Augusts' minutes as published in the Nutshell made by Jackie Brooks and 2nd by Brian McGarry. Attendants reported by Bill Biddell, was 16 families and 26 members. Membership chairperson Bill Biddell reported still 39 members. Treasurer Steve Danzer gave a monthly budget report. Besides the club earning 26 cent of interest. Steve mentioned a ex president in the Restorer magazine on page 25? Secretary Sue McGarry reported a thank you from Ed LaGrange’s daughter Nancy. Ed LaGrange enjoyed 40 years with the Acorn A’s. Sharon Johnson from Camino A’s is selling her late husband cars, sport coupe, station wagon, coupe and a tudor all advertised on MAFCA's web site. Maffi, Model A Ford Foundation newsletter, San Leandro recreation newsletter and Oro Loma’s newsletter with pictures of several Acorn A’s members. Nutshell Bill Biddell, said everyone needs to read the Nutshell and the McGarry’s and Biddell's were the only ones who brought awards and trophies to share. The ladies luncheon will be printed in the Nutshell if given the info. Fashion Jackie Brooks, no report. Sunshine Bea Van Wetter reported no one was sick and let her know if anyone is. Max Romero lead a rousing Happy Birthday to Bea Van Wetter, George Diamantine, Carol Low and Jackie Brooks. We had a guest Paul, who owns a 1929 Roadster and was asked if he would like to purchase raffle tickets. Raffle Mona, since no one won last months raffle, the pot grew to $559. Lucky Tony Shull had the winning ticket but drew a red chip (actually drew the only white chip). Congratulations to Tony! Webmaster, Please send pictures. Tour Leader, the permanent tour leader, Tony Shull had

Kathy Morte report on the Twinkle Martin Pee Wee Golf tour. She said they had 12 people go and she got three holes in one. Mona Diamantine Semi Freddi’s bakery tour had 21 people attend and lunch at Pier 29 afterwards. We witnessed a car being chased by the police who ran a stop light, hit a car and spun out in front of us. Glenn Martin Sept 22 National Model A day will be lead by Kathy Morte to a Brew Pub off Bollinger Canyon leaving at 10:00 am Creekside. Glenn Martin also has Hayward Airport open house car display Sept 23, from 9am to 4 pm. No Old Business New business. Bill Biddell thanked Kathy Morte for the PG&E audit information because of it’s benefits and savings. Bill also had two Ford books for the taking. Refreshments, provided by Kathy Morte, Linda Rodrigues and Wanda Romero. October’s meeting refreshments will be Sue McGarry, Anne Biddell and Mona Diamantine. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 for refreshments, motioned by Max Romero and Vern Brooks 2nd. Sue McGarry, Secretary

Tours to Come Page 3

If you know of a member who is under the weather call Bea at 510/581-0316

Any one interested in leading

a tour call Tony Shull, TM

It’s a known fact that leather tanned in the 1920’s and 1930’s was processed with caustic and dangerous chemicals. Today we know the associated dangers and health risks when we are exposed or we come in contact with these chemicals. As I col-lected more era items, I wondered about the chemical residue on these items. And I was concerned about repeated exposure to those chemicals and how it was going to affect the leather items. I know it sounds funny coming from some-one who has memories as a child who loved to roll the car window down and smell the gas at the gas station. But now that I know that isn’t the best thing for me, I’m pretty sure applying more chemicals to my collectibles isn’t going to make them last longer. Although my leather purses and shoes have been exposed and treated with unsafe products in the past, it was time to reverse the damage, slow down the aging and prevent further dete-rioration. My collections aren’t getting any younger, and can use all the help they can get. We all know why it is important to clean a garment before we hang it back in the closet or pack it, laying it down in a storage box, but what about our leather items? What is the best way to clean, preserve and treat our era leather handbags, shoes and accessories? In the past, I just applied some saddle soap or mink oil. But after learning these products had petroleum added, I decided my collectible items deserved more care than that. I was interested in an “all-natural” product that was safe to touch and wasn’t going to stink up the house. It was important to find a product that ac-tually fed and nourished the leather, adding the oils back into the fibers. I did a little research and found a product that met all my criteria for being safe and clean. I found Chamberlain’s Leather Milk products and their promises to make leather look good on the outside and provide what leather needs be-low the surface to keep it healthy for generations to come. Their products are made in the United States with all natural cosmetic grade ingredients that are not chemical based. Chamberlain’s Leather Milk products are available online and at Amazon.com. Now it was time to see how it treated a pair of the shoes in my collection. I selected a small, pair of black leather shoes with a strap made for a young girl. They had a

Leather (Continued on page 4)

Preserving Leather Collectibles By Jill Barrett, Santa Clara Valley Chapter MAFCA

10/05 Mona Diamantine

10/29 Catherine Martin

NutShell

Acorn A’s Officers and Committee Chairs 2018

President George Diamantine 510/632-0804 gadiamantine@comcast.net Vice President

Jim Rodrigues Secretary Sue Mc Garry Treasurer Steve Danzer

Tour Master Tony Shull Nutshell Editor Bill Biddell Past President Glenn Martin Sunshine Bea Van Wetter Membership Bill Biddell wbiddell@gmail.com

Attendance Mary Baptista Fashions Jackie Brooks Shake Committee

Tony Shull NCRG/ACCC Rep Vern Brooks Sgt @ Arms Max Romero Web Master Robert Woodford

Page 4

You get a lot more power out of the engine with the spark firing earlier, while the piston is still on it's way up to the top of the cylinder. That added power is giving you higher RPM. The spark lever should be up all the way for starting. This will save your starter from breaking by any kick-back from the engine. And if you were hand crank starting (which . do not recommend) it would save your arm from being broken by any kick-back from the engine while cranking. As soon as the engine starts, you should advance the spark lever to a position 1/2 way down between top and bottom positions. This is your idle spot. You do not need to move the spark lever there for short idle times (like waiting for a red light), but if you put it there when idling, it will run smoother. Just as you are stepping on the clutch and shifting into 1st gear to drive away, lower the spark lever to a posi-tion about 3/4ths of the way down. You can drive with it there almost all the time. There are two exceptions: 1) at speeds over 45 MPH, push it DOWN 1 or 2 more clicks; 2) when climbing a long or steep hill in 3rd gear, push the lever UP about 2 or 3 clicks, and as soon as you crest the hill, push it back down the same num-ber of clicks to put it back where it was. See the original Ford "Instruction Book" (Owners Manual) for more guidance on the best way to start, stop, shift, etc. These books are available as reproductions for not much money. The words in them are as valid today as they were when the cars were sold new. Glenn

contrasting button fastener and a matching contrasting leather band woven through the shoes. I chose this pair to address the dirt on the leather soles and a stiff strap that I was sure was going to crack and break off. I gently washed away the mud stuck to the bottom of the shoes with a gentle castile soap. I wiped the shoe bottom dry and wiped off the leather uppers with the damp towel. Looking like a curator at the Smithsonian, I set the shoes out on a white cotton towel to dry. Pre-serving Leather Collectibles www.mafca.org March 2018. After a couple days of record heat to ensure the leather was dry, I applied Chamberlain’s Leather Milk Formula No. 2 Straight Cleaner just to the leather up-pers. This was a mild blend of water and other non-alkaline cleaning ingredients to softly remove leather-damaging substances. Once that dried, I applied several thin coats of Chamberlain’s Leather Milk Healing Balm to all the leather on both shoes. I immediately saw an improvement in the condition of the leather straps and soles. You could say I was very excited. All was well and the shoes looked better than when I started. The next day, I gave both shoes another treatment of the Healing Balm. Shortly after that, the straps were no longer

(Continued from page 3) Leather

stiff and frozen in a downward position. The straps were flexible and I was able to attach the straps to the button fastener on the out-side of the shoes. I gently stuffed acid-free tissue paper in each shoe to help it hold its shape and set them aside. Two months later, I returned to my experiment. The shoes ab-sorbed all of the healing balm. The straps were supple and soft. I gave them one final application of the healing balm before pack-ing them away.

Page 5 NutShell

Twinkle Memorial Golf Tournament

Under perfect sunny skies, 12 “pro” golf-ers played the back 18 at Golfland Pee Wee Golf Course in Castro Valley. We had 4 players from Henry’s A’s and 8 from Acorn A’s. After play, three Model A’s and 3 modern cars traveled to the Awards’ Banquet at Harry’s Hof-brau. After a delicious lunch, awards

were presented to Cathy Martin for the lowest score ladies, Wes Nelson, lowest men’s score, Kathy Morte most holes in one (3) (she also had the highest score, but could only win one award), Dave McArthur most holes in one for men (2, I think), Linda Rodrigues for highest women’s score and Glenn Martin for highest men’s score. We want to thank everyone who attend our tour…we had a great time! Bill and Kathy Morte

E-Nut The NutShell is available by email. The newsletter will be sent to any member or reciprocal club who requests it. The advantages are, you will receive your copy 3 to 5 days before the regular mail; it will be in color and you can foreword to family and friends plus photos and articles can be downloaded . The e-nut will be in pdf format. If you would like this delivery method send an email to the NutShell Editor at wbiddell@gmail.com

The NutShell

P.O. Box 2321 Castro Valley, CA 94546

http://clubs.hemmings.com/acorn/

The Acorn A’s Model A Ford Club is a California non-profit corporation and welcomes everyone who is interested in the preser-vation of the Model A Ford automobile or the fashions of that period. For membership information write or visit our website. The NUTSHELL is published monthly by the ACORN A’s Chapter of the Model A Ford Club of America to inform and entertain its members. The NUTSHELL welcomes articles and stories plus advertisements or other items of interest regarding the Model A Ford. Where indicated some of the items included in the NUTSHELL are from other publications. We thank them for sharing with us and are happy to share with them. Non-commercial classified ads are free to members and will run for two consecutive months. For paid advertising rates contact the editor. PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 20th of the preceding month. Send NUTSHELL items to: Bill Biddell, 3397 Pinewood Ct., Hayward, CA 94542 (email wbiddell@gmail.com) Acorn A’s web site http://clubs.hemmings.com/acorn/

It’s the journey, not the destination!It’s the journey, not the destination! Meetings

The Acorn A’s meet the second Tuesday of each month ex-cept December at the Castro Valley Masonic Center 4521 Crow Canyon Rd. in Castro Valley. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM with dinner before at selected restaurants at 5:30.

Glenn’s 2018 International Model A Ford Day Tour

We left Creekside with Brian and Sue McGarry just before 10:30 and headed to Dub-lin along Dublin Canyon Road. Since Brian wasn’t feeling well, he and Sue headed back home from Dublin. We picked up 7 Henry’s A’s members and headed on the rest of the route to Canyon Lakes Golf Course and Brew-ery. We traveled along beautiful tree-lined roads to our lunch destination where we all en-joyed a nice lunch…some of us with beer from their brewery…Thanks to all who came…

Bill and Kathy Morte

Congratulations to Acorn Aers

who have reached MAFCA

milestones

Al and Carol Low — 45 years

Warren and Pat Storm — 45 years Mike Ganahl and Les Hardy — 35 years