President s Message. Page 2 of 13

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1 President s Message Good warm weather (anything above 50 degrees!) is finally here. This Saturday morning 15 club members had breakfast at Jan Marie s Portage Café in South Bend. We enjoyed good cuisine and lots of visiting, particularly with the snow birds who have returned north for the summer. Afterwards, a few of us even had extended visiting hours in the parking lot; the clear sunny skies were so nice. Now we ll switch our monthly meetings to Wednesday evening meetings/dinners. We are scheduling a dinner for May 27 th at the Brass Rail & Grill in Plymouth, IN. Don t miss our next club event our annual Tech Session and potluck lunch at the Deacon s residence on Saturday, April 25 th. Those who would like to get their car up on a lift, arrive ~ 8 am or later. The guys do the Tech Session thing in the morning, and then we have a sumptuous lunch starting promptly at noon. So those who want to attend just for lunch, should plan on arriving a bit before noon. The details are on page 4. With the warm weather, you can roll your car out of the garage and get it into driving shape. Our first drive is the May 16 th Spring Drive to Saugatuck, MI (details on page 4). Come on out and join the fun! Page 2 of 13

2 April 7 th 2015 Board Meeting Minutes David reported that we had $ in the account (numerous car show expenses remain to be paid) Membership David and Larry had matching numbers of 58 paid memberships to date. Larry will send reminders to a number of members Mary will send Larry the April newsletter for editing Spring Drive May 16 th to Saugatuck, MI, and Fall Tour to Sugar Creek, OH; more info to come as plans are made Car Show Sodexo contract signed; mailers printed; posters printed; ballots to be printed and cut; Herm provided several versions of a lapel pin design, Larry will forward to Ken for his design work; Legends dinner reservation made Monthly meetings April 25 th for Tech Session and potluck lunch; May 27 th for dinner at the Brass Rail and Grill in Plymouth, IN Board meetings May 5 th at Larry s house Page 3 of 13

3 Annual Tech Session& Potluck Lunch Saturday, April 25 th, 2015 Don t miss our Annual Tech Session and Potluck Lunch at the home of Roger and Ruth Deacon Anderson Road, Granger, IN CARS ON LIFT ~ 8:00 AM NOON POTLUCK LUNCH - NOON Please call Ruth by April 23th and advise what kind of dish you will bring to the potluck lunch. Arrive before noon. We hope to see you there! Annual Spring Drive Destination Saugatuck, MI Saturday, May 16 th, :30 a.m. - rally for breakfast at JD s Truck Stop, northwest corner of US 12-Bypass (St. Joseph Valley Parkway) intersection; leave ~ 9:30 a.m. We ll enjoy Saugatuck and lunch at the Saugatuck Brewery Michiana Brits 1 st Annual Odometer Contest Do you want something fun to do this driving season? How about a contest to see who drives their LBC the most during the year? The rules are simple. Just take a photo of your odometer reading on April 25 th (the date of the Tech Session at Roger s.) Send it to me, Bob Petersen at bpete56@sbcglobal.net. If you have more than one LBC to drive, take photos of all and you can combine them. On November 1 st, send a photo of your odometer reading. The winner will be selected and awarded a $50 gift card and the coveted Michiana Brits LBC Motorway Award Trophy for most miles driven in a season, at the Christmas/Hanukkah party in December. Page 4 of 13

4 March Breakfast and Tour of the La Porte County Historical Society Museum By Mary Petersen The morning of Saturday, March 21 st was chilly, but nice enough for some of our members to drive their LBC s. We met at Jennie Rae s Restaurant in Rolling Prairie for breakfast. Breakfast is always delicious there and the 24 members that indulged enjoyed it. Page 5 of 13

5 Brits enjoying conversation and breakfast at Jennie Rae s After breakfast, twelve of the members of the Brits drove to the La Porte County Historical Society Museum. The museum is a little gem in the midst of us that is not well-known. There is something for everyone to see. Page 6 of 13

6 After a brief history of the museum and directions to all of the exhibits, we were free to roam and discover all that the museum has to offer. Page 7 of 13

7 One of the most interesting exhibits was the Belle Gunness Exhibit. Belle Gunness was a notorious serial killer in the late 1800 s to early 1900 s. She was born in Norway in 1858 and immigrated to the United States about She had several husbands who died mysterious deaths and she collected their insurance, or just murdered them for their cash on hand. On the morning of April 28 th, 1908, the Gunnes farmhouse burned. In the ashes were found the bodies of the Gunness children and supposedly the headless body of Belle. After several days the sheriff investigated further only to find bodies of 14 people on the farm. Some people estimated that she may have killed 40 persons. Ray Lamphere, Belle s hired hand, was charged with murder and arson. He was convicted only on the latter charge. Before dying in prison, he maintained that Belle had escaped. For years afterwards there were numerous sightings of the murderess across the country, but none were confirmed. Belle Gunness Exhibit Page 8 of 13

8 Downstairs in the museum is the W.A. Jones Collection of Ancient Weapons. There are nearly 850 weapons on display. William A. Jones owned an iron foundry in Chicago, and traveled around the world in search of items for his collection. Many of the guns you can see on display were purchased in such faraway locations as Mexico City, Paris, Dublin, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Cairo, as well as all over the United States. In addition, military uniforms from the Civil War to the present day, as well as miscellaneous items brought to La Porte County by war veterans, round out the permanent exhibit at the museum. Just a few of the 850 weapons on display On view in the museum is the Kesling Automobile Collection, consisting of more than 30 vintage automobiles collected by Dr. Peter C. Kesling and his wife Charlene. They range in age from a 1903 Winton to a 1982 DeLorean. The collection also includes automobiles built in Indiana. Page 9 of 13

9 Here are just some of the automobiles in the museum Page 10 of 13

10 There were numerous other exhibits in the museum; everyone had their favorite. It was a nice day to visit the museum and enjoy the company of the other club members. Page 11 of 13

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