Leduc West Antique Society

THE IGNITOR NEWSLETTER

VOL.16 No. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 2005

"Living the Past for Future Generations"

Leduc West Antique Society Executive:                  www.leducwestantique.com

ANNUAL MEETING

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Telford House in Leduc

4907 46 street (East end of Main Street in Leduc)

at 6:30pm

The doors will open at 6:00 pm. Bring a potluck dish. The Annual Meeting will begin at 8:00 pm. Door prizes are welcome !! All prospective members are welcome !! The quilt will be raffled off that night. There are still mega tickets left, so bring a few extra dollars to purchase some more. The money raised will go towards a 3pt hitch tractor. If you don't wish to purchase a ticket you can always just make a donation towards the purchase of the tractor.

Agenda for the meeting will include the Financial report for 2004 and an election of officers for the 2005 executive and two director positions. This will be followed by a General meeting with the new officers presiding.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE - Walter Burak

A belated Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone.

Much progress was achieved in 2004. From our financial statements the society is on very sound footings.

As we begin 2005 there are a number of issues that need to be considered:

    1) Progress has been achieved on the insurance issue to help members that had problems obtaining coverage for their own personal equipment. We have been trying to join Edgeta (Early Days Gas Engine & Tractor Association) for a few years. They specialized in insurance coverage for American members since 1957 with 122 branches now and 8500 members. Peter Brown from Calgary did most of the leg work for us to be considered for membership. This is not totally what we wanted; however, it's a start. People with computers can go to www.edgeta.org to see a complete package of what Edgeta provides. Page one of Edgeta National Newsletter is enclosed which explains some details. More information will be received shortly to see what paperwork will be required to join. This is an option to obtain insurance for anyone who is an exhibitor at LWAS events to obtain the required one million PL & PD.

    (2) After our last casino on Dec. 30 & 31, 2004 much discussion has centered on how we could possibly join the City of Edmonton casinos where the average pay back is much more than at the St Albert casino. According to the Alberta Liquor & Gaming Commission Training Manual there is a provision on how to be classified as a Provincial Group and therefore the group is able to go to any casino in Alberta to hold events. The executive feels the society should try this approach. To satisfy the conditions and guide lines we need to change our Objectives and By- Laws. This will be presented at the Annual General Meeting on February 26.

Proposed Society Objectives & By-Laws changes:

In the Objectives section - add: as Heading 2.(i)
    The registered charitable objectives of the group have a provincial focus.
    Remove from section 3 'County ofLeduc' and make section 3 read: The operations of the society are to be chiefly carried on in the Province of Alberta.

By-Law changes:
Add section 16 with the following wording, heading: Offices:
The group will establish offices in other Alberta Communities.

We hope to see many of you at the meeting to help us make these changes.

On going projects at the site for the 2005 year.

• Complete the engine building.
• The roads upgraded.
• More landscaping will be done.
• The railroad track completed to the camping area.
• Tractor scale made operational.
• Reefer re-positioned & lowered.

PARK NEWS
Event Co-ordinator & Editor - Marg Burak 986-0054

Today is January 19 and it is raining outside. Usually it is 30 below or a blizzard when I do this newsletter. I hope this is no indication of what the weather has in store for us this year. However, as I pointed out in the last newsletter we live in Alberta where the weather is very unpredictable. We have to be prepared for anything.

Today Bill Smith & I spent the day in Wetaskiwin selling quilt raffle tickets. We met many interesting people and did a lot of promotion for the club. We even sold 53 tickets.

Wally, Elmer, & Bill C spent the day moving a grader which the club purchased from Sandy Beach. As soon as it dries up at the Park they will complete Vintage Iron Street, as well as, give the other roads & parking lot a facelift. They will also be able to keep the roads cleaned in the winter as per fire regulations.

Bill S. has spent the past several weeks at the Park working on the cats welfare. They now are dewormed and ready for more mice. Jim has been feeding them daily. Hopefully, we won't find too many surprises in the spring time. Marilyn & I spent a day last spring cleaning up after them.

After a month long holiday down south Wally & I are busy working on the Lucky Strike building. The restoration work shop is beginning to look mighty fine. Soon we will be able to put up the shelving & restore some order to the place. Howard has been busy working on his car museum building. Norm has been out helping him.

Last fall Norm completed the initial electrical work in the engine building and the walls have been framed, insulated, & gyproced. The weather turned cold too quickly so the taping & painting will be done when it turns warm. No decision has been made on the ceiling as yet. However, when we stopped at a restaurant in Montana they had a black ceiling up against natural wood beams. It looked incredible. This was an idea the EPHS was leaning to. So perhaps it's something we should consider. Your input is important. Give us a call with your ideas or better yet come to the meeting and make your opinions heard.

The Alberta Justice Workers will be out several times again this year. The following dates have been booked:

• April 30
• May 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29
• June 3, 4, 15, 16, 23, 24, 27, 28
• July 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29
• August 13, 14, 22, 23
• September 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30

Please mark these dates on your calendar and perhaps you can come out & give us a hand. In addition to these dates the Park is open every weekend from June to September from noon to 4:00 pm. I would appreciate it if members took turns and spent a day with us. Please call!!!

We have received two bookings already. A family reunion is scheduled for July 30, 31, & August 1. An outdoor wedding is tentatively booked for August 6th.

I have ordered a number of shrubs for the site. These will require weekly waterings. We have two watering tanks. A third tank requires some repair as it leaks.

There is still much landscaping to do around the Park - pruning trees, raking, grass cutting, etc. We could use your assistance. There is major work to be done on the railroad. Several of the rail cars require minor repairs, scraping, painting, levelling of the ballast between the rails, etc. However, the rails have to be straightened out first. The rail snow plows still haven't been moved from Ireton. Hopefully this will be done before the snow goes.

We need several more benches and picnic tables built. The siding still hasn't been done on the bleachers. The two stages received cement floors last year; however, they should be painted now.

We should consider putting a roof of some kind over the large bleachers as the sun gets very hot and these bleachers do not get used as it is too hot for our visitors.

Our first event at the Park is the Country Swap Meet in May. Remember you can rent a table or bring out a trailer load. The cost is $10.00 for a table space.

The Annual Exposition is July 23rd & 24th . This year we are featuring Case equipment. However, all makes of tractors, cars, trucks, etc. are welcome. We're hoping to surpass all other years with our exhibitors. More information will be in the May newsletter.

The Country Harvest is on Sept. 10th. Hopefully, the weather will co-operate !!!!

In Memoriam
We unfortunately lost several of our members this past year. They will be sadly missed by many who were fortunate to have known them.

John Schlauch was deceased this summer in a terrible car crash. He was always there to help with the RV Parking. He didn't only work his two hours. He would spend all day until the last RV was parked. John was also a vendor at the Country Swap Meet in May.

Jean Spencer of Lacombe passed away peacefully June 30, 2004 after a brief illness. Jean led a full life and was very active until the time of her passing. Jean & Bob enjoyed driving their Model A Ford to events across Western Canada and the US.

Norma Frank passed away peacefully in hospital in Calgary on January 6, 2005 after a battle with cancer. She died just 14 months after losing Gordon. Norma operated the concession for one year at the July exposition when the Club was really stuck to get someone to run it. She was also very instrumental with Gordon's Meccano displays.

Kollectors Korner - Bill Smith

How things change with time. 50 years ago I thought anything to be an antique had to be at least 50 years old, then I found out that it had to be over 100 which was pretty well the accepted figure in North America. As one broaden ones horizons you begin to realize there are cultures that reach back well into the old Testament of biblical times.

Last October I made my first trip overseas and had a chance first hand to see pottery from Roman times in Rome. It was beyond imagination some of the works of art in Museums - pottery, jewellery, tapestry, painting on canvas, etc. Starting in Copenhagen, Denmark by cruise ship, Norway, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Gibralter, Monaco, and 14 days later and 3200 miles south we ended up in Rome. It seemed like each country we stopped at by day there was a continual restoration going on in old buildings, excavations all along the way with one idea in mind - to preserve the past. One thing that stood out in my mind was Rome. While there was diggings going on within 4 blocks of the Roman Empire Coliseum down in the catacombs where they used to keep the wild animals before they were used to feed on the Christians to the lions, 5 blocks away there were markets just full of paintings, canvas, ornaments ofElvis Presley and Marilyn Munroe. I did not really go halfway around the world to see this American folklore. However, I left Rome and flew to London, England, what did I find. On the second day I went to see the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, which was about 5 blocks from our hotel near Regency Park. The people were lined up 3 and 4 abreast, 2 1/2 blocks long. I went up to the Usher at the door and asked how long to get in. He said a minimum of 2 1/2 hours. You would never guess what the theme was. Well, it was Elvis Presley. I guess the old saying 'Back to the Future' still holds true.

If you go to England try to escape London. It is the same size as Edmonton - 20 miles by 25 miles with 60 million people living there or 1 out of 4 people living in England live in London. I don't know WHY? It is terribly expensive, terribly crowded, the food is some where between chain gang and fish camp. You wait in line every time you turn around - like 3/4 of an hour for a taxi. They accept this as a way of life. The poor people, or in the words of Shakespeare, 'What fools we mortals be'. I might mention our middle age open carriage driver in Rome, who gave us a city tour, works 16 hours a day just to make a living. A ten dollar Euro tip ($15.90 in Canadian funds) got 4 of us a kiss on each cheek. Another experience. After a trip like this home looks mighty welcome. We can complain about health care, high cost of living, our education system, the weather, etc; but we are one step from Heaven. Take it from one who has seen one half of the equation.

Foot Note: One day after I wrote the above I found this in the local paper dated December 27th. Join our Las Vegas New Years Eve dinner, show tickets, and reservations, etc. Theme 'THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE to ELVIS." Where will it end? Or maybe it should be WHEN.

2005 BINGO DATES - all afternoons

• April 14
• July 29
• September 9

MONEY RAFFLE The tickets are accompanying this newsletter. If you receive a book and do not wish to sell them, PLEASE return them immediately. If you wish to sell them please make sure they are back to me before the Country Harvest on Sept 10th as that is when the draw will be. The tickets sell for $2.00 each. My address is right on the ticket stub. #6 Bienert Court, Leduc T9E 5K8. If you wish to pay your membership at that time please send separate cheques.

MEMBERSHIP There are a number of members who have not paid their 2004 dues. If you are one of them PLEASE send your cheque immediately or you will be removed from the roster. Brenda will be accepting your 2005 membership at the Annual meeting. I was impressed with the number of members that changed to lifetime. If your children turn 18 they must take out their own membership. They are no longer covered with your family membership.