7th ANNUAL FALL FOLIAGE TRAIN CRUISE WALKERSVILLE

Volume 18 #8
October, 2008
Upcoming Events
Sat-Sun
Oct 18-19
Sat
Dec 6
Murder Mystery Dinner Train Cruise
Christmas Party
7th ANNUAL FALL
FOLIAGE TRAIN CRUISE
WALKERSVILLE
SOUTHERN RAILROAD
MURDER MYSTERY
DINNER TRAIN
passenger car or flatcar. Our treasurer, Bill McCullough,
is a volunteer at the Walkersville Southern and he suggested
this particular train for this year. Bill is an engineer for
the train and originally he was going to be our engineer
but decided he would miss out on the fun so he will join
us for the MURDER MYSTERY DINNER RIDE. Dinner
will be provided with tea or coffee or you can bring your
own beverage. Since it is near Halloween, costumes are
part of the Murder Mystery Ride. Costumes are optional
and can be as much as you like ranging from full costume
to just a hat or scarf. We are doing October 18th because
that is Maryland's fall foliage time.
Our roads to the train will be twisty and curvy. Did you
expect anything less? I'm placing this article in the
newsletter early because even though it hasn't been posted
yet, half of the slots are filled. I wanted to give the rest of
the club members an opportunity to sign up for the train.
There is a 16 car limit. We will be staying at the Best
Western in Frederick, MD. Cost is $74 per room. I have
reserved King, Junior Suite and 2 Doubles for the same
price. Breakfast is included - pastries, cereals, waffles &
juices. My son and daughter-in-law stay at this hotel when
they go to Frederick for Marathon Races. Please email
or call if you would like to join us. I will verify there is
still space and give you the hotel contact information. If
you have told me you will be going please contact me to
verify you are on the list. We are still working out the
details so more will follow but here’s what we have at the
moment:
Dates:
BY JOE & LINDA ZIMLIKI
T
he Walkersville Southern Railroad was built in
1869 as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1972,
it came under hard times and the bridge the train
traveled between Walkersville and Frederick was washed
away. The line was sold and in 1991 work was started to
clear debris. The bridge was rebuilt in 1995 and the train
chugged the rails again after 20 years.
Sat & Sun Oct 18 & 19
Meeting Time and Place: 8:00 AM at Greengate Commons
on Rt 30 in Greensburg next to Denny's
Train Ride & Dinner Cost:
$40 per person (Karen says
food is good)
Note: This cruise is full.
To be placed on a waiting list,
please
contact
Linda
Zimliki
at
lzimliki@westpennmiataclub.com or 724-327-1762.
You will be able to visit a turn of century train station
and freight house. You’ll also ride on a vintage 1920's
The Newsletter of the WEST PENN
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2
West Penn Miata Club
Christmas Party
THE KING OF
HOLLYWOOD
by Janet and Jim Pfeiffer
R
eserve the date of Saturday, December 6th. This
is the date for our West Penn Miata Club Christmas
Party. The Christmas Party will be held at the
same place as last year, the Comfort Inn on Rodi Road in
Penn Hills. The affair will begin at 6:30 pm with a cash
bar, followed by dinner, and then entertainment.
Details, menu selections, and deadline for reservations
will be sent in a separate announcement so be on the
lookout for it.
Circle the date on your calendar, Dec. 6th.
Make plans
to attend and enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow Miata
owners. We will also be collecting dues for the 2009 season
at the party. This is a great time to renew your club
membership for 2009.
Akron Sports Car
Club Autocross
T
he Akron Sports Car Club will host an autocross
on Sunday, October 19, 2008. For more details or
to register, go to:
http://www.axtime.com/preregister.php?Club=8
BY LINDA & JOE ZIMLIKI
T
he day started out looking threatening but rain
stayed away so we could enjoy the roads. The roads
John & Shar mapped out for us were fabulous the type of roads from start to finish that our Miatas love
to ZOOM. The destination was Cadiz, Ohio and the
reconstructed birthplace of “The King of Hollywood,”
Clark Gable.
I waited all season for the Clark Gable Cruise.
We all
have our movie idols. Shar's is Jimmy Stewart and John
is her Jimmy. Mine is Clark Gable. My nieces have told
me Joe looks like him. On Saturday I found out there
were members who said when they first met Joe, they
thought he looked like Clark Gable. I have my own Clark!
Miata Winter Storage On Feb 1, 1901 the home had two families. The top floor
by Steve Lapp
L
ike it or not, 2008 cruisin' season days are
numbered. For those of you who put your favorite
car away when the temperatures drop, I want to
make you aware of a new storage option. Ed Dull, who
has done excellent work for many WPMC members, has
a limited amount of Miata storage space available this
winter. While it's cold outside and the snow flies, your
Miata will be covered and protected inside while a trickle
charger keeps your battery happy. For more information,
please contact me at slapp@westpennmiataclub.com.
was the Gables’ apartment. It is small with 5 rooms. They
lived there until Clark was 10 months old. It is furnished
in the style of 1901 with items that belonged to Clark. One
is his boyhood sled. There were many letters & memorabilia
that people have given to the foundation. There were
photos & stories about his five wives. They had photos of
his only son John & only granddaughter. The first floor
contained Clark Gable collectibles, along with displays &
memorabilia of "Gone With The Wind." There is an area
outside with concrete slabs that have hand impressions of
the "Gone With The Wind" cast. The foundation purchased
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3
WPMC GOLF OUTING
(continued from page 2)
one of his cars. It is a 1954 Cadillac and is beautiful. We
did watch some video about his life. He died at the age of
59 from a heart attack after filming “The Misfits” (which
was credited for his heart attack). Four months after his
death his only son was born.
By Linda Zimliki & Steve Lapp
From the female
perspective
After the tour by Nan, our group was off to find ice cream.
The Dairy Barn had very good ice cream. After socializing
at the Dairy, everyone went their different ways home.
Thank you Shar & John for an enjoyable day & for
planning the cruise to Clark Gable's birthplace.
And I got to take my Clark home!
2008 CRUISIN & ZOOMIN
SEASON
BY LINDA ZIMLIKI
T
he season is coming to a close and one car cruise
remains. Our annual train trip, which is to
Frederick, Maryland is Oct 18 & 19. The Christmas
Party will be December 6th. I usually do a Christmas
outing in December and am currently working on it.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I now have a
list for this year's & future Christmas outings. Haven't
chosen one yet but will send out an announcement when
that’s done.
I also do something in January or February to cut the
winter blahs. If anyone has suggestions for an event or
place they think might be interesting, please contract me
at lzimliki@westpennmiataclub.com or 724-327-1762.
There is still time to register for Miata World II, the 20th
Anniversary Party for the Miata, in Grapevine, Texas. To
register go to www.miataworldii.com and click on
registration. Hope to have more of our members attending.
S
eptember 21 was the 1st WPMC Golf Outing. Harry
& I didn't know what kind of response there would
be but we ended up with 2 foursomes. It was a
beautiful day at Ligonier Country Club. I know that all
the guys that participated were really looking forward to
it.
After the ladies watched the guys tee off, we headed to
McLaughlin and the Pie shop. Karen & Pat had their
regular vehicles so they chauffeured us around. Beside
that, we needed somewhere to put our purchases. The
Pie Shop was almost depleted of pastries but we did manage
to buy a few baked goods. From there we went to an
antique mall. There were many similar items we noticed
that our parents or grandparents used to have in their
possession. We left the antique mall to check out the stores
in Ligonier's Diamond and hit the jackpot. There were
many great stores. Hertha bought so much she thought
John might have to leave his clubs because they drove their
Miata. We closed the stores & headed back to the country
club. We were able to watch the last few holes. As they
walked off the course, the smiles on their faces were second
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The Newsletter of the WEST PENN
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4
(continued from page 3)
only to smiles they wear when they zoom around the roads.
Before sitting down to dinner, I presented the WPMC Pro
award & WPMC Hacker award. Harry won the Pro &
Wally won the Hacker.
The entire group enjoyed themselves so much it was
decided we should make the Golf Outing an annual event.
All the women except myself have golf clubs & have played
so next year maybe there will be women's foursome. This
outing was to have fun and the mission was accomplished.
other foursome, I can report that no bad shots were struck
in mine. Our shots fell into two categories - “good” and
“interesting.” Many thanks to Harry Harbaugh for setting
this up. Everyone had a wonderful time and we’re already
looking forward to 2009.
Journeys with John
From the male
perspective
by President John Whitmire
W
ell summer has wound down, and fall is upon us.
I would start picking up leaves this weekend, but
I'm still trying to clean up the mess from the
windstorms of a few weeks ago. The other thing that is
winding down is my term as President of the Club. The
two years have gone by amazingly fast, and from my point
of view been very enjoyable! We have had more fun
cruises and events than I can count, and the support by
club members and officers has been terrific. Not only
have we had great turnout for our events, the club has
grown in the past two years. It is really gratifying to see
the new members participating and bringing fresh faces
and ideas to our group. This year also marked the First
Annual Golf Outing (and shopping) event. All had a great
time, and the course suffered only minor damage.
D
riving a Miata with the top down on a sunny day
is just a blast. Playing golf is, for the most part,
one of the most enjoyable things you can do.
Spending time with good friends in a beautiful area like
the Laurel Mountains is great. So what happens when
you put all three together? You have one fantastic event.
The day, the company, and the setting could not have been
better. Ligonier Country Club is an excellent track and
it certainly tested our skills. While I can’t speak for the
We still have a couple of events left this year, the Murder
Mystery Dinner Train Cruise on Oct. 18th and 19th,
followed by the Christmas Party on December 6th. They
should both be a lot of fun and Shar and I hope to see
everyone at least one more time before the season officially
ends.
Again I want to thank everyone for their support these
past two years and look forward to much Fun in the Sun
and Zoom Zooming in '09.
The Newsletter of the WEST PENN
CLUB
e-mail:
web site:
Officers
wpmc@westpennmiataclub.com
http://www.westpennmiataclub.com
Founder:
Paul Fronko
Legalese
President:
John Whitmire
(412) 262-1813
Vice President:
Jim Pfeiffer
(724) 468-8435
Treasurer:
Bill McCullough
(724) 238-5859
Secretary:
Sherry Swarmer
(724) 443-0834
Events Chair:
Linda Zimliki
Past President:
Bryan Bond
(724)327-1762
(724) 439-4001
West
Penn
The FUN ‘N’ THE SUN TIMES
is published as a service by the
West Penn Miata Club, Inc. –
a non-profit corporation.
Club
The WEST PENN MIATA CLUB
Editor - In - Chief:
Steve Lapp
Send all
editorial contributions to:
WEST PENN MIATA CLUB
c/o Steve Lapp
105 Gadshill Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
e-mail: slapp@westpennmiataclub.com
assumes no liability for any information contained herein; or injury or
damage resulting from the use of this
information. The ideas, maintenance,
opinions, or modification tips
expressed are to be used at the readers’
discretion. Individual contributors
and/or editors express no approval,
authentication, or endorsement.
WEST PENN MIATA CLUB
c/o Sherry Swarmer
1022 Arborwood Drive
Gibsonia, PA 15044
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Club
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