"Young" Laurel Highlands
Region has hosted two National events. In 2000, LHR
hosted the Eastern Divisional Tour which was held at Seven Springs,
PA. Touring 400 miles through Altoona, Ohiopyle
and Ligonier. Then in 2005 LHR
hosted the AACA
Eastern Divisional Spring Meet held at the University of Pittsburgh,
Greensburg, PA |
2016 NEWS & EVENTS APPEAR HERE - AND THE FUN & EXPERIENCES
WE ENJOYED
CHECK BELOW FOR WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO.
2016 Off & Running -
Just us - Our Cars
are still hibernating!
February 3 - Our first
Meeting for
2016 started with a covered dish at 6:30. The meeting started afterwards
with our new president, Tom King, sharing the thoughts and decisions of
the board meeting for the 2016 direction of LHR. The evening ended with some Valentine Fun.
March 3
Meeting started at 7:30 with the agenda of
the month. LHR won 2 National AACA awards - Award of Distinction - one for it's
newsletter 'The Backfire' put together by John & Mary and Antoinette and
one for this web site put together by Marianne.

LHR will be participating in the Ligonier
'Soup's On' for the second year. Chef Ron and members helping won 2nd
prize last year. The intriguing program that followed was presented by a
fantastic person who was in the FBI for 29 years and now is a member of
the force for Missing and Exploited Children. Fantastic desserts
followed.
April 5 Meeting
was a covered dish. We talked about our one and only fund raiser and
Tom ended with a neatest and 'funest' quiz. He gave us hints in the
description of member's car and we had to match the car with the member!
Great Fun!!
May 3 Meeting
Opened with the usual agenda. Our program was on the 'May Flowers Theme'.
A master Gardener, Maryjane, brought many beautiful flowers and talked
about the different needs of each. Then followed with beautiful and delicious
flowered cupcakes
May
2016 Off and Running - Us -
- And our Cars!
Our annual
first cruise/tour for 2016 - we followed Pete in our old cars to a
National Guard Armory that houses hundred of artifacts from the Civil
War to Present. Followed by our annual club picnic.
June 7
Meeting
opened with minutes, treasurer report and upcoming activities. All
talked about the tour and what a great time they had. We got rained on
for the picnic but Pete had a back up plan - so we all went indoors to a
hall next door.
Doreen took a bunch of pictures at the Armory and Marianne put
them on a DVD and played the fascinating slide show. Then next - Tom’s
Show and Tell was a huge success – many members brought neat things for
all of us to take pleasure in. Followed by great desserts.
June tour/cruise was hosted by
the Kings.
They lead the way through the beautiful country side of Ligonier
with stops at the Pie Shoppe/Compass Inn Museum. We then went to Country
Market and walked around the market, ending at the Witt’s space and they
giving us each tomato plants. Next a quick jaunt to Ligonier
Railroad Museum for a photo op and off to Norvelt Golf Club for an
absolutely fine time of fellowship and wonderful dinner.
July 5 Meeting It started with
a covered dish - and a blessing by Tom
with an old prayer that his father recited. Great food - Kudos to our
cooks, as always!! Our
8th Annual LHR Dinner was June 26 – It was the
8th successful year! Tom
congratulated Ron for a terrific job and fantastic dinner! The evening
proceeded with very fascinating stories from our members and their ancestors - how
they came to America, where they settled and what they did and how hard
they worked to make a living here as people grateful to be in America.
This was truly a heartwarming program – gave many tears and some
laughter.
Many members of LHR attended the National AACA Founder’s
Tour July 17-21 in Huntingdon, Pa.
July 24 tour/cruise was
hosted by the Caruso's. Saw the Olympic Oak tree from Germany, Heisman
trophy, 10 Commandments monument (with great story) unbelievable
handmade Christmas train display and lunch at a neat building that
served veterans that came through Connellsville, a private car
collections of residents, at one of their homes. Then off to Dunbar to
hear the history of coke ovens and video of PA Wire Glass Co and
historic story of a traveling glass torso sculpture – glass originated
in Dunbar, sculptured by famous Suzanne Pascal (in the 60’s), and it
traveled cross country and even to Europe – only to end up back in
Dunbar in 2015 through the generosity of Donald Trump, who (strangely
enough) owned this piece valued at $3 ½ million dollars, he donated it
back to Dunbar. (another neat story).
Then, of course, eating at Bud Murphy’s for dinner.
August 2 Meeting took
place at 7:30. We welcomed new members and visitors. It was brought up
and voted on last month that the Kisic's would purchase hangers that were
so needed to compliment the Blairsville Armory antique uniforms. The Caruso's, Kings, and Kisic's presented them to Mr. Kreck. Members talked about the Witts/Donegal
Highlands Campground July 9th old car cruise annual event was perfect,
as usual. Followed by great desserts.
August 21 tour/cruise was
hosted by the King's.
104 miles of fun - Met at K-Mart in Latrobe at Noon – off we went to
garlic festival for lunch, walking around other booths and listening to
a great Frank Sinatra impersonator. MaryJayne tested Ron with the
hottest pepper on the planet. FYI: Red cherry peppers have a 500 scofield unit
- this one that she bought for Ron was at a 2.2 million unit and
he ate it without turning red or having to call an ambulance.
September 6 Meeting was opened by Tom
with not much on the agenda, as summer is coming to a close. Following
the meeting September’s program was presented by Art Long and was so very
interesting. His daughter was in Cuba on a business trip and took many
pictures of Cuba and their “Old Cars” – but to them – they are new cars
or at least their only means of transportation. They are mostly 1950’s
and so strangely rebuilt inside and out – but they run and many are used
for taxis. The meeting was adjourned and followed by great desserts.
September - There wasn't any tour/cruise for September
**********************************************************************************************************
2015 - From the Rear View Mirror
February 3 - Our first Meeting for
2015. It started with a covered dish at 6:30 - with meeting starting
shortly thereafter - - then ending with some Valentine Fun.
March 3
Meeting started at it's usual time of 7:30 with the agenda of
the month. Followed by video of the "Strange Inheritance" of 3000 old
cars being inherited and calendar of car events in Ligonier and
surrounding areas and then followed by fantastic desserts.
April 7 Meeting
started 7:30 with Pledge of Allegiance, birthdays & anniversaries were
announced. LHR participated in Ligonier's Soup's On. Some 50+ different
soups are served and about 300 people taste test. We, thanks to Ron
Caruso, Chef of LHR, won 2nd place. Other months pending agenda was
discussed. May picnic and cruise was finalized. LHR program ended with
our annual "April - Is True Weirder than Fiction" with many sharing very
strange (true) stories.
May 5 Meeting
started with a covered dish - delicious cooks did it again! Meeting
followed with final plans for LHR dinner.
MAY 2015 Off and
Running - Us -
- And Our Cars!
May 15 was our
tour/cruise. We started out touring Mr. Rodger's Museum and then
to a local pub - ending up at a members home for eats, games and
fellowship. It was hosted by the Kisick's.

   
June 2 Meeting
was led by Vice Prez, Tom King, in Pete's absence. Normal reports
and agenda took place. Plans for Al's Tour were finalized and Long's
tour for July was in the planning stages. Ligonier's concerts every
Sunday are started for the summer and all are asked to bring their old
cars and participate. Our program was hosted by Rich Flickinger, who
shared about his African Safari with a wonderful video of the
spectacular animals he encountered.
June 14
tour/cruise was hosted by Al Wirick. We all met in Greensburg,
followed lead car to antique shop, luncheon, Sand Hill Berry Farms for
touring the farm and winery, entertainment and then to Kecksburg for an
enlightening presentation about the 1965 UFO landing.
  
July 7 Meeting
opened with Pledge of Allegiance by Prez, Pete. Normal meeting agenda
with the annual dinner report being that LHR had another great year.
Long's tour was finalized in honor of Glenn Frye.
July 12
tour/cruise hosted by Art & Pat Long. They led us through some
beautiful countryside ending up at cemetery and honoring Glenn whom had
passed away. Lunch followed at Fat Zackel's.
  
August 4 Meeting
was another special covered dish. Tom King officiated in Pete's absence.
Everyone thanked Art & Pat for a great idea and tour in Glenn's honor.
Next on LHR car cruise calendar is the Ligonier Stroll. Many participate
with a whole evening of activities. The Caruso tour/cruise will be
August 22 as a scavenger hunt around Ligonier. Call for info. Meeting
followed with Ron showing video pictures of Las Vegas Large Classic Car
Collection of vehicles for sale. Tom then followed with an impromptu
talk about buying and selling antique cars.
August 22
tour/cruise Scavenger Hunt hosted by Ron & Marianne. Antique cars
went through deep country roads through beautiful Ligonier picking up
and reading clues as 20 members searched for the end destination for a
great meal and fellowship at Gilbert's Golf Course. All had a fun and
relaxing day.
 
September 1
Meeting opened with Pledge of Allegiance. Agenda of the club was
discussed. All agreed that Ron & Marianne's scavenger hunt/tour
was a fun time. Then
John & Mary filled in their details for their October 17th
cruise/tour. They are calling it "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic" tour.
Tom then talked about the up-and-coming Founder's Tour in Dover, Ohio.
September tour/cruise - Many LHR
members joined in the Dover/Canton Ohio Founders Tour September 14-18.
         
October 17 tour/cruise was the date of
Hargnett's Reading, Writing and Arithmetic cruise/tour. They put
together a great day. We toured an old school house with historical
background, battlefield and John and friends that work at Greensburg
Tribune gave us an 'inside' tour of the workings that puts out a
newspaper everyday. This ended at their home for a tour of their retro
home and a fantastic meal.
 

 
November 3 Meeting was opened by Pete
with Pledge of Allegiance. New officers were announced.The new slate of officers
that were voted on and cast for 2015 or are remaining aboard are:
President - Tom King, Vice President
- Pete Highlands
Secretary - Ron Caruso, Treasurer - Eleanor Kanick
Directors - Elvin Witt, Marianne Caruso and Rick Smith
Editors - John & Mary Hargnett
and Antoinette Bell
December Christmas party was hosted by Tom & Doreen King at Lakeview
Restaurant. It was a perfect evening - weather cooperated here in PA,
the buffet was plentiful and the members all getting together for
fellowship is always a fun time. The entertainment was Ron Damico singing classics from the
1955's and 60's. He had the members totally enjoying and reminiscing
those bygone years. The officers were presented and the passing of the
gavel took place.
The officers for 2016.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2014 - From the Rear View Mirror
February 4 - Our first
Meeting for 2014. Started with a covered dish at 6:00 - then meeting
started very shortly thereafter - ending with some Valentine fun.
Also, in February, Duane Slade, LHR President; Muriel Slade, Backfire
Editor; Ron Caruso, Secretary and Marianne Caruso, Board Director went
to the National AACA Philadelphia Convention. Muriel and Clay Stoner won
Master Editor Award and Marianne Caruso won Award of Merit for Webmaster
for year 2013.
March 4
Meeting started it's usual time of
7:30 PM with the agenda of the month. The program after was presented by
Amy
Tretinik, DPT, of THE pt GROUP Physical Therapy Latrobe 30 office. She
spoke on Physical
Therapy and Knee Replacement. Walt Henry, of the pt GROUP, also came and
added to an interesting and informative presentation.
April
1 Meeting. We discussed 2014 agenda.
At the end of the meeting, Duane asked to step down, for the time being,
as he has health issues. Pete Highlands took to the gavel and moved the
club ahead without skipping a beat. Plans went into full swing for our 6th Annual
Dinner. It took place June 22 @ 4:00 to 6:00PM in the Ligonier
United Methodist Church. The members gave of their time and talent to make this a successful event.
Any one reading this is welcome to come out and enjoy a homemade
Sit-down dinner for $9.00. After the meeting we had an April Fools Story Time. Members told
'stories' and we had to guess whether it was "April Fools or Truth that
is Stranger Than Fiction".
May 6 - This
Meeting was our 2nd covered dish.
Followed by our monthly meeting, President, Pete, asked for members to
share about their first car they owned. We had some interesting stories
and tales to tell.
MAY 2014 Off and
Running - Us -
- And Our Cars!
Our first
Cruise/Tour/Picnic for 2014 - headed up by Eleanor & Stan -
On May 18th we started out early afternoon, touring some interesting museums and shops
in Saltsburg and then ending up at
Conamaugh Dam for a picnic, tour of the dam and just having fun getting
together with friends.
   
   
   
June 3 - Meeting started at 7:30. Final details of our dinner were outlined by
Marianne, dinner chairperson, along with other club matters. A
passionate discussion began about Ethanol gas and how destructive it is
to our vehicles and yard equipment. Following the meeting Rob Beck, an
owner of Jennerstown Speedway shared of his ideas of bringing back this
great old speedway that has been closed for 5 years. He talked about
car shows and other events. He asked if we had any suggestions for him. Dessert, as always, followed.
June 28
Tour/Cruise was hosted by Howard & Bettyann. A group of us
explored the Scottdale and Mt. Pleasant area. We went on a "Safari" to a
personal home of hundred's of mounted animals, then to West Overton
Museum, Lenox Glass and then off to dinner.
          
July 1 - Meeting
started at 7:30.
The details of the dinner was announced and what a successful day we had
- all working together with great camaraderie. Not much other
business of the month. A patriotic program, hosted by Marianne, followed
- A Marine SGT., Chris, who served in Iraq came home with a flag from
one of Sadam's castles. He showed it with pride and shared his story.
Then another Marine, Bob, shared about his time in the Korean War and
the Bloody George Company and how he survived the Chosin Reservoir. God
Bless Our Veterans and God Bless America!
July 27 -
Tour/Cruise will be hosted by Jerry & Judy Schmidt touring
the Indiana and Smicksburg areas. This tour has been cancelled because
of date conflicts with a couple of stops.
August 5 - Meeting
of LHR started the evening with our ever-popular covered dish. Meeting
was chaired by Pete. Information of future tours/cruises and other
events were given. The evening closed with Marianne & Ron presenting a
video of "Don't Touch That Dial - The Best Classic Car Commercials from
Television's Golden Age".
August 9 - Tour/Cruise was
hosted by Ron & Marianne Caruso. We explored the Tarentum and Natrona area. A
magnificent church, a bottling Company since 1904 (with samples), a
fascinating museum,
a coal mine (in a coal car that took you deep into the mine) and couldn't ever forget lunch (in a 1949 diner).
         

September 2 -
Meeting started with our program. Professionals from the
Westmorland Archeological Society came out and shared a very interesting
program and video on the Indian activity in our area. Our meeting
followed their program and great desserts ended our evening together.
September
13 - Tour/Cruise was hosted by
the Highlands. We toured a Jaguar collection and then headed to
Stalstown for a Flax Scrutching Festival and ending with a great dinner
at the Arnold Palmer Airport Restaurant.
   
October 7 -
Meeting started at 6:30 PM. Many of
our members joined in the Halloween fun coming in costumes. They did a
parade walk around the hall. After winners were chosen we feasted on our
last covered dish for the year. Duane then opened the meeting. Among
things discussed - we had sign-up sheets for our Christmas parties and
the slate for 2015 officers was read. After the meeting we played a
couple of Halloween games.
October 25 - Tour/Cruise was
hosted by the Kings. No Tricks - Just Treats. We toured an Amish market,
nature reserve, Fairview Cemetery - (where, on it's peak you can see
Pittsburgh on a clear day) and a fun gift shop. Then off to a fabulous
dinner at Foggy Lodge.
          
November 4 - Meeting opened
at 7:30. Dues are due.
After meeting Veterans Day was honored by celebrating the 200th year of
the National Anthem with the story and concert in song with instrument
accompaniment.
The new slate of officers
that were voted on and cast for 2015 or are remaining aboard are:
President - Pete Highlands, Vice President
- Tom King
Secretary - Ron Caruso, Treasurer - Eleanor Kanick
Directors - John Kisic, Elvin Witt, Marianne Caruso and
Duane Slade
Editors - John & Mary Hargnett
December - No meeting.
December 11 - Many of us went to the Cochran House in Dawson
and enjoyed a special afternoon - lunch, entertainment, self tour of
mansion with all it's rooms beautifully decorated for Christmas and 3rd
floor shopping.
December 19 - Christmas Party was at Mimi's Restaurant in Jeannette
hosted by the Highlands. Pictures to follow as soon as they are sent to
me to post!
 
Passing the gavel onward to 2015
LHR 2015 Board Members
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, My, 2015 is another year/chapter in our lives closed with many great
memories. Our cars are all put to rest awaiting another awakening come
spring.
WON'T BE
SEEING YOU ALL AROUND TOWN AT A CAR TOUR/CRUISE BUT YOU CAN HANG OUT
WITH US BY JOINING OUR FUN CLUB!
SCROLL UP FOR 2014 AND SEE ALL THE FUN WE HAD !

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
|