Past Events 2001
BMC's Fall Road Trip to Bainbridge, October 21st, 2001
On a beautiful Sunday morning, October 21, several BMC members met at the London McDonalds for a day trip to the Festival of the Leaves in Bainbridge, Ohio. Rob and Amy Young lead this small group consisting of Carl & Lynda Cooper, Pete and Donna Miller, Bud and Nancy McClees, and Nancy Clemmons with friend Janet Newberry, on some wonderful Miata roads. We took a short hike around Pike Lake to stretch our legs. We ate lunch at Seven Caves. The warm afternoon sun shown brightly on the trees making the fall colors spectacular. A fun day was had by all. Thanks Rob and Amy Young for guiding us through the lovely hills of southern Ohio in our little Miatas.
Nancy Clemmons
BMC's Hog Roast, October 6th, 2001
The Hog Roast was held on a beautiful sunny, very cold and windy Saturday. 46 brave souls withstood the elements to eat a delicious meal, have fellowship with one another and then drive to Bucyrus to see the newest mural by Mr. Groeh of Marysville, Washington. He is the artist that painted the street scene in downtown Bucyrus and is now doing Lady Liberty with veterans from Crawford County. Pictures of family members that had served in the military in the past were submitted and he is drawing their portraits with Lady Liberty. This mural is on route 4, a block or two north of the center of town, on the west side of the street and beside the dairy queen. It too, is well worth the trip to see it.
BMC's Burr Oak Weekend, September 28th, 2001
How The Buckeye Miata Club Got Free Coffee and Tea
On Friday, September 28, Rob and Amy Young, Pete and Donna Miller, Carl and Linda Cooper, and Bill and Charlene Brock met for lunch at 11:30AM at the Cracker Barrel at Rt. 70 and Rt. 256. This was the beginning of a fun filled weekend. Jerry and Jane Nieman arrived as we were leaving the parking lot. They ate lunch and met us later at the lodge.
Once again, thanks to the great navigators, Rob and Amy, we had a great trip to the Burr Oak. On the way, it started to rain so we stopped to put up the tops.
As we were checking in at Burr Oak, some of us realized we did not have the rooms we reserved. Some of us were very vocal about this. I (Charlene) was insistent on getting a non-smoking room. They didn't have any so they offered me a refund and I could go to a Bed and Breakfast down the road. I said that was not acceptable. I didn't want to leave the group. Since I already had the key I went to check the room out. Fortunately, it was okay and we decided we would stay. When I got back to the desk I said we would stay but if I got sick they would pay for my doctor bills! That was not the right thing to say! They said I couldn't stay unless I talked to the manager and signed a waiver that I would not submit any bills. I waited for the manager and he never came out. I asked if I could put our things in the room and they said yes. I decided if they wanted me to sign, they would have to hunt me down! They finally got me-when we went to go back to our room, our keys would not work. Back up to the desk and guess what? The waiver was there to sign.
On the way back to the room, I stopped to check on our dinner reservations. When they heard Buckeye Miata Club, they asked me to step out in the hall, I thought big trouble was ahead. Our waiter said he heard we had had some trouble upstairs and I said we had. He wanted to make our stay as enjoyable as possible so he gave all of us free coffee and tea. If only the desk had been so considerate! We met in the Young's room for social hour before dinner. We found we have a very patriotic member. He shall remain nameless to protect him. If you want the details, find the member whose story started with "Remember the Boston Tea Party."
After dinner, we met in the lobby and played a new version of UNO called UNO Attack. Instead of a draw pile, there is an electronic card launcher and you might receive from zero to eight cards. We tried Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but that did not last very long. On Saturday after breakfast, we headed for the Rocky Boot Outlet in Nelsonville. The weather was perfect and the roads were Miata roads. After shopping, it was time to eat again. We went to Zann's Family Restaurant in McConnelsville. The food was great and the prices unbelievably low. After eating we headed back to the lodge. Some of us took a walk and others rested. Bill and Nan Kahle arrived that afternoon. At 5:00PM, we took a pontoon boat ride around the lake. It was beautiful and very peaceful. We saw turkey buzzards, blue heron and a very large beaver.
We met for dinner (more free coffee and tea) and more great conversation and laughs. Our club psychologist (who shall remain nameless) took a poll-were our lives like a merry-go-round or a roller coaster? Most of us said roller coaster. I guess if you own a Miata-you like some excitement in your life.
After dinner, back to the lobby for more fun and laughs. We played UNO Attack again and then tried a musical game. We found some of us are not musically inclined and this led to hysterical laughter and tears for some members.
Sunday after breakfast, we checked out and most of the group headed for Zanesville. Nieman's and Kahle's left on their own adventures. The rest of us went to Putnam Hill Park and guess what-it was time to eat again. We went to Tom's Ice Cream Bowl for ice cream.
At this point the Brock's left the caravan and the rest continued to Black Hand Gorge Park.
Overall, this was a wonderful weekend. The weather was perfect on Saturday and Sunday, the comaraderie was great (you really get to know your club members), and the roads were definitely Miata roads-thanks again to Rob & Amy.
I think I can speak for the whole group and say we had a fantastic weekend, Charlene Brock
BMC's Mid Ohio/Kingwood Center Road Trip, June 30th, 2001
On June 30th 4 BMC Miatas and seven members traveled to Mid Ohio Sports Car Course for a tour of the Mid Ohio Driving School. Kevin Dearth, Head of Security for the track passed out brochures for the driving school and described the skid pads and cars used in the classes. The Cincinnati SCCA was conducting regional races and the group watched from several areas around the track. From Mid-Ohio the group went to Buck’s Restaurant for lunch. After lunch, John Ness led the group on a drive around Clearfork Reservoir on some twisty roads and into Mansfield to Kingwood Center. We parked the cars in the loop drive in at the King Mansion and took several pictures. We toured the King Mansion and walked around the gardens and greenhouses. The members participating were event leaders Bill and Nan Kahle, Jeff and Cynthia Morris, John Ness and Jerry Juracek and Kathy.
John Ness
BMC's
annual road trip to Clifton Mill, April 21st, 2001:
15 Miatas and one OTM braved the
somewhat wet morning for a very pleasant scenic drive to Clifton Mill. As we
approached London to pick up Nancy the clouds were starting to part and the
sun was promising to come out. We arrived in Clifton and had a super brunch.
Some had pancakes larger than a dinner plate and others had country eggs
benedict to die for ( Doggie Bags Please :-) We
then took off for John Brian State Park, topless of course, and hiked our
brunch off. All the spring wild flowers were blooming and the sun was
shinning. Next we were off for Young's Dairy for ice-cream and miniature golf
for some at Utters and Putters. Those remaining then went to
Mershon's in Springfield to check out the old
Corvettes and muscle cars. All in all it was a very enjoyable day!
Rob Young
BMC Invites The Dent
Specialist to work on member Miatas, April 7th,
2001:
The Dent specialist arrived at our home on 4/7/01 at about 10:00 AM. Jerry
Hewitt worked on 9 vehicles from about 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM just about nonstop.
Everyone got very special pricing and was very pleased with the results. Jerry
can be reached at (614) 419-2428.
BMC's shows off at ARC-S Funder Alley Race Car Show, March 31st, 2001:
The ARC-S Funder Alley Car Show took place on Saturday, March 31 and was a grand success. The weather was beautiful and they had many people show up at the last minute to show their prized positions in the outdoor parking area. We had nine Miatas in the show this year. Spectators enjoyed looking at the photo albums and watching the Miata videos. During the day the Buckeye Miata Club was presented with a very nice plaque thanking us for the many years of support we have given to ARC-S. The plaque will be displayed at Byers Mazda/Subaru check it out! The fund raising efforts brought in about $2000.00 for the purchase of communications aids for the people that need them at ARC-S.
My hats off to all those that participated,
Rob Young
BMC's WOSU/TV Pledge Drive, March 17th, 2001:
BMC Raises $15.5K for Public Television!!!
For the second year, members of the Buckeye Miata Club gave up their personal time on a Saturday evening to answer phones at WOSU-TV in Columbus. Their work was rewarded. While most of the country celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, fifteen BMC members took calls from hundreds of Ohio residents who collectively pledged $15,500 for public television. In total 2,621 people pledged $302,165 over the entire Festival 2001 pledge drive.
Gay Taylor, Volunteer Coordinator for the WOSU Stations and herself a Miata owner (’96 Red), sent a thank you letter to the club. Gay said, “It is volunteer groups like the Buckeye Miata Club that make it possible for the WOSU Stations to continue to provide the programming excellence that our viewers expect. I hope you enjoyed your time here at WOSU, and I look forward to working with you again on future drives."
What? You didn’t see us? We were there, and occasionally the cameras would show Rob, or Amy or Nancy or Donna (mostly the gals) answering phones. WOSU used what is called “virtual pledging”, or video taped pledge breaks. Fame is fleeting, as they say.
But we did create a moment of Ohio broadcast history, when the BMC became the first volunteer organization to be televised on WOSU in high-definition TV.
Volunteering at WOSU one way the BMC gives back to a community that has been very generous to the Club through its sponsors and members who donate long hours and many services, so that we can have a good time in our cars
If you missed this opportunity and would like to be on the radio, please join us on May 14th when the Club will be featured on WOSU-AM in the annual AAA Auto Safety Inspection broadcast live from the OSU Fawcett Center parking lot. More info will appear in future newsletters.
A big thanks to everyone who joined us on St. Patrick’s Day!
Pete & Donna Miller
BMC's Dearborn Road Trip, February 17th & 18th ,2001:
An even dozen Buckeye Miata Club members headed north on February 17th to visit The Henry Ford Museum and other attractions in the Dearborn MI area. One Miata made the cold and for a short time snowy trip. Congratulations Patti & Earl Hassler.
Club members met up at the HUGE C&O Allegheny Locomotive for a group photo. (This locomotive has enough steel and iron to build 523 Miatas.) We then went to the Weinermobile Café, adjacent to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, for lunch. After lunch we split up to tour the Museum. At 4:30 we met up again at the 3-D IMAX theatre to view the film "Cirque Du Soleil". On Saturday evening we all met at the Ciao Italian Restaurant for dinner. A very good day.
On Sunday club members went their separate ways. Some visited the Henry Ford Estate, The Automotive Hall of Fame and The Spirit of Ford hands-on museum and theatre, which is scheduled to close February 28th. On the return trip some stopped at the 225,000 square foot Cabela Sporting Goods Store in Dundee MI.
Members on this trip were: Nancy & Bud McClees, Patti & Earl Hassler, Connie & Tim Musselman, Nancy & Sammy Clemmons, Andi &Bill Pepperney and Nan & Bill Kahle.
For members who were unable to join this road trip, the Buckeye Miata Club has Preferred Customer Cards. These cards offer discounts at the Henry Ford Museum and other attractions in the Dearborn area. Cards will be available at the March meeting.
Bill Kahle
BMC's Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights, January 6th & 7th, 2001:
What a wonderful relaxing way to put all the holiday celebrations and stress - to rest - for the New Year! Bill and I are from Pennsylvania and have driven by this Holiday display of lights since the beginning in 1985. There was just no way I was missing this event! We met Bill & Charlene Brock at the Crackerbarrel, Saturday afternoon and decided to cruise in one car since we were such a small group. We have been the only two couples to show up for an event before and are very comfortable sharing time with the Brock’s. They are a warm, fun loving couple! We consider ourselves to be a small but mighty bunch, willing to give any event our best! Are we just more adventurous than most? Could be! The drive over was nice, sunny and seemed to go pretty fast. Mary, the Hampton Inn was really nice...thanks for the advice. We checked in and headed to the park for a late lunch at the Stratford Inn and Restaurant. Bill & I have golfed at the park many times and really enjoy this restaurant. It used to be the club house for the Wheeling Country Club- really pretty with a great pub to get comfortable in. The food is great! Wilson Lodge was enchanting decked with animated holiday displays. Next was the largest lights festival in America through the park that covers over 300 acres and utilizes 900,000 lights. Giant dinosaurs, animated skiers, Cinderella’s castle, lighted arch tunnels, snow covered hillsides full of live dear. WOW...we were all impressed and wanted even more! Guess you can never get enough of a good thing. Later that night we really enjoyed kareoke night at Undo’s (Italian Restaurant) conveniently located on the third floor of our hotel. Sunday’s brunch at Wilson Lodge was awesome and view overlooking the park was spectacular. Mary - thanks again for planning a great event and sorry you couldn’t be there. We missed you & Martin! Andi & Bill Pepperney
