Coincidental club publications

Last Friday, two different vintage car clubs sent similar items to my mailbox for similar reasons. Although loaded with coincidence, the approach these clubs took at honoring their respective anniversaries was slightly different from one to the other, and altogether unusual among clubs at all.

To mark its 60th anniversary, the Classic Car Club of America sent members a (coincidentally) 60-page softcover book covering the club’s history. The book is broken down by year and includes highlights of the club’s history since 1952, plus loads of vintage photos showing the people and cars of CCCA events of years gone by, all the way through 2011. The club’s story is told through longtime members Katie Robbins and Ron Verschoor, with an introduction by David Schultz, club president.

At its 50th anniversary, and the 100th anniversary of the marque it honors, the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America published a hardcover 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue of the club’s regular publication, the VCCA's Generator and Distributor. Rather than a retrospective of the club’s past 50 years, this publication replaces the regular paperback December 2011 issue of the Generator and Distributor and covers all the festivities of the club’s very special meet at Chevrolet’s 100th last summer in Flint, Mich. Along with meet coverage provided through color images of the show cars, the events, the people and the tours, this very special issue also includes histories on the Chevrolet Four-Ninety and other club items found in regular issues. The stories were contributed by a vast number of club members, including editor Pete Phillips.

Both are unique ways to honor club history, from the people to the cars, and both set the bar for providing club members a gift of memories they can treasure for many years to come.