Antique Car Group Tour Bessey Ridge Wreaths
Antique Care Touring Group Recalls Grand Old Days of
Early Autos as it Meanders its Way to Cutler
By Nancy Hastings
June Edition of the Downeast Coastal Press
Time rolled back to an earlier era when about 30 pre-1916 vintage motor cars pulled in at Bessey Ridge Wreaths in Cutler Maine June 16, 2011, one of the stops of the "Spring Tour" of Snapper's Brass & Gas, an affiliate of the Antique Automobile Club of America. The two-week tour covers approximately 1,400 miles between Bar Harbor and Nova Scotia.
NEARLY 30 VINTAGE AUTOMOBILES visited Down East, part of 1,400-mile "Spring Tour" of the Snapper's Brass & Gas, an affiliate of the Antique Automobile Club of America that included a number of stops between Maine and Nova Scotia. Several of them parked at the Machias Motor Inn of June 15, a day before they were to visit Stephanie Luce's wreath shop in Cutler.
Summer brings many enjoyable things to Downeast Maine, but an added treat this year was a clutch of antique cars that took a right in the road last week for a stop at Stephanie (Ramsdell) Luce's wreath shop in Cutler.
The cars and their owners were part of a touring group that is affiliated with the Antique Automobile Club of America and designed for owners of cars that were manufactured before 1916.
It was a delight to see almost 30 cars making their way individually down what is known as the Bay Woods stretch along Route 191-South during the morning tour of the Luce's home business Thursday, June 16.
Greeting drivers and passengers as they arrived in intervals were Luce and her husband, Chris, a Maine Maritime Academy graduate who spoke with the visitors about the area and the family's wreath business, Bessey Ridge Wreaths. Stephanie and her helpers, Christy Roberts and Crystal Hornyak, offered refreshments and blueberry muffins along with demonstrations on her handmade wreaths and other balsam decorations. Stephanie said she was nervous about her presentation before it began, but once she got going she had a "fantastic day."
Chris said that it was unusual to pick some tips this time of year, as they had new growth showing. Stephanie provided each visitor with a mini-balsam sachet.
This group was founded more than 40 years ago by John and Joan McAnlis of Wadsworth, Ohio. During the years, families would enjoy the travels and camaraderie that came along with ownership of these horseless carriage relics. Although John and his wife will be moving along to pursue other interests in the next few years, they were along on this trip.
John said the group is not just for retirees, but for those with families and friends who enjoy maintaining and driving these vintage beauties. The McAnlis vehicle was a Locomobile. According to Wikipedia, these were made between 1899 and 1929 by the Locomobile Company of America, one of the 3,000 car companies that have existed in America's automotive history.
Cars may be the center attraction for members, but John McAnlis said that there are other benefits. For him, "the enjoyable part is the people." He said that the club attracts those who are socially and businesswise adept, and who know how to fix the vehicles."(It's) a really nice social experience," he said.
According to the Snapper's website, membership is made up of approximately 262 families in 33 states, Canada and New Zealand and is "uninhibited by geographic boundaries." Thus, members can be from anywhere. What ties the group together is its dedication to the "restoration, preservation and enjoyment of brass-era automobiles."
The club lists as its activities those that enhance the enjoyment of "old time automobile touring away from the hustle and bustle of our modern lives in some of the most beautiful parts of the United States and Canada."
The group organizes three trips a year with the automobiles. This trip Down East was part of the Snapper's spring tour, which is in addition to a summer tour geared to families and a late fall frosty tour. They also meet for and annual business meeting in the winter and cosponsor a Lansing to Dearborn (Michigan) Run in September.
This year' spring tour, arranged by club member John Gillette, began in Bar Harbor, where members left their modern vehicles and car trailers, hopped aboard their polished roadsters and began a two-week road trip to Nova Scotia and back, with stops in Camden, Bangor, Machias, Cutler, St. George in New Brunswick, and in Nova Scotia's Lunenburg, Halifax and Digby, among other locales. The group will travel back through Mashies June 26.
Tim Jackson of Indiana said that they would be driving 1,400 miles and that so far, three of the 30 or so horseless carriages broke down, which is about par for such a trip. Jackson, who said he loves to drive but is not the most knowledgeable at repairing them, likes to be the first out each morning to stay in front in case his automobile has mechanical troubles.
Asked about their Downeast trip, Gillette said that they had run into a lot of "local enthusiasm," even more so than other trips. He added that "Mainers were the friendliest people" he's encountered.
Stephanie,
Thanks to you for allowing us to visit. I was trying to find something to do that morning to slow the group down so we would not get to the end of the day by noon and saw something about your business in materials I was reviewing for the tour. Your welcoming was wonderful and the ladies loved your presentations. Calling you was one of the best "cold calls" I've made, and I was a salesman before I retired.
I know several left email addresses and I hope you get some additional business for your efforts. Knowing that what you did for the group is heartwarming, but extra cash in the purse sometimes beats heartwarming all to hell.
John
