The Bay State Antique Auto Club
‘We take pride in our Club and we take pride in what we do as a Club’

The Bay State Antique Auto Club was founded in 1968, by six couples wishing to form a club in the Dedham area.  They took turns having the monthly meetings at each of their homes, with the host providing the refreshments.  They drew up by-laws, scheduled tours and planned for a party in December.  The Club was off and ‘running’.

In the past forty-two years, the Club has grown to more than 250 family memberships.  We now hold our monthly meetings at the beautiful Endicott Estate in Dedham with the Club supplying the refreshments.  The By-Laws have been revised a few times but the basic foundation is unchanged.  We still schedule driving tours from April through November.  We hold a Children’s Christmas Party in December.  In January, we have an Awards Banquet, at which time we acknowledge those that have given freely of their time and energy in support of the Club.   Along with the annual Club picnic and the many driving tours, we also participate in many parades in various towns. Visits to nursing homes are scheduled occasionally.

Our biggest event is the annual Car Show held on the grounds of the Endicott Estate on the second Sunday in July.  This is a large undertaking for the Club.  But, thanks to all the members that volunteer and the support of the Town of Dedham, the area’s antique car owners and to our many faithfully fans, it has been tremendously successful.  It has grown from a few dozen cars to over a thousand.  From a few vendors in the beginning, our flea market area now has approximately one hundred and fifty.  We are now at the point that we cannot grow any larger due to the limits of the Estate Grounds.  We can only strive to make the show better.

The proceeds from the Show support the operation of the Club throughout the year and allow us to generously donate to the preservation and improvement of the Endicott Estate and support other worthwhile causes.

The following chronology highlights some important Club milestones from inception to the current day.

1968    The first club officers were; President Lester Wax, Vice President Ed Gooley, Treasurer Charles DeStafano, Secretary and Membership Chairman George Hughes.

1969    Membership increased to 30 members. The Club’s primary goal was to secure a suitable meeting location.  The By-Laws were drafted and the use of name badges was started.
On June 17th members started meeting at St. John’s Methodist Church in Oakdale Square in Dedham, MA.  The first “Breakdown Tour” was held on April 13th.  The Club met at the Dedham Square and travelled on Route 109 to Medway for a Sunday lunch.  The first annual Christmas party was held at Artie’s Firestone Restaurant in Dedham.

1970    Membership increased to 43.  A motion was passed at the March 17th meeting to have the Club pick up the cost of refreshments at the regular membership meetings.  The first newsletter was introduced.  It was 3 pages long and cost $0.06 to mail. In November, Lester Wax introduced the idea of having a “Trading Bee”.

1971    Dues remained at $5.00 per person with spouses at $3.00. The Club’s Bylaws were approved by the membership. The first BSAAC “Trading Bee” was held on July 11th at the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline.   It was considered a major success with 36 vendor spaces sold and a profit of $116.00.  The Club had 14 events this year including a “Breakdown” Tour and a “Frostbite” Tour.

1972    The first Club auction was held and netted a profit of $23.00.  Postage for the Newsletter increased to $0.08 as it was expanded to 7 pages of information.  The first “Fun Rally and Swap Meet” was held on September 10th in Canton, MA.

1973    The Draper Estate in Canton was the site of the Second Annual Fall Meet.  Club Member True Hagman proposed the creation of a Club library.

1974    5TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The “Man and Women of the Year” award was started to honor the members that helped the Club most throughout the year.  In April the first “Kick Off” Social was held.
The Fall Meet in Canton was attended by 24 vendors and had a total of 89 cars.  Founding Member Charles DeStafano passed away and the Club dedicated an award in his honor to be presented to the “Outstanding Member of the Year”.

1975    The 74th meeting of the BSAAC was called to order on Tuesday, February 18th at 8:12 PM at the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation.  The Club voted to forgo the Fall Meet in Canton in favor of a summer meet.  The summer meet was held on July 13th at the Larz Anderson Museum and netted $24.05.

1976    Membership meetings were moved to the Dedham Community House beginning in March.  Abel Ford of Revere became the sponsor for The BSAAC July 18th Show.

1977    The BSAAC Newsletter cost $26.00 to publish and postage increased to $0.13 per mailing.  Muzi Ford City in Needham, MA sponsored and provided the site for our summer car show.  Fifty-six vendors participated and there were a total of 152 show cars.

1978    10th YEAR ANNIVEERSARY
The 10th anniversary of the Club was celebrated on October 17th at the 116th Club Meeting.  Meetings were moved to the Allin Congregational Church in mid-year to accommodate the growth in membership.
The Annual Auction netted $113.00

1979    The first Fall Flea Market was organized at Neponset Valley Dodge in Norwood, MA.

1980    The 9th Annual Car Show sponsored by Neponset Valley Dodge was held at the Endicott Estate in Dedham on July 13th.

1981    Clair Auto became the Show Sponsor.  There were more than 300 antique vehicles on display at this year’s Show.  Membership reached 125.  Dues were increased to $10.00 per family to offset the cost of the Newsletter.  The Fall Flea Market was cancelled for lack of a site.

 
1982    “Split the Pot” raffle was initiated at the Membership Meetings.
A Spring Social was held at the Sherwood Restaurant Starlight Room in Stoughton, MA (Now known as Alex’s).  Eighty-three flea market vendors attended the Show with 419 cars on display.  The Fall Flea market was held in November at Bezema Buick.  All the vendor spaces were sold out.

1983    15th YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The Club held a “Members Only” Auto Show in August at Ridge Hill Reservation in Needham.  The Fall Flea Market was held at Rodman Ford in Foxboro, MA.

1984    The Show had 112 vendor spaces, 41 cars in the car corral and 500 cars on the show field.  The Club sold 900 hamburgers, 400 sausages, 650 hot dogs, 39 dozen donuts, 1,100 cups of coffee, and 100 cases of soda at the Show.  Due to the success of the July Show, no Fall Flea Market was held.

1985    Membership increased to 165.  Meetings were held for four months at the Italian American Club in Dedham, MA.  The 14th Annual Car Show highlighted in the Patriot Ledger Newspaper attracted 626 antique vehicles.

1986    The 15th Annual Car Show surpassed all previous events drawing 670 antique vehicles and 160 vendors.  A $200 “Tool Award” was awarded to an Outstanding Dedham High School Auto Shop student.

1987    The Club participated in a 1950’s Fair at the Endicott Estate by providing antique car rides around the Estate to 481 children.

1988    20TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Membership increased to 206.

1989    The Newsletter costs were $68.75 for printing and $30.50 for postage per issue.
The Club purchased new outside lighting for the Endicott Estate.

1990    Membership dues were increase to $15.00 per family due primarily to the cost of printing and mailing the Newsletter.   Satellite parking was discussed as a means of mitigating parking problems associated with the Car Show.

1991    Special T-Shirts were printed to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Car Show.   The Club’s Annual Picnic was held at Maplewood Campgrounds in Easton, MA.

1992    A complete computerized record of the current and historic club roster was produced for the first time.  It listed a total active membership of 256.  The Library Committee announced the purchase of a new Queen Ann style table and six chairs for the library.  Members were asked to donate a book for the new library.  Donated automotive material would then be available to all members for their review and enjoyment.

1993    25th YEAR ANNIVERSARY
On July 11 the Bay State Antique Auto Club Annual Car Show and Swap Meet drew a crowd of about 8,000 to its 22nd Annual Car Show and Swap Meet on the grounds of the Endicott Estate.  Predawn hours found club members greeting some 240 vendors who had reserved space at the show.  About 700 cars were registered, along with some 160 cars in the car corral.  A 25th Anniversary Dinner was held at the Canton Town Club on October 2.  It was attended by 105 members.

1994    By-Law changes relating to Charitable Expenditures were recommended and voted in by the Club membership.  Proposals to make a $500 donation to the Museum of Transportation in the name of the club and a $6000 donation to the Endicott Estate were passed.

1995    The Vintage Era Days show was a great success with 55 vintage cars in attendance and over 100 spectators.  This first of its kind event (the original show planned for Labor Day 1994 was rained out) demonstrated a definite interest in a showing of the vintage motorcars in a non-judged setting.

1996    The 25th Anniversary Show was a smashing success.  The show gates had to be closed at 11:00 AM due to the over capacity of cars (935 show cars and 200 cars for sale) and the tee shirts were completely sold out by noon time.  An Investment Committee was established.  A new category of Life Membership was discussed by the Executive Board.
The estimated cost for the newsletter was:  printing $3,180, postage $1,200, desktop publishing $1,200 and pre-printing covers $225 for a total of $5,805 or around $2.70 a copy.

1997    This year’s focus was in the area of bylaw updates, membership roster modifications, creation of an emergency fund, establishment of a voice mail message center and fax.

1998    In keeping with the Dedham base, the Club established a Post Office Box at the Dedham Post Office.  The new address is:
Bay State Antique Auto Club
P.O. Box 486
Dedham, MA  02027

1999    The Club donated $4,000 to the Endicott Estate Commission to offset the costs of hiring a professional preservationist to assist in applying for a listing in the National Register of Historic Buildings.  With the listing in the National Register, the Commission would be eligible to receive state and federal grants to maintain and preserve the Estate.

2000    Annual membership dues increased from $15.00 to $20.00 per family per year.
The Endicott Show had become so popular that show day parking in the neighborhood of the Endicott Estate was a problem.  The Town Selectmen requested Club representatives attend their monthly meeting to address parking issues.  It was decided to use busses on show day to shuttle the attending public from the parking facilities on Rust Craft Road to the Estate grounds.

2001    A letter was received thanking the Club for its support in the Celebration of Freedom Campaign.  This campaign raised money for the World War II Memorial by selling balloons with veterans’ names.  During the Show, they distributed over 700 applications for balloons which were released simultaneously nationwide at 2:00 PM on November 11th.   The first Club website was established.

2002    A new Club Roster was available midyear with e-mail addresses for those members with computer access.  Counting the car coral, there were over 1,300 cars on the Estate grounds for this year’s Show.  Eighty percent of the e-mails which came into the Club Mailbox were thank you for a great and well-run show.  The other twenty percent recommended changes to the judging classes to avoid the confusion between stock, stock performance and modified cars.

2003    The year was kicked off in January with the 401st Membership Meeting of the Club.
Income from membership dues was $2590 while the expenditure for the newsletter was $5,500.

2004    The Club participated in planning a weeklong celebration to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Endicott Estate.  Donations were made to the Abused Children of Boston, The Boy Scouts, BSSME, The Council on Aging, Dedham Police Department, Dedham Education Foundation, The Endicott Estate Commission, Dedham Food Pantry, Friends of the Endicott Estate, The Leukemia-Lymphoma Society, The March of Dimes, The Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation, Newton Area Special Needs, Ronald McDonald House, Shriners Burn Center, The Smile Train, The Society of Automotive Historians, and the Stone Street Strummers.

2005    Show Sponsor, Clair Motors, informed the Club that they were redirecting their advertising campaign and have decided they would no longer be participating in the BSAAC Car Show.  The Museum of Transportation joined the July Show and presented a display of vehicles manufactured in the New England Area.

2006    The Club website took on a new look thanks to the hard work of member Gene Laks.
Fed Corp of Dedham agreed to sponsor the 2006 Vintage Era Days Show.

2007    “The Bay State Newsletter” became “The Times” and then “The Lantern” as the monthly newsletter changed appearance.  A new virtual voice mail service was put into place with a new telephone number of 781-459-8800.  New business cards with the updated contact information and extra club information for members to use in membership and outreach efforts were produced.

2008    40th YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Bay State Antique Auto Club was celebrated on August 24th with a commemorative party hosted by Floyd and Sylvia Bent.  The event included a pleasure ride through the countryside, a factory tour and a barbeque/pig roast.

2009    Cost to print and mail “The Lantern” calculated at $44.72 per member per year.
The 16th Annual Vintage Era Days Show - with vehicles from 1893 to 1942 - and the 1st Annual Chrome, Color & Fins Show - celebrating the cars of the 40’s and 50’s - were held at the Endicott Estate on September 13th.  The events included a family picnic area, refreshment and on-site spectator parking.  These were non-judged events with dash plaques given to the owners of all show vehicles. 

The Club will be holding its 39th Annual Car Show on July 11th and our 18th Annual Vintage Era Days Show on September 19th.   We would like to encourage everyone to drop on by our shows or attend our monthly meetings.  Our meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of every month (except December and January) at 7:30 PM at the Endicott Estate in Dedham, MA.

LISTING OF CLUB OFFICERS