1999
MSCCC Executive Officers
1999
MSCCC Executive Officers
Page updated February 6/98
PRESIDENT & REGALIA (BCCI Rep) Vern Dale-Johnson 1532 King Street West Toronto, Ontario M6K 1J6 (416) 530-4599 (416) 536-3621 (FAX) vern.dale-johnson@medtronic.com EDITOR of "THE BLURB" Sylvia Balfour 39 Newman Drive Cambridge, Ontario N1S 1A1 (519) 621-1772 Fax: (519)623-1966 ycw@golden.net TREASURER & MEMBERSHIP Jenny Beer 30 Parsons Ave Caledon East, Ontario L0N 1E0 (905) 584-0619 FAX (416) 922-5937 (c/o DRB Motor Books) sj.beer@sympatico.ca CLUB LIAISON Audrey Beer RR#3 Bolton, Ontario L7E 5R9 (905) 857-7320 FAX (905) 857-3210 (c/o CMC Enterprises, Canadian Morgan dealer) PAST PRESIDENTS Lynn & Fred Kuzyk 1305 Ester Drive Burlington, Ontario L7P 1L2 (905) 336-0251 fkuzyk@cgocable.net INTERCLUB EVENTS CO-ORDINATOR Ed Burman 156 Robertlee Drive PO Box 268 Carp, Ontario K0A 1L0 (613) 839-3041 elburman@cyberus.ca WESTERN SCRIBE Mike Powley 1867 West 37th Ave Vancouver, British Columbia V6M 1N3 (604) 261-0901 pwlm6079@bcit.bc.ca MOG NW REPRESENTATIVE Ron Theroux 5794 Kilkee Drive Surrey, British Columbia V3S 6E9 (604) 576-2957 ronsmog@home.com EASTERN SCRIBE Greg Kaufman (GoMoG Ottawa MOG rep) PO Box 385 Woodlawn, Ontario K0A 3M0 (613) 832-3620 toad@storm.ca ROAMING SCRIBE Dr Francis "Art" Sharpenwessel The Morgan Monastery Underfire, Vulgaria (for now) Phone: none Duties: depends Fax: not a hope!
MSCCC CLUB HISTORY & MORGANEERING IN CANADA While Morgans may have been imported by a few individuals prior to the Second World War, Morgan sports cars were really made known to Canada by a couple of pioneering agents & enthusiasts, in the years after the war. The Late "Curly" Ellis & his "Metro Motors" of Windsor, Ontario; imported cars & introduced many Canadians & Americans to the marque. Not only by selling cars but by his racing exploits. It's also said that The Late GB Sterne almost single -handedly accounts for the current population of Morgans in the Pacific Northwest. One account states that in the early 1970's, GB was among a group of about 3 Canadians that took Morgans to the US for SCCA racing events and "proceeded to clean everyone's clock almost every time". Where "Curly" & GB left off, Chris Charles continued to import Morgan cars, first at a dealership in Toronto & later in Kitchener. Chris was instrumental in modifying the cars to meet current Canadian legislation. In 1991, Chris sold his "CMC Enterprises" dealership to long-time enthusiasts - the Beer family of Bolton, Ontario. Parts, service & restoration are offered by Martin & Steve Beer but sadly, today new cars have been unavailable since 1994. The federal government demanded Canadian crash testing of three cars & mandatory safety components, such as air bags. Prior to the "embargo", the total number of new cars slated for Canada was 6 each year! It's rumoured that this impasse may be resolved in the near future, as the Morgan factory has developed a Plus 8 Model with air bags & Canadian authorities may accept British crash testing results, rather than demanding the demise of half a year's allotment of these rare cars! So, factory fresh Morgans may once again be taking to the Canadian roads! While Morgans were being successful in competitive events during the 1950's & early 1960's, the idea of a Canadian Morgan club didn't occur until 1962. At that time, 18 Morgan owners gathered in Toronto. The idea didn't get off the ground, however, as it was felt that the growing proliferation of single marque car clubs was dividing the sports car movement. The consensus was that the Morganeers should stay with their existing general sports car clubs, for the time being. The idea for the first Canadian Morgan club thus took a five year hiatus. The formation of our Club occurred in 1967, when the Late Doug Price spotted two parked Morgans & chatted with the owners: Ken Miles and Ian Campbell. The timing seemed right & as a result, a meeting was arranged at Al Sands farm, which was attended by 12 Morgans. Thus the Toronto Morgan Owners Group was born. By 1968, some 25 cars had been traced, joint meetings were arranged with the Great Lakes Group in Detroit, and an effort was made to form a group in Vancouver. The club became an affiliate of the Morgan Sports Car Club of the UK, as have many other groups, forming a world-wide network & fraternity of clubs. Doug Price went on to become the enthusiastic long-time Editor of the newsletter, "The Blurb". Doug also coined the word "SNOBMOG" for the rare 4 seater Drop Head Coupes & formed the semi fictitious "International Society for Morgan Four Seater Drophead Coupes". Al Sands is still active today and he & Marlies have become known through the years for their many BBQs at Pipers Hill Farm. Audrey Beer became active in the 1970's and was the President throughout the 1980's. Audrey remains active as the Club Liaison. Turn-over in the Club is rather low & a number of members are 20 year + veterans. Like the car, Morganeers tend to longevity in their interest! For a number of years, the club remained the only organized Morgan Group in a vast land. The newsletter helped to unify the members scattered across the country. As the slogan said: "From the Arctic Circle to the Great Lake waters". Most of the activity took place in the Toronto & Golden Horseshoe area. The club was also known as "HOG MOG". The "MOG" stands for "Morgan Owners Group". There is a practice among some of the affiliates of the MSCC (UK) to have names that rhyme with MOG, thus the "HOG". This also reflected our affiliation with Toronto (known locally as "Hog Town"). But the name also came about as Doug Price loved piggies & these were used extensively in the newsletter. For many years, the club's premiere event was the annual Fall Weekend at Niagara Falls. This was staged at Niagara for about 11 years. These weekends featured fun concours, driving tours, awards banquet, & fellowship. This event reached its zenith in 1990, when Niagara was the end-point for the first "Morgans Over America". MOA was a grand expedition of European & North American cars that drove across the continent from California. The number of Morgans at Niagara '90 was never before seen, or since repeated. MOA II brought a large number of Morgans to Western Canada in 1995. MOA III will see the return of many visiting Morgans to Canada - this time to Halifax, as they travel from New Orleans. Since 1993, the annual Fall Getaway Weekend has been staged at different Ontario locations: Burlington, Muskoka, Tobermory, Alliston, & Collingwood. Collingwood will be repeated in 1998 & the activities still follow the fun format, including our "gag awards". In recent years, the Club has been very active. Membership has grown & a number of events have been staged. Spring events have been done in the Pelee Island area & Montreal. Alan & Marlies Sands, as well as Peter & Heather McCowan, have re-introduced the "Pig-Out" BBQs, the Club's premiere summer event. In 1995, the Club hosted its first British Car Toy Run for charity. This event, like many of our others, is open to guests. Members have also been active at other events, participating at events such as: the MOG meets in the US & Britain; British Car Day, Richmond Car Show, Classics Against Cancer (Ontario); Rally In The Valley, Van Duesen Meet, Shell 4000 Rally (Western Canada); among others. In 1994 & 1995, Martin Beer captured "Fastest Time of the Day" at two of the three years of the Christie Sprints! Morgans can still compete against the other classics! In 1994, the Club renamed itself the Morgan Sports Car Club of Canada, to better reflect its history as the only organized Morgan Club in Canada, up till that time. To commemorate that event, a new car badge was created with a new logo. This badge has sold world-wide. People are important. In 1991, President John Collins initiated the DOUG PRICE AWARD, presented annually to the member that exhibits the most enthusiasm & contribution, in the spirit of its namesake. The Club also presents a number of President's Awards to people who are making a difference. In the past, many members were interested in competition. Today the Club is more active in social events as well as preservation & restoration. The Club exists to foster to mutual interest of car owners, enthusiasts, and has provided information to potential purchasers. Ownership of a Morgan is not required and many of our members own many other vehicles. While our focus is Morgan, we also promote interaction with other British car/Sports car groups, as well as Morganeers everywhere. The Club has a close connection with the Canadian Morgan Dealer and the Morgan factory in the UK. We enjoy ties with the other Morgan groups in Canada & abroad. We are also affiliates of the British Car Council Inc (an organization representing the single & multi-marque British clubs), and the Specialty Vehicle Association of Ontario. We welcome visiting guests at our soirees & have received people from such far flung areas as: South Africa, Australia, UK, & France; when they have been in the area.
