WDMGC Fall Color Tour - Road Rally Fun!

Usually, when you see a hood up and people peering underneath, it’s a sign of trouble.

At a fall color tour, it’s a sign of success.  On October 16, nearly thirty members and thirteen MGs met to enjoy a great day.  As cars rolled into the rally point, it wasn't long before hoods were lifted, and friends shared their fondness for cars and the open road.

We had a great drive through metro Detroit’s “river country”  along the back roads between 26 Mile Road and Saint Clair, Michigan.  The drive showed trees and fields yielding to the softening autumn sun. We drove past beautiful old farms and eventually found the banks of the Saint Clair River, looking over to Canada.

At the Saint Clair Inn, a parking lot was reserved for our British invasion.  The cars lined up side by side facing the historic inn.  An employee asked, “What kind of cars are those?  They are beautiful!”  I don’t know if Mick Gideon had a membership application handy, but more than one convert was made to the beauty of the products of Morris Garages that day.

We enjoyed lunch in a room offering views of the river.  Prizes were offered, being garnered by those with longest membership (twenty-five years), longest travel for the event (ninety miles), first club event, and most work on vehicle to prepare for the event (eight hours).

We had a lot of laughter, and the only lifted hoods were to admire the mechanics of our beloved little cars.

Enjoy the videos below!

Submitted by Vince Lacroix

WDMGC Spring Gathering at Camp Dearborn 

Today’s Windsor-Detroit MG Club Spring gathering, a very nice turnout for a day that started cool, cloudy, and a bit drizzly. So great to see everybody, especially those of you from other clubs and those of you new to MGs!

Submitted by John Magee and Vicki Bade 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

- click on any image for a full size image slide show

MG2022 - Peterborough Ontario

MG2022 has come and gone and it was a really fun week!

President Vicki Bade and husband Matt headed out with two others for a mini-caravan to MG2022 in Peterborough, Ontario.  The trip included the required mechanical issues, road rescues, and help from strangers!  And included a great time at the convention.  She wrote about her experience and shares it here. 

MG2022 in Peterborough, ON ... Call for those interested in a Caravan!

The National MG Convention is open for reservations.  And it is within driving distance at Peterborough, Ontario.  

The Convention will be held June 19th through June 23rd. 

WDMGC Vice President Kurt Ill is organizing a caravan to MG2022 in June on the US side of the border. The plan is to caravan over to Windsor and meet up with our Canadian counterparts, then drive on to Peterborough, ON, CA.

Kurt is looking for a preliminary count on who from our club has made reservations for MG2022 and would like to travel as a group to Peterborough. You can either respond throughout the WDMGC Facebook Page or through my club email.

For more information on the convention, you can visit the MG2022 Website.

Cruise to Colorado Springs GT-47 2022

                                                                                                          - By Steve Finch

How was the trip to GT-47 in Colorado Springs? In a word –   “Epic!”

Past President Steve Finch and his wife Donna decide to take the trip from Hilton Head to GT-47 in Colorado. You can click here to read his story!

WDMGC Meeting - August 2022

Thank You ... for the wonderful turnout we had for this month's meeting at the Brass Point!! Welcome to our newest members that joined as the night began - Ken Alexander & David Brincat.   Also, nice to see Lisa Zebarah-Shears one of our new members. We met hubby Dan Urson at a previous meeting and I’m told he now has the MG bug!!! They are carrying on the family legacy. Welcome all. it was a wonderful night and perfect weather to take our cars out and about.

Pictures submitted by Vicki Bade and John Magee

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

- click on any image for a full size image slide show

Mad Dogs and Englishmen 2022

The official report from Mad Dogs and Englishmen at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners was "a great turnout" with over 350 cars.  The weather couldn’t have been better!  They even gave ballots out to the regular folk that didn’t bring a registered car. Apparently, someone looking for points brought their poodle that had been dyed purple - yikes!!!  That was certainly was an attention getter.

We our proud to pass on that we did have some of our club members among the award winners this year. Philip Wiltshire took 2nd place in the Rare Gem category - British righthand drive with his MGB GT V8. (of course, we all think it should have been 1st place, but I guess we are biased). Harry Mueller took 2nd place in the Class F MBG-C 62-72 category (another 1st place car if we ever saw one). Lee Jacobsen took 1st place in the Other British car prior to 1964 category with his lovely 1938 MG SA Tickford Drop Head Foursome. Congrats to all!!  

This is annual event for the Gilmore Car Museum n Hickory Corners.  Each year we do our best to put together a caravan to make the short trek to just past Battle Creek.  Next year, maybe you can plan to be part of the trip!

Pictures submitted by Kurt Ill 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

- click on any image for a full size image slide show

Battle of the Brits - 2022

Thanks to rain in the morning and a forecast for a deluge later in the afternoon, it was a light turnout for the automotive side of this year's Battle of the Brits. But there was a dry window in between, so I took the MG TD over to Camp Dearborn to see what I could see. What I saw was that the cars that did show up were awfully pretty!

Story and Pictures submitted by John Magee 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

- click on any image for a full size image slide show

WDMGC Meeting - September 2022

Lots and lots of good looking cars at tonight’s Windsor-Detroit MG Club meeting. — at the Brass Pointe.

Pictures submitted by John Magee

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

- click on any image for a full size image slide show

The December Meeting at the Brass Pointe

Our membership were so generous in giving Toys-for-Tots gifts at last year’s December meeting, and with the sentiment expressed by the attending members that it was so much more satisfying than our previous gift exchange, we decided to do it all over again. This time, however, we added another good cause. With inflation running so high, local TV was reporting that many people – and children in particular – would be going hungry as local food pantries were strained to the limit with both lower donations and greater demand. As a result, our organizer Anne Astley asked members to also bring nonperishable food items to the meeting for the CARES organization, a local charity serving food insecure families.

There was never any doubt that our members would open their hearts, but we could never have anticipated to what extent. The toys count exceeded 150 and such was the weight of the food donations, we had difficult carrying it all from the Brass Pointe.

Anne took the donations to the Toys-for-Tots and CARES warehouses the very next day and staff at both organizations asked that we send their sincere gratitude to all who donated.

Story and Pictures submitted by Rick Astley 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

- click on any image for a full size image slide show

Your 2022 WDMGC Board Members! The beginning of another year brings the chance to elect the WDMGC Board of directors. With COVID-19 still affecting our everyday life, this year the voting was, once again, on-line. The board saw a change this year with Dale Brown wearing two hats!  Dale continues be the Newsletter Editor, but also has moved over the Vice President.  Vicki Bade continues as President, Louise Beck returns as Secretary, and the buck stops with John Magee as Treasurer.  Congratulations to all who participated in the voting, and we offer our support to those elected for the upcoming year. Remember, you may contact any board member for any suggestions or comments about the WDMGC. We offer a short bio on each right here.

Vicki Bade President	Dale Brown Vice President	Louise Beck Secretary	John Magee Treasurer

In Memoriam Janet Anderson-Davis

We are truly sorry to have to report the loss on January 30th , from complications from cancer, of our fellow member and friend Janet Anderson-Davis.

From almost the moment they joined in May 1999, Janet and her late husband Elvin became a force in our club and were soon known to many members because of their presence at so many events and activities, their volunteering together to manage our regalia, the quizzes they devised for meetings and all the fun they brought with them when they arrived in, – first their white MGB – and later the famous all red 1980 with matching trailer.

Janet was born in Detroit in July 1954, gained her BA in political science at Michigan State and her law degree at the University of Michigan. She met Elvin in 1980 and they were married in September of 1982. Working first for an insurance company, she later became an attorney for Wayne County and was often featured in local newspapers and TV news for her participation in high profile cases, particularly those involving ballot issues.  She even oversaw our own club elections, taking her responsibility very seriously, insisting for example that candidates should show their ID, even though she may have been casually chatting to them as friends moments before!

Elvin died in September 2020 and only a few weeks later, when she was still in deep grief, Janet’s friends and family were shocked to receive an email from her with the subject line, “… And now it’s my turn”, in which she described how after feeling shortness of breath, she visited a doctor, had x–rays and was told that she, a lifetime non-smoker, had stage-4 lung cancer. Many are described as having “battled” cancer, but with Janet, it was literally the case. After doctors told her early-on that she should consider palliative care, her answer was that they were not writing her off that easily and told them to think again, sought second opinions and treatment options, and eventually went to a different hospital group.

We remember Janet as a fellow club member, loving wife to Elvin, friend, mother, grandmother, a celebrated attorney, a voracious reader and super smart lady, but did you know she was also a published poet? In her book, Dance of the Warriors, she wasn't shy to dedicate this poem to Elvin.

THE FIRST KISS
The first kiss
gave me that melt-in-your-mouth
sweet sugar daddy flavor
It soothed a soul aching to burst free
My ballerina legs stretched taught
I wanted more
The first kiss made me dig deep
into the sultriness of us
I cooed
And was whole

And just days before her passing, she wrote to family and friends

My mantra for today:
My name is Janet
I’m here to say
I’m a very strong lady
On this blessed day
I will stand and walk
I will do my best
From toil I won’t balk
Give God the rest

Janet is survived by 2 children and 5 grandchildren to whom we send our deepest condolences.  A Celebrations of Life of her was held February 4th at which WDMGC members were present and one of us spoke about how much she and Elvin had meant to the club.

In Memoriam - Jack Renaud

December 10, 1936 – February 6, 2023

It’s our very sad duty to have to report that longtime club member, and personal friend of many in our club – Jack Renaud – passed away February 6^th after a short illness when a cold turned into pneumonia.

Jack and his Canadian wife and very accomplished artist Isabelle, joined the club in 2002 as owners of a 1979 MGB-LE. However, it was Jack’s enthusiasm for V8 conversions, with which he infected several others, that made him well known to a lot of members, his yellow 1980 V8 conversion being a common site at Windsor-Detroit MG Club events and meetings on both sides of the border.

In 2018, Jack and Isabelle decided to sell their home in Dearborn and move closer to their daughter 200 miles north on the Lake Huron shoreline; a place where Jack could continue his hobby of kayaking. He sold everything MG, including his beloved yellow V8, another V8 in construction and the rotating spit that Jack had built himself on which to construct it. He bought a 5 liter V8 Mustang but it seems that he never really lost the MG bug. Last year, while out driving near his home, he saw a 1979 MGB and couldn’t resist buying it.

In paying our tributes to Jack, we can’t do better than provide the obituary written by his family, part of which was published in the Detroit Free Press.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

- click on any image for a full size image slide show

In Memoriam - Harry Mac Lean

October 18, 1945 – November 30, 2022

Those who attended last November’s Brass Pointe meeting will remember that we reported that our friend and WDMGC member Harry Mac Lean was gravely ill with liver and kidney disease. Further attempts to learn of his condition were unsuccessful and it was only last month that we became aware that he passed away last November 30^th.

Harry was a 21 year veteran of the club and having been a true auto mechanic most of his working life, he soon took on the role of being the club’s go-to person when help was needed with mechanical issues that were proving elusive to diagnose. He often shared his considerable knowledge by contributing articles to our newsletter, The Can-Am Connection, and supporting students learning skilled trades.  His generosity also extended to standing in the cold each December “ringing the bell” for The Salvation Army. He owned a 1980 vermilion red MGB and was also a Harley-Davidson enthusiast.

Harry was an Army veteran and, prior to his retirement, worked for 35 years at General Motors where he would build prototype engines.

Harry had been married to his wife Dorothy for 47 years and we send our condolences, albeit belated, to her and their sons Jeff, Brian and Greg, who has taken ownership of Harry’s MGB.