A Course in Classic Cars

Photo by Edmonds Photography

If you ask Pennsylvania member Fran Shore about her dream car, she'll tell you that it's already sitting in her driveway. "Brandy," as Shore affectionately calls her 1936 Buick Century convertible, is one of the half-dozen antique cars she and her husband, John, have restored over the past 30 years.

"I call her Brandy because she's a beautiful wine-colored car, but she also drinks gasoline like alcohol," explains Shore. Only 717 such cars were made in 1936, and Brandy is one of five remaining today.

In addition to the Buick, the Shores have restored a 1929 Model A Ford, a 1922 Durant Touring car, a 1931 Willis Ford roadster, a 1962 Corvette, a 1978 Indy Race car Corvette, and a 1946 Cushman motor scooter, all of which have been named national winners by the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA).

Since Shore's retirement in 1993, the couple has served as master judges for the AACA, driving their cars across the country from California to Maine to participate and judge at as many as 12 shows a year.

"We're not as interested in the winning as we are in the enjoyment of the car itself," says Shore. "We love the pure joy of driving."

Shore has also been deeply committed to increasing youth interest in the antique car hobby. She has been the AACA National Youth Chair for seven years and is an elected member on the AACA Library and Research Center Board.

"As part of an educational program, I was taking a young group of children around the floor to look at the cars and all their parts," describes Shore. "A little boy tugged on my pant leg and looked up at me and said, 'I really like you.' And that's the message right there--no matter what your hobby is, you're always a teacher."

For more information on the AACA, go to www.aaca.org.

--Tamara Zakim

On a Real Membership Drive

The odometer on Alma Wyatt Jones' 2003 Cadillac DeVille just rolled over 2,000 miles. But give her time. As a membership coordinator for the Alabama Education Association-Retired, she put 148,000 miles on her old car so quickly that her husband, Melvin, insisted on buying her the new car for safer travel.

Jones and her fellow volunteers in AEA-Retired are a key reason the group was recently cited by NEA-Retired as the fastest-growing retired program. Jones tries to talk to at least 50 people a week about joining AEA-Retired, and she's not shy about sharing the benefits of membership.

"Even if you aren't a retired school employee, you can still join AEA-Retired as an associate member for just $10," she says. "So I always carry a membership application with me. A while back, I had to get new eyeglasses, and I signed up my optometrist."

Jones, who taught ninth-grade social studies in Tuscaloosa, traces her family's involvement in the teaching profession back to the 1800s. An aunt who put her through college was a high school English teacher. 'We're a teaching family, and now that I'm retired, I want to keep doing everything I can to continue helping active and retired school workers--and all seniors, for that matter," says Jones.

"I've been in too many pharmacies where seniors got out of line once they learned the price of their medication," says the activist. "I can't sit by and just watch. These seniors have worked too hard all their lives not to be able to have the medications they need. So I keep signing up members, keep building our movement, because we need to elect people who will support Medicare and keep Social Security solvent."

--Matt Simon

Tracking Athletes in the Field

Oregon member Jerry Jenson has collected over 200 baseball caps while volunteering as a track and field official across the United States and around the world. And that count's sure to go up.

Jenson, who still throws shot put, discus, and hammer, began officiating when his two daughters joined their school track teams. He's since covered events from the high school to national levels and even volunteered at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Both Jerry and his wife, C. Ann, are USA Track & Field-Oregon-certified. Although they admit officiating can sometimes be a chore (C. Ann was once stuck running the wind gauge for nine hours straight without a bathroom break), the pair gains satisfaction through companionship. "It's always a proud moment when the two of us can take the field together," Jerry says.

Officiating has taken the Jensons from Australia to Puerto Rico to Canada and back again, but no matter where they are, they emphasize treating each event like the Olympics for those athletes.

"As an official out on the field, it's easy to get emotional," Jerry says. "When you see an athlete get hurt but keep going because he or she wants to finish the race, it makes it all worthwhile."

--Cheryl Ross