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Donald Davidson @ SNM 3/3/2013 (thread retitled)

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  • Donald Davidson @ SNM 3/3/2013 (thread retitled)

    Woo-hoo! Studebaker National Museum Archivist Andy Beckman and I have been working on this over a month. All the documents are finally in order and the honorarium is in place, so the announcement can now be made:

    Sunday, March 3, 2013: Famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway Historian Donald Davidson will make a personal appearance and give a symposium in The Studebaker National Museum's Weikamp Auditorium in South Bend. There will be no additional charge to hear Mr. Davidson's presentation beyond regular Museum Admission that day. Auditorium seating will be available first-come, first-served. Specific time of day to be announced; probably 2PM.

    Mr. Davidson will first spend about an hour discussing various aspects of Indianapolis Motor Speedway history, with an eye toward Studebaker's 1932 and 1933 factory teams. Mr. Davidson interviewed Studebaker factory team drivers Cliff Bergere and Tony Gulotta before their respective passings some time ago, and will relate memories of those interviews.

    Then, the second hour of Mr. Davidson's time, per his request, will be spent answering Indianapolis 500-related questions from those in attendance. Many know of Mr Davidson's fascinating recall of Indianapolis 500 trivia, so it should be a great afternoon in South Bend. In planning this with Mr. Davidson, he told me he has never been to the new Studebaker National Museum, but "I've heard so much about it that I'm excited to be able to see it."

    Mr. Davidson's March 3 presentation is sponsored by The Studebaker Drivers Club Indy Chapter, because there is an honorarium involved to have Mr. Davidson speak. At last Saturday's (October 20, 2012) Indy Chapter SDC Meeting, it was moved and seconded that the Indy Chapter SDC sponsor Mr. Davidson. The motion quickly passed unanimously. A chapter check was cut that very day and mailed to The Studebaker National Museum, so Mr. Davidson's appearance has already been paid for by our Indy Chapter SDC, and will be at no cost to The Studebaker National Museum.

    This event will dovetail nicely with (and was obviously designed to be a part of, if we could pull it off) a Special Exhibit that is to open at The Museum November 15 and run through next April: Studebaker at The Brickyard. Four extant Studebaker factory team race cars are making their way to South Bend as I type, and will be displayed among other memorabilia.

    Notice of this will appear elsewhere, including the January 2013 Turning Wheels Co-Operator currently under construction.

    This promises to be a wonderful afternoon, so if you are anywhere near South Bend -or could be, given adequate notice- here's your opportunity to circle your calendar and make plans over four months in advance. BP
    Last edited by BobPalma; 03-03-2013, 07:29 PM. Reason: spelling of Bergere and Gulotta corrected
    We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

    G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

  • #2
    Like, wow. Does wow say enough? wow.

    Comment


    • #3
      That sounds like a Great Time so Cyndi and I will plan to be there. Ed

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Mr Speed 53 View Post
        That sounds like a Great Time so Cyndi and I will plan to be there. Ed
        'Looking forward to seeing you guys there, Ed.

        Mr. Davidson is a remarkable man and you will thoroughly enjoy his presentation....and wait'll you hear "the rest of the story" about how all this came about. BP
        We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

        G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

        Comment


        • #5
          Too bad I'm so far away! One can only afford so many trips in a year. & I was there twice this year. I'll be in South Bend for the May swap though!

          Comment


          • #6
            Update Thursday Morning, February 28, 2013 at 11:00AM:

            I just had a nice telephone conversation with Mr. Davidson at his Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation office, to double-check all our plans for this coming Sunday, March 3. Everything is a "go" per the original plan.

            Mr. Davidson is very much looking forward to the day in South Bend and speaking at The Studebaker National Museum. 'Hope many forum members can make the trip as it promises to be a wonderful presentation. BP
            We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

            G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

            Comment


            • #7
              Time to dust off my LearJet.
              No deceptive flags to prove I'm patriotic - no biblical BS to impress - just ME and Studebakers - as it should be.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Roscomacaw View Post
                Time to dust off my LearJet.
                I wish you could, Bob. He's really a neat guy you would thoroughly enjoy hearing. BP
                We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

                G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'm assuming that's 2PM EST for we Illini in the Chicago area, 90 minutes and 1 time zone away.
                  sigpic[SIGPIC]

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by plwindish View Post
                    I'm assuming that's 2PM EST for we Illini in the Chicago area, 90 minutes and 1 time zone away.
                    An excellent reminder! It would be unfortunate to arrive an hour late and hear only the latter half of Mr. Donaldson's remarks. Yes, 2PM Eastern Standard Time. BP
                    We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

                    G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Bob Palma, very nice program today @ the Museum. My wife and I enjoyed Donald Davidson's talk this afternoon. Man can he get off on tangents of the original topic! I think that is one of his most endearing qualities. He is a wealth of information about the Speedway,cars and drivers. It was a great day to drive from the southern Chicago suburbs to South Bend, have brunch at the Studebaker Mansion, and top it off with the entertaining program at the Museum. The Museum even had a 90% Off table that my wife kept trying to empty, buying a good deal of things. Your chapter gets an "A" in program planning today!
                      sigpic[SIGPIC]

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thanks to the Indy Chapter for sponsoring this event. My friend Eric Derosa and I were there and enjoyed it unfortunately didnt make it to the Q&A afterwards. Think this a good example of how the Museum could use their facility on a regular basis. Ed

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Paul, Ed, and Eric: 'So glad you guys came and enjoyed Mr. Davidson's presentation. He is a fascinating individual, isn't he? Paul, I wish you had identified yourself! 'Did get to wave to Ed and Eric as they came in, but everybody scattered afterwards and 'didn't get to chat with as many folks as I would have liked to.

                          Mr. Davidson is a wealth of information, eh? The most important thing I learned was that the so-called junk formula cars in the early 1930s had nothing to do with the Great Depression, that specifications for the 1930 cars had been announced in January 1929, well before the stock market crash in October. Rather, the new specs were Mr. Rickenbacker's (spelling?) way of encouraging ordinary manufacturers to return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway competition, as it had been in the teens.

                          What did each of you guys (or others who were there and would care to chime in) learn?

                          Here's a nice photo Bill Mitchell took this afternoon at the event:



                          Dick Quinn (left) and yours truly, with Mr. Davidson between us.

                          (BTW, the 1960 Lark convertible Mr. Davidson admitted running out of oil was an Oasis Green six, stick. I was unable to determine if it had overdrive when speaking to him about it earlier.)

                          It was a great day! Mr. Davidson said he sincerely enjoyed himself. He said the venue was excellent and he really appreciated the accommodations. Thanks to Andy Beckman for his work with us in The Indy Chapter SDC, setting this up. BP
                          Last edited by BobPalma; 03-03-2013, 07:37 PM. Reason: added photo
                          We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

                          G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            It was a Great Day ! and nice to see all the Stude friends there. Havent posted on the forum for some time,have been working on the 64 Commander so we can be at the Pure Stocks with it.Just goes to show Studebaker Racing is still alive !

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I was unaware of the extent of Studebaker's involvement or I should say the involvement of Studebaker powered vehicles in the earlier 500's (since it seems that official company involvement was very limited). Other surprises from the discussion the early and often change of engine displacement size back in the 20's and 30's. I thought the displacement games had started in the 60's, especially in the Granitelli era. I would have liked to hear about the famed Novi engines and any Stude associations with the Novi's other than Mr. STP's well known association. The topics did not get to the era when I started following Indy cars in the early 60's. I'm sure Mr. Davidson would have had stories for any era at Indy. He seems to be perfectly suited for his position. His story of how he came to the US to Indy, got hooked on Indy racing and decided to move to the US is amazing. Its funny how an Englishman that is not mechanically inclined or even drove got hooked on Indy racing. He just seemed to be a legged version of Wikopedia regarding Indy 500 history. He is a very fascinating person that can keep you entertained for hours about Indy.

                              I also enjoyed the "Dueling Historians", our distinguished Mr. Richard Quinn and Donald Davidson trading quips and knowledge challenges during both ends of the presentation.
                              Last edited by plwindish; 03-03-2013, 08:37 PM.
                              sigpic[SIGPIC]

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