|
HOW IT ALL BEGAN by Suzanne Spohn
Our club began with a classified ad in the
Vancouver Sun newspaper in June, 1969 which read:
"Drive an MG or a Jaguar? Need sympathy?"
It was the brainchild of Major Ian Newby, an army officer and Blair Hamilton, owner of
"Classic and Thoroughbred Motors".
About 20 people attended the first meeting.
Ian chose the name of the club. He describes himself as the "benign dictator" of
both marques until 1974, when the club had 50 or 60 members and "looked like it would
perpetuate itself." He announced at a meeting that it was time for the members to
"take over the reigns of their own marque." Harold Lunner won the election as
the first MG president and Jerry Parkhill the first Jaguar president.
The newsletter, named by Ian, "Classical
Gas" after a popular Mason Williams tune, was distributed on a mimeographed sheet at
the second meeting. The first "Tour and Test" attracted a dozen MG’s and a
dozen Jaguars to a trailer park in Blaine, Washington in September, 1969. A highlight was
an intense drag race between an E-type Jaguar and a Barracuda. Unfortunately the finish
line was on the grass only 100 meters from an "Air Stream" trailer. Spectators
held their breath watching figure eight braking patterns being carved into the grass as the entrants narrowly missed hitting the trailer.
Slaloms Jump to Slaloms page for more info. were a large part of
the early days of the club, but they became less feasible due to a shortage of suitable
parking lots. The "President’s Run" is a popular tradition that was started
by Jerry Parkhill in 1980. Since then, each year at the end of September, the MG and
Jaguar presidents arrange a weekend trip to carefully selected locales such as Whistler,
Lac Le Jeune, Radium Hot Springs Port Townsend .
Several of those who responded to the original ad and
attended the inaugural meeting are still members. The club is unique in that it is
administered jointly with the Canadian Classic MG Club and many of the competition and
social activities are enjoyed by members of both organizations. Many members indeed own
models of both marques and qualify for listings in both Club registers. The 1999
membership totaled 186.
The club's activities cover a wide variety of events. These
include monthly social events which range from day trips through local environs to
Bar-B-Q's, picnics, wine and cheese: a number of speed events which include rallies,
slaloms, and most importantly, the Clubs annual Heritage event which offers a concours, the club's annual JCNA sanctioned
Slalom, Ralley and awards banquet. Many members journey south of the 49th to similar events in Washington State
and Oregon. The monthly meetings features guest speakers, audio-visual presentations,
technical discussions and problem solving. The Club has regular "garage tours" as scheduled to
local auto related businesses of interest to club members.
|
The Canadian XK Jaguar Register
