Eastern Packard Club Newsletter

[Packard1899]

I just uncovered several issues of the EPC newsletter from the late 90's. I was a member of that club until a Packard Club meet in 2003, when the PAC peed me off over not allowing a non-registered member attend field day at a national meet. At that point I moved on from the Packard Club. The EPC was a nice independent organization for decades. I fondly remember attending several of their dinners, shows and picnics in CT. Several of the notables in that club are sadly no longer with us. There knowledge gone forever. I fondly remember a fall meeting in Newtown, CT where Bob Turnquist gave a talk about driving 12 cylinder Packard's in a junk yard. At the time they were a dime a dozen. I will always remember that day and how friendly that bunch was. Their newsletters were a wealth of information and well written as well. Oh yes, the professional B&W photos of a featured members car was a plus.

[Joe Block]

Yes,  I use to be long for year, and live on the West Coast,  it was a good source for restoration parts for 42 limo. 

[Packard enthus.]

This fellow from Washogal, Wash.....just posted  "I use to be long for year".   Apparently in response to a three year old post about a guy who claims he heard Turnquist speak,     and "Packard Twelves were a dime a dozen".

 

Hmmm.....let's see.. oh well..it's the Internet....

 

In my own case, I am as long as I have ever been since puberty, but that's just me. 

 

As for Turnquist  saying he was driving Packard Twelves around in a junk-yard.....well....I knew Bob and Sonny personally - of all the stories I heard him tell, either to me directly,  or when I was with him and others...never heard him tell that one. 

 

For those who do not know, the Turnquists lived in Morristown, New Jersy.  The town got is name for the first colonial governor of that state - William Morris.  The Turnquists lived in the centuries-old home orig. built for the governor.  My recollection (been many years since I've stayed with them) the home was in a pretty nice section - can't recall any jankyards in the area.

 

Packard Twelves were a "dime a dozen'?  Oh well.. again....its the Internet.  Values of big old luxury cars were way down...? Well....depends on your perspective. 

 

In 1957, I paid twenty five bucks for my Packard Twelve...which was about right since it needed a battery,  & the tires were well worn.  Twenty five bucks was no dime.....in fact...if you convert it to today's purchasing power I paid around $500. for that car.  That's a lot of money for a high school kid...took some doing, mowing lawns over several summers...to get that twenty five bucks together. 

 

What happened to my own Packard Twelve?   That story is told elsewhere.  Sufficient to note it continues to do what its original designers intended....that's it with my wife and i inside,  storming thru a high mountain pass in the Colorado Rockies during a CCCA CARavan a year or so ago.....