Tampa Bay StarJune/July 2015

Coming Events

July 19, 2015Ringling Circus Museum

& DinnerSarasota, FL

August 30, 2015Buddhist Thai Temple Tour

& LunchTampa, FL

September 19, 2015Fine Scale Modeling Tour

& DinnerOdessa, FL

At The Tampa Art MuseumSee Pages 6 & 7

At The Tampa Auto Museum See Pages 8 & 9

2 June/July 2015

OfficersPresident Dan Cabrera 813-480-3484 dcabrera2@tampabay.rr.com

Vice President Paul J. Cooper 727-726-6837 PaulJCooper@verizon.net

Secretary Lynn Hutchinson 727-726-6711 dhutch@verizon.net

Treasurer Pat Tornblom 727-856-5584 ptornblom@tampabay.rr.com

Past President Dave Hutchinson

Newsletter Editor Linda B. Cooper 727-726-6837 LindaBCooper@verizon.net

ChairpersonsMembership Paul J. Cooper 727-726-6837 PaulJCooper@verizon.net

Activities Lynn Hutchinson

Photography Dave Hutchinson

Historian Lynn Hutchinson

Technical

Legal Advisor Dick Wolverton

Webmaster Dan Cabrera dcabrera2@tampabay.rr.com

SE Regional Director Pierre Hedary 407-765-2867 mbownersforlife @bellsouth.net

About the NewsletterThe Tampa Bay Section, Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Inc. publishes this bi-monthly newsletter in even-numbered months. Opinions expressed are those of the authors. Express permission is hereby granted to other Sections of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America to reprint articles contained herein, without exception. Articles of general interest are solicited for inclusion in the newsletter, and should be mailed to the Editor or e-mailed to LindaBCooper@verizon.net. Copy deadline is the first day of even numbered months.

An Overview of the ClubEstablished in 1956, MBCA has more than 20,500 members in over 84 sections across the nation. These local sec-tions organize hundreds of events each year, ranging from social gatherings to specialized technical sessions. We’re a not-for-profit organization.

Join the ClubEnroll as a member of MBCA for:One Year $49Two Years $95Three Years $139 Call 800-637-2360

Local ActivitiesYour dues include membership in the sec-tion of your choice. Each section publish-es a newsletter with news of its activities and its year-round calendars of events, in-cluding rallies, defensive driving courses, car shows, technical sessions, and dinner meetings. Many sections host special events. Any MBCA member may attend any section, regional, or national event.

Mercedes-BenzRoadside AssistanceCall 1-800-FOR-MERCEDES

24 hours a day.

NOTE: The night for the monthly business meeting is the FIRST MONDAY of each month (except for September and sometimes July & January when it moves up 1 week) and is open to all members. We go to a nearby restaurant for dinner after the meeting. Please join us and help us with your input.

Jul 6 Monday 6:30PM Business Meeting & Dinner Crown Eurocars 6001 34th Street North St Petersburg, FL

Jul 19 Sunday 3 PM Ringling Circus Museum Sarasota, FL

See details in THIS issueAug 3 Monday 6:30PM Business Meeting & Dinner Crown Eurocars

Aug 30 Sunday 1PM Buddhist Thai Temple Tampa, FL

See details in THIS issueSep 14 Monday 6:30PM Business Meeting & Dinner Crown Eurocars

Important Dates

Sep 19 Saturday 10 AM Fine Scale Modeling Tour Odessa, FL

See details in THIS issue Oct 2 Monday 6:30PM Business Meeting & Dinner Crown Eurocars

Nov 2 Monday 6:30PM Business Meeting & Dinner Crown Eurocars

Dec 7 Monday 6:30PM Business Meeting & Dinner Crown Eurocars

The Tampa Bay Star 3

President’s Message

May’s club event was a visit to the Tampa Museum of Art. Forty-three members got together to see a collection of works by Norman Rockwell. I consider him one of America’s Master Art-ists. The docents walked us through the gallery telling us about the man and the artist as we viewed his wonderful paintings. As you looked at his works, you could feel the energy and the emo-tions of the subjects he painted. No one captured life in America during that time, as he did, whether it was a magazine cover, a poster for war bonds, an advertisement, or the political climate of the time. When we completed our tour, we had an enjoyable buffet lunch on location. June took us to the Tampa Bay Auto Museum in Pinellas Park….. a private collection of automobile models mostly from France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. To earn a place in the museum, the vehicle had to represent a new innovation to the automobile industry. Dave Hutchinson took wonderful photos of the cars, as you can see in this issue; if you want to see the cars in color you can go to our Facebook page. Lunch was at the Square 1 Hamburger Restaurant in St. Petersburg. The food was very good and the company was excellent. We will go to the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota in July. Your ticket for this event will also give you access to the other museums located on the grounds. While the official gather-ing is at 3pm, Ben Berman will be there at noon with our tickets. This will afford an opportunity for those attending to take in the other museums on site. Afterwards, we will meet for dinner at Barnaby’s Seafood Restaurant. See page 4 for details. August will take us on a cultural adventure. We will visit a Buddhist Temple and Market. We have been told that it is both educational and colorful and should be an enjoyable experience. See page 5 for details. This is a FREE event!! – other than the food you might want to sample. September 19th we will visit The Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling in Odessa. See page 11 for details. October we will tour the Daytona Speedway. One of our event goals is to go to places in Florida that expose us to new cultures and educates us about our history and the people who are part of our diversity; what makes America and Florida so special. Another club event goal is to share our love of automobiles, especially Mercedes Benz. I remind you if you have an idea of a place to visit or an activity, please email us with your suggestion(s)..

Dan

Welcome New Members!Leigh Bohne • TampaMichael Cox • ClearwaterLawrence Edelstein • Spring HillHelen Sanders • Dave CityEric Thompson • Sarasota

Above are the new and renewed members from May 1 through, June 16, 2015.We look forward to meeting the new members and hope to keep seeing our renewed members at many of our events. – Editor

Renewed MembersRosmarie Bannagott • St PetersburgBenjamin Berman • SarasotaRichard Caserta • Palm HarborJim Clasen • LutzRobert Collins • Apollo BeachGary Dolin • BradentonRichard Harris • SarasotaDavid Horton • Land O LakesKevin Johnson • St PetersburgJames Jones • BradentonDaniel Konkol • Highland CityMitchell Krach • Belleair BeachEllen Lizzo • SarasotaWilliam Martin • SarasotaLance Meyerson • TampaNancilou Patton • HomosassaMark Raciappa • TallahasseeBruce Rogers • BradentonMarcia Schulz • OldsmarBernd Tessmann • Land O’ LakesJohn W Thomas • TampaPatricia Tornblom • Shady HillsRobert Yaeger • Sarasota

4 June/July 2015

Name ____________________________________________________________

Phone _______________________ Cell Phone________________________

Email ____________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________

$20/person ___________ Enclosed I/we will be staying for dinner Yes No

Make check payable to:Tampa Bay Section MBCA

Mail by July 12, 2015 to: Ben Berman

4223 MacKay Falls TerSarasota, FL 34243-4260

Ringling Circus Museum Tour & Dinner July 19, 2015

Details: Remember the excitement of visiting the circus for the first time? Their docents recreate that experi-ence when they introduce you to the history and magic of life under the big top. 40-minutes of pure joy, this tour is scheduled for us at 3:00 PM. Museum Admission includes entry to the Museum of Art, Circus Museum, Ca’d’Zan and Bayfront Gardens. The $20.00 entrance listed here is a special group rate. Ben will pay for all the tickets at the same time. For those of you who would like to see the other areas of this awesome museum, Ben will be on hand around beginning at noon with your ticket. Look for him inside the entrance.

Directions: Editor: I put the address in Google Maps, Mapquest & my iPhone and they all found the museum address. Please test your GPS/phone before the day of the event. If you are lost call the museum for directions.

Important Info WHEN: Sunday, July 19, 2015 WHERE: Ringling Museum of Art 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 941-359-5700 • www.ringling.org/ Barnacle Bill’s Seafood 5050 N Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL COST: $20.00/person for museum entrance CALL: Ben Berman • H 941-355-2469 Cell: 941-266-5814 • Bib1946@aol.com TIME: 3:00 PM for guided circus tour 4:30 PM gather for dinner RESERVE BY: July 12th

Ringling Circus Museum Tour & Dinner

The Tampa Bay Star 5

Details: Wat Mongkolratanaram (also known as Wat Tampa) is a Buddhist Thai temple located on the bank of the Palm River in Tampa. Wat Tampa was established under the auspices of the King of Thailand, His Royal Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The Temple was formally opened in May 2007

It is known for its Sunday food market. Free parking and free admission. The local Thais sets up food booths on the grounds serving authentic Thai noodle and curry dishes among others as a temple fund raiser. There is a large variety of food items – seasoned to your taste plus desserts and drinks. Most food items are $5. It is first come/first serve. It gets crowded so that is why we are coming early. The temple usually runs out of food by 1 pm. There are picnic tables near the river to eat your food. Visitors are welcome to visit and photograph the spectacular temple even if a monk is leading a service. Call Lynn and Dave Hutchinson at 727-726-6711 or e-mail to dhutch@verizon.net to let us know to expect you.

Directions: Editor: I put the address in Google Maps, Mapquest & my iPhone and they all found the Temple address. Please test your GPS/phone before the day of the event.

Important Info WHEN: Sunday August 30, 2015 WHERE: Wat Mongkolratanaram Temple 5306 Palm River Road, Tampa, FL 813-621-1669 http://wattampainenglish.com/ COST: FREE CALL: Dave & Lynn Hutchinson Cell 727-420-0424 • dhutch@verizon.net TIME: 9:30 AM -Noon RESERVE BY: August 29th

Visit a Buddhist Thai Temple & Lunch

For SaleAny member wishing to place an ad in the newsletter for au-tomobiles and/or related equipment for sale, may do so at no charge by sending a typed or printed copy to the Editor no later than the 10th of the odd number months.

FOR SALE – Bonnie & Dick Wolverton cars 2007 S-550, 55k miles, Options include parktronis backup camera, Iridium silver; all services at Crown. $26,000. 2003 SLK32 AMG black, 53k miles, all service Crown, new tires, 349 hp, very good condition. Great for driving events. $15,250. Call Dick (H) 727-896-1995, (O) 727-823-1399 or dick-wolv@aol.com

FOR SALE – 1984 500SL dark blue w/tan interiors, 2 tops, 160K miles, always garaged, 2 sets of wheels, $7,500. 727-864-1622 (St. Petersburg, FL) call Bob Alexander for apptFOR SALE - 2005 SLK 350. SUPER clean -auto -7 spd-V6 268 HP -Black -Beige interior; Harman/Kardon sounds- 21,650 miles. $21K Call John @ 941-755-9154FOR SALE - BECKER GRAND PRIX AM-FM stereo/cas-sette car radio. OEM for 1980s Mercedes, Porsche and Audi cars, perfect working condition. Checked out by Becker tech-nicians. $250. Call Dr. Anthony LoBalbo in Beverely Hills, FL at 914-548-5450.cell or e-mail: anth1634@aol.com.

6 June/July 2015

Above: Event plan-ner Linda Cooper with JoAnn Dean & Debbie CabreraLeft & below: Our docent

Rockwell Exhibit & LunchTampa, FLMay 17, 2015By Linda Cooper

Wow! If you missed the May event, did you ever miss a terrific day! Having seen a travel-ing Norman Rockwell exhibit several years

ago, I knew I was going to enjoy my day but having a docent explain his painting/scene process and how he got the “gig” doing the Saturday Evening Post cov-ers – it really pushed our visit over the top. His works and his obsession to every detail is such a wonderful history of the events of the era most of us experienced. Besides many, many Post covers there were portraits of Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower, war bond posters from WWII, and lots about the Boy Scouts as he was the illustrator for their publication. When I contacted the Tampa Art Museum to plan this event, they recommended the Sono Café located in the atrium of the Museum. I called the Café and they suggested a limited menu, as they have a small kitchen, should we go over the planned for 20-25 members; I agreed. So the week before the tour I called them with our head count of 43 members and we proceeded to discuss the menu choices. I have been planning events for our Sec-tion for 25 years and you would think I would have had the forethought to check out their menu in advance – well I didn’t. The manager proceeded to suggest that I pick 2 sandwiches and 2 salads and that the price would be fixed at $15/person in-cluding a non-alcoholic beverage but not the tip (a little high in my opinion espe-cially since one of her suggestions was a “gourmet four cheese” sandwich that was grilled! Reminded me of what my mother served with tomato soup for lunch!!). She then suggested that they could do a buffet for $19/person that included salad, hot chicken entrée, 2 vegetables, fresh fruit, and dessert. This sounded like a much better value so Paul and I decided on that option. It was one of the best lunches ever. The service was great and we had a lovely view overlooking the Hillsborough River and the Straz Center. If you are looking for a great group activity in the downtown Tampa area, keep Sono Café in mind.

All event photos in this issue taken by Dave Hutchinson.

The Tampa Bay Star 7

Below: Betty Hendrix, Len Berman & Scott Suits

Above: Charlie Sambrook, Jim & JoAnn Dean, Michael Gulick, Dan Cabrera, Bill Iseman, Paul Cooper, Bob Martino, Don Eckerson, Gary Dolin, Mary Fronst & Lynn HutchinsonBelow: Dan Cabrera

Above: Debbie & Marsh Houck, Charlie & Barbara Sambrook, Krissy Bacon, Lou Dughi, Splash & Don Eckerson, Gene & Ev-elyn Heil and Jim Dean

Above: Bob Martino, Gary Dolin, Dan Cabrera, Michael Gulick, Catherine Martino, Lynn Gulick & Lynn HutchinsonLeft: Elaine Lee & Cammie HillLeft below: Bill & Mady Iseman

8 June/July 2015

Tampa Auto Museum Tour

Pinellas Park, FLJune 6, 2015By Dave Hutchinson

Our June 6 club event was a visit to the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Pinellas Park. The Mu-seum showcases an exquisite collection of unusual

cars, impeccably restored and maintained. The club had visited this museum 10 years ago and it was interesting to notice the changes in the collection. Thirty Tampa Bay Section members joined us as knowledgeable guides John and Gary told us the history of the museum and its private collection owner, Alain Cerf. The museum has well over 50 cars. Many of the cars are one-of-a kind. Of interest to Mercedes Benz enthu-siasts, the museum had two unique 130H rear-engine Mercedes models from 1934-1936. Well known vintage brands like Cord, Citroen, Wil-ly’s, Tatra and Delorean were represented. The collection also included cars with exotic names like Delahaye, Talbot, Hanomag, Allard, Chenard and Stower. I think everyone’s favorite was the beautiful 1929 Ruxton with the mahogany paint scheme. This car was the first car out of a produc-tion that only lasted six months. My personal favorite was a black Cord with its beautiful sweeping lines and iconic hood. We were pleased to see a number of new members as well as members like Lee Vannes whom we had not seen in years. One of our new members, Robert Merrill, had once owned an Alvis. An example of that car was on display at the Museum. Following the tour almost everyone joined us for lunch at Square 1 Burgers and Bar. Everybody raved about the terrific burgers and salads. We hope that you will join us for a future event..

Above: Julian Hartzog & Sandy SchwartzRight: Tim & Marianne Gorske

Above: Event planners Dave & Lynn HutchinsonLeft: Our guide points out de-tails for Linda CooperBelow: Debbie Cabrera

The Tampa Bay Star 9

Above: Krissy Bacon & Lou Dughi browse a brochureBelow: Carolyn & Ed Jarotz check out an interior

Above: Caroline Orndorff & Lynn Hutchinson Below: Paul Cooper

Below: Scott Suits & Betty Hendrix

10 June/July 2015

Buddhist Thai Temple

Sunday

August 30, 2015

See Page 5 For Details

Member Car SpotlightSafety Harbor, FLby Dave Hutchinson

This issue’s Featured Member is Len Berman. Len and his brother Ben are active in just about everything that the Tampa Bay Section does. And both are obsessed with their cars. I think that Len tells

his story the best:

“My obsession with Mercedes Benz SL roadsters started when my brother Ben bought a very used 1958 190 SL from a classmate in 1971. Although it lasted less than a year before being sold with a blown head gasket, that car ignited the desire to have one of my own. By 1976, when

all of my friends were starting families and buying houses, I took a different tack and literally spent everything I had to buy one (that’s another story). Somehow that didn’t entirely quench the thirst, and in 1992 I took the plunge once more.

When I retired and moved to Florida at the end of 2001, the radically changed R230 SL was being introduced, so I made up my mind to buy one last SL. After protracted negotiation with more twists and turns than a mystery novel, I ended up with a 2003 SL 500, red with an off white interior, just like the previous two SL’s. Unfortunately, it had so many debilitating electrical prob-lems that Mercedes Benz ended up buying it back and replacing it with a new 2004 SL 500. It became apparent soon afterward that the first car’s problems had been caused by the dealer’s service depart-

ment, but that’s yet another story.

In the meantime, upon coming to Florida I had quickly replaced my Cadil-lac daily driver sedan with a CLK cabriolet, which was replaced by a new one in 2004 when those cars were redesigned. It was also red with an off white interior.

After a while, what was probably immediately obvious to my more rational friends and neighbors dawned on me – I had two cars so similar in style and function it was actually difficult to decide when to use one as opposed to the other. In 2006 I traded both in on the newly refreshed 2007 SL550, my last SL. Maybe.”

The Tampa Bay Star 11

Name ____________________________________________________________

Phone _______________________ Cell Phone________________________

Email ____________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________

$7/person ___________ Enclosed I/we will be staying for dinner Yes No

Make check payable to:Tampa Bay Section MBCA

Mail by September 12, 2015 to: Dan Cabrera

3016 Leila Estelle DrPlant City, FL 33565

Fine Scale Modeling Tour & Dinner September 19, 2015

Details: From their website: this center has been established to promote the art of fine scale modeling, and to share ideas, methods and techniques for the advance-ment of the hobby. We showcase models by notable model builders and artisans from around the world. The new 7800 square foot facility currently houses these spectacular displays: The Sundance Central Fn3 Railroad Visit The Sundance; Muskrat Ramble On30 Railroad View the pictures; Dolly Varden On30 Railroad and The Silverton Central Sn3 Railroad. The pictures on the website are awesome. I had a hard time choosing one for this page. Check it out at the link above - FYI it was happier opening in Chrome. The restaurant has a Facebook page – yummy pics!!Fox 13’s own Charlie Belcher completed a live broadcast from the Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling June 6th.

Directions: Editor: I put the address in Google Maps, Mapquest & my iPhone and they all found the center address. Please test your GPS/phone before the day of the event.

Important Info WHEN: Saturday, September 19, 2015 WHERE: Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling 2645 Success Drive • Odessa, FL 33556 http://www.finescalemodeling.org Pappas Ranch Restaurant 11345 State Rd 54 • Odessa, FL 33556 727-376-3336 COST: $7.00/person for tour CALL: Dan Cabrera • H 813-759-0776 Cell: 813-480-3484 • dcabrera2@tampabay.rr.com] TIME: 2:00 PM for tour 4:00 PM gather for dinner RESERVE BY: September 12th

Suncoast Center for Fine Scale Modeling Tour & Dinner

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