2015 Dustoff Tour

      The 2015 Dustoff Tour, Sunday April 3, was on a perfect Spring day, after the winter to end all winters.  The destination was perfect as well.  The ride took us through rural Rhode Island, into even more rural Connecticut, ending at Ed Parry's Black Heart Long Arms Co. in Eastford CT.  Ed builds collector quality Kentucky and Pennsylvania flintlock rifles.  Ed gave us an interesting lecture on the design and building of the rifles, while his wife Karen, gave a demo of revolutionary war era open hearth cooking.
      Ed and his wife were gracious hosts, between Ed's lecture and demos of the rifles, to Karen's delicious baked goods, cooked on the open hearth.  Our thanks to them for a great destination for our tour.
      Our return trip ended at The Pines restaurant in North Smithfield, where we all enjoyed a meal of family style chicken with fries, pasta, salad and desert.
      Thanks to Bob and Evie Osborne for some of the following photos, with others from the Black Heart Long Arms website.
      Enjoy!

We Made It!

More of the Group

Time to Put the Top Down

Copy of an 18th Century Home, Both In and Out



Ed With One of His Creations

In the Field, the Way They Are Meant to Be

Lock Detail

Beautiful!

Small, Medium, and Large

 

Living Room

Kitchen, Stone Hearth

 

Lunch Time

 

End of a Great Day

 

      Attendees Included:

 

 John and Dawn Mennucci

Ken and Carol Trudel

Ruth and Gene Andre and Bill and Pat Emmes

Bob and Evie Osborne

Al and Sandy Bowder

John Leite and friend

Frank, April and Pilar Almieda, Alyssa Forget

Susan Dunn and Jessica Valentino

Jason Landry and Joe Roy

Ray and Rosalie Pagliarini

Don and Sue Pillsbury

Moe and Janice Rousseau

Dave Peck and Joyce Armstrong

Jeff Larsson and Joanne Esposito

 

Thanks for taking a look,

 

John Mennucci

 

 





In Memoriam

John McDevitt

1931-2015

 

John made the Little Rhody club truly a family affair, with his wife and sons with their wives active at club functions.  John's family organized our trips to Plymouth, and provide many tasty dishes for the pot luck supper etc.  With a good word and smile for everyone, John will be missed by us all.

Early Pedestrian Safety Device Demonstrated

Thought you might find this interesting... There are several pictures in January's Quail Tales about this.

Below is a video of an early Pedestrian Safety Device demonstration.  Enjoy!

 Bridget Driscoll apparently was the first pedestrian killed in an accident in 1896 when she was struck by a car belonging to the Anglo French Motor Carriage Company in London.

Henry Bliss was the first to die in America in 1899 when he stepped off a streetcar and was hit by an electric powered taxicab in New York City.  

Shortly thereafter inventors probably went to work on some of  the first of many Pedestrian Safety Devices that were built and tested in the last century.  Some of the earliest devices were patterned after the pilot or cowcatcher as it was commonly known, and first used on locomotives in the early 1800's.  Only three of the many types of the devices that have been designed and built over the years are shown here along with a video shown below...all of them appear to be aimed at low speed city traffic where the pedestrian was still likely to be injured, but the device might save their life by preventing them from getting run over



See additional pictures below..

 The device above mounted on a Motel T Ford Taxi Cab

was a simple guard constructed of metal and mesh. 

It was patterned after a cowcatcher and was used to deflect,

catch and keep the pedestrian from ending up under the car.

 The Man-Catcher above outfitted with comples guards and

long fenders once again prevents the person from being run over.

Another design for pedestrian safety

Christmas Party 2014

     The 2014 Christmas  Party was at the West Valley Inn on December 6, 2014.  As usual with Little Rhody events, food and friendship ruled the night.  The blessing for the meal of family style chicken, salad, and pasta, lead off by the Inn's famous Italian Wedding Soup was given by honorary member Marylyn Ricci.
     Members brought Toys for Tots donations in lieu of gifts to individuals, and my quick count came up with a lot more gifts than attendees.  Richard Mowrey collected the gifts for delivery to Toys for Tots central.
     President Dawn Mennucci awarded the Carol Hathaway Burns award to Ray and Roselie Pagliarini, and, by popular vote for the second year in a row, the Herb Allen Award to Bob and Evie Osborne.
     Officers and committees were voted into office by the customary one vote cast by club Secretary, John Mennucci.
     There were 52 attendees for the evening.

Enjoy the pictures!

Dawn Starts the Ball Rolling

Officers and Committees for 2015

"Special" Archie Award Given by Al and Dale Silvia as Well as the Herb Allen Award

Roselie  and Ray get the Carol Hathaway Burns Award

Santa and Mrs. Claus

Santa Turns Over the Toys to Richard

One of Two Tables Full of Toys For Tots

Santa Works the Crowd

Archie Award

 Click on a picture to enlarge.

Sakonnet Vinyards Tour, October 26, 2014

It was a beautiful day, perfect for a tour to the Sakonnet Winery in Little Compton, RI.  Club members met at the Newport Grand Slots.   Al Silvia led the tour through the back roads and former farm lands of Middletown and Portsmouth then meeting up with more club members in Bristol, RI at Tweet Balzano’s for a fabulous lunch.  Twenty one members attended the luncheon.  There was a grand selection of menu items and the food was delicious and enjoyed by all!  We all then jumped back in our vehicles to continue to Little Compton.  There were 5 model A’s and various vintage vehicles on the tour.

We arrived at the winery just in time for the tour of wine making.  It was educational and it’s best if we leave the wine making up to the experts.  After the tour, a few of us enjoyed some wine tasting and some enjoyed  ice cream at Gray’s Ice Cream, a great way to end the day!

Enjoy the pictures.

As usual, click on a photo to enlarge.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking a look

Al and Dale Silvia