Hamilton Chapter Monthly Meetings

 March 17th  Meeting

 

We will be meeting at 10 a.m. at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope. Join us for brunch after the meeting.   

 Contact: Peter Downey 905-869-2141, email: PresidentHamiltonsdc@gmail.com.

Website: www.thehamiltonchaptersdc.ca

Find us on Facebook

 

Studebaker Drivers Club 2024

 International Meet

June 24, to June 29

Website: https://studebakersiowa.com/

Dubuque Iowa

http://www.sdcmeet.com/

Executive and SDC Contacts 

Meetings

Membership Roland Lusted Award

Lady Participant of the Year 

Links Classifieds
Articles From the Past History of Studebaker In Canada

Members' Cars

 

Newsletters

Shipping Studebakers in Crates From Hamilton in 1965

February  Minutes

 
 

Studebaker Commander

1966 4 Door Cruiser

 

Arthur Eggert, then a 39 year employee, cuts the ribbon as the first car, a champion 4 door sedan, comes off the line on August 18, 1948. These models were built from 1947 to 1949 and included two door coupes, 4 door sedans and convertibles.

Photo courtesy of Gloria Stowe pictured on the left of this picture holding the ribbon. She is wearing a dress that she made the night before the ceremony for the first car off the line.

This is the last Studebaker produced at the Hamilton Plant. It was painted Timberline Turquoise and  came off the line on March 17, 1966.  Currently, this car has been restored and is on display at the Studebaker National Museum in South  Bend Indiana.  Our chapter sponsors this vehicle each year.

 

Our chapter is very social, and we endeavour to have fun activities throughout the year. We have cruises to other automotive related meets, go on various tours, or sometimes just cruise to a park for a picnic. We organize five- or six-chapter events each year, some of which tie in with other chapters in Canada and the U. S. In September, we have hosted a Fish Fry at one of our member’s son’s catering business.   

The Hamilton currently hosts a website which debuted in 2005 and contains much information about our chapter and its role in both Hamilton and the Studebaker community. We have also maintained a Facebook page since 2015. This page gets many hits and lets our chapter be known in the community.  

Currently, our club has quite a few Studebakers which are being restored by our members, most of whom already have one that they are driving and enjoying. A look at our members' cars listed in the sidebar will illustrate just how many beautiful vehicles our club members currently own. In addition, a number of our members who have restoration and mechanical skills assist, and give advice to other members when requested. Once or twice a year we have tech sessions to help our members understand various components of the automobile and how they work. Something else that is very beneficial to us is that we still have club members who worked at Studebaker Canada. This brings a great wealth of knowledge and a historical perspective of the Studebaker automobile to our club.  

The Hamilton Chapter's mission is to promote good fellowship within our chapter, to preserve and maintain the Studebaker name, its history and the vehicles that they produced. We also endeavour to promote our club and the Studebaker Drivers Club whenever we have the opportunity to do so.  

In 2016, our club with the support of Ontario Chapter SDC, the Canadian Avanti Owner's Association, the Studebaker National Museum, and the Studebaker Drivers Club dedicated a plaque to commemorate the Studebaker production facility in Hamilton. The plaque is installed at the corner of Wentworth St. and Mars Ave. in a parkette adjacent to the former Studebaker plant. It is 24 inches by 36 inches and faces what is now going to be the Freeman Industrial Park. The Hamilton Chapter has applied to have a street within this facility named after Studebaker. When the industrial park is completed, one of the streets will be named "Studebaker Place". This street is located at Victoria Ave and Studebaker Place and is the main street in this industrial complex. In the History of Studebaker In Canada, you will be able to see a copy of the plaque.

Owning a Studebaker is not a prerequisite of becoming a member of the Hamilton Chapter, however, membership in the Studebaker Drivers Club Inc. is.  If you have any questions or wish more information, please get in touch with us.

In closing, we hope that you will enjoy your "cruise" through our site and that you will find it informative and interesting.

Sincerely, 

Peter Downey

President, Hamilton Chapter SDC

 

 

How the Hamilton Chapter Began

By Bob Barrick  

My 1st recollection of any mention of a new chapter being considered was at a Ontario chapter function held in June of 1988. I was relatively a new member of the Ontario chapter since I joined in the fall of 1986 and didn’t know a lot of the members yet. I had taken a few pictures at this Studebaker outing, like I usually do, and because I labelled the one photo is the only reason I know what time frame this all took place…..June 1988

Ernie Preece was the President of the Ontario chapter at this time and it was his dream that there should be a more local chapter in the Hamilton area since Hamilton was the home of Studebakers we all were so proud of . Ernie felt that Ontario was just to big an area for only one chapter and that a lot of the membership wouldn’t or couldn’t drive their cars such a distance to local meets in different areas of the province and Hamilton being fairly central and the home of the Studebaker plant, it would make sense. It made sense to me at the time!
Anyways getting back to the economy run, we all met at 50 Rd Truck Stop at Fruitland along the QEW that morning and since I along with a few others were early we went inside to have a coffee, this is when I heard Ernie mention his ideas about forming a new chapter. He was getting peoples feelings about the idea especially the locals around the Hamilton area, guys like George Wingfield, Matt Friend, Gene Madjanovich, George Mills, Kevin Mullet, Al Stevenson, myself and I’m sure there were a few more that day. I remember Ernie being a bit cautious mentioning it to me since I was fairly new, and he didn’t know me very well. I remember him telling me to keep it “under my hat “.

There were some people he didn’t want this to get out to or the idea of a new chapter would have got squashed. …..I was all in!
I’m not exactly sure of how many SDC members you needed to form a chapter but this is what Ernie was doing that day ….recruiting members .
Total credit has to go to Ernie Preece for his insight in forming the Hamilton Chapter and by October 1988 we had our new meeting headquarters in one of the old hangers at the Hamilton Airport ( see photos)……..and that my friends is how it all got started. Currently, we still have a number of the original members today and we continue to meet at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.
 

Respectfully Submitted by: Bob Barrick

Photos courtesy Bob Barrick

 

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12/19/2023 11:42:18 AM

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