This story is taken from a 1999 Classic Chassis where Ron Simon is president (again) and this is his President’s Message.

The TC of Dorian Gray

With apologies to Oscar Wilde

Fortunately there are no term limits in the TC Motoring Guild so here I am again. It has been only 42 years since I last served as president.

Let me tell you a little story of how it all came about. In 1956 I had already owned my first TC for almost three years and thought that I knew a little bit about it. When I was notified by friends of a TC owned by a young lady needing help, I thought that I might be of assistance. Terry Mason, (Theresa Thome Mason), had broken the rear axle of her little silver TC again. This seemed to happen frequently. Since it was her only vehicle and being a legal secretary she drove to work in high heels making control of the clutch problematical. I helped repair the TC and subsequently became friends with Terry. A group of us would get together occasionally to natter and bemoan the lack of parts and the high costs to keep these cheap used sports cars running. The TC Motoring Guild, which had actually been formed around 1954 or 1955 was mostly inactive by 1956. Terry was in a perfect position to get things going again. As a legal secretary, she had access to that magical machine of communications in those days, a mimeograph machine. She would do chatty newsletters on legal sized paper and really stirred things up. After a while, with this newsletter and word of mouth, there were enough people to start things up again. We met in the home of Bill and Helen Stone. I was asked if I would care to be president and was voted in by acclamation, as no one else wanted the job. At first I was also treasurer. We met wherever there was a place to meet, in the Stone’s home, in local parks, and for a short time in L.A. at TC Sales & Service, which actually stood for Time Clock Sales & Service. I don’t remember now who arranged it but we finally wound up downstairs at Glendale Federal Savings in Montrose. The club progressed through the late 50′s & 60′s growing bigger and better. Our first major event being the first conclave with the Abingdon Rough Riders of San Francisco was in 1957. I was president of the TCMG and the late Lucien Remy was president of the ARR. Unfortunately, my interests changed around 1964. I had given up racing and with a growing family the TC sat unused mostly staying in the garage. I bought a used Porsche Speedster and finally sold the TC and faded away from the TCMG. Through the years following I kept in touch with Harvey Schnaer and Joe Douglass. After restoring my second TC in 1989 I decided to rejoin the club. Bobbie and I came to a meeting, which was and still is in the same place and with some of the same people attending as when we had left in ’64. Alas, the TC’s stayed the same but the people looked older. At our first meeting in 1999, I showed a video of the 1957 conclave. There were the TC’s all lined up in a row for the first time in what has now become a familiar cliché, and they look exactly the same as they do now but the people looked a lot younger. I’ve come to realize, though, that I’m having much more fun with my TC now then I ever had in the days of my youth. Long live the TCMG.