Lorne,
I agree with your assessment. I was a member of the MSSC for about ten
years, faithfully paying my membership and faithfully waiting for issues of
Miscellany to appear in the hope of some relevant technical information.
What I received instead was a monthly compilation of events by various
member clubs, occasionally some technical information, and some photographs
to drool over. This is not intended to be a put down of the magazine or of
the organization; it's just that they are aimed primarily at the UK. I
think that the best information I've obtained from Miscellany was the
address of Melvyn Rutter (so I could order a catalog) and the address of a
B&B in Great Malvern (which I used when I visited "the works.")
I've found the Morgan list and the various web pages devoted to Morgans of
much greater use. One advantage is their immediacy in that electrons move
faster than Canada Post (Quick: Why does Canada Post not get into e-mail?
Because they have not yet found a way to slow down electrons). With the
increased availability of e-mail and high resolution printers,
Internet-based information will be ideal for those of us who live "out in
the boonies."
I see printed-and-mailed information becoming more and more of an
anachronism. Note that the Morgan Company is also using more and more
advanced techniques in building their cars. I wonder how long it will be
before they start impregnating their ash and plywood with monomers and
polymerize them using electron beams to generate wood frames that are not
vulnerable to rot. But I digress.
Local clubs are nice, but you need a "critical mass," i.e., a high enough
Morgan owner-aficionado concentration to make it work. The Canadian prairie
provinces and US Plains states don't draw Morgan owners and the best we can
do is to look with a certain degree of envy at successful clubs elsewhere
where the roads are winding and the weather is more benign and to visit the
various Morgan web pages.
Chuck Vandergraaf
'52 +4
Pinawa, MB
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From: LMG@GoMoG [SMTP:gomog@angelfire.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 8:50 AM
To: CHarris990@aol.com
Cc: Morgan List
Subject: Re: for Joe Deluca and all the clubs
---
LMG
GoMoG at
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/GoMoG/
On Mon, 9 Aug 1999 23:36:26 CHarris990 wrote:
Why not just join the MSSC? The Texas clubs are
members and TexMog is one of the centers. We will be
glad to provide any information you require. If you
really need to send lots of money to someone, Bill
Boyles our hereditary treasurer will be glad to join
you up, then besides the Miscellany you can receive
our award winning publication the Mog Log. This will
also give you a right to accept Bob Nogureas case of
beer bets, (bet I can get to Tierra del Fuega before
you can, bet I won't have as many flats as you if we
make a lightning Alaska run, etc.).
Harris
Hi,
For quite a while Tony's Morgan Registry, John Blair's
site and the GoMoG site get as many daily hits as all
other Morgan sites put together or approximately 30
times the MSSC site this week. By word count alone, the
three sites would swamp a ten years' worth of MSSC's
Miscellany issues ..and there are no ads.
It also goes without saying that this List is active
and valuable..and it too is free.
This all costs the Morgan Community here nothing... but
we could do even better with a little help.
With that in mind, is it a fine idea to keep paying
70US to MSSC? MSSC dues resources are enormous compared
to any North American club or all of us combined for
that matter. Yet those resources satisfy our community
less than 1 time in 30 compared to the free resources
offered by our home grown enthusiasts in North America?
In spite of its present problems,MSSC has a vital place
in the Morgan community overseas. I can understand
some owners here having sentimental attachments which
are nurtured by paying "lots of money" to the MSSC. I
respect that. But it is not a "money-value" decision.
Normally one wants to pay less and get more. We could
do a lot with a little here.
We should not reinvent the MSSC here. We should simply
ask ourselves at this point whether we like the
on-going interaction we have all created here on the
internet, and do we want to expand it, coordinate it,
involve the clubs in it and have more fun. So far it
costs nothing.
Alternatively, we can pay the 70$ and wait by the mail
box for our next issue of Miscellany from England.
OR we can support both AND STILL have the right to
accept Bob Nogueira's beer bets.
LMG
Angelfire for your free web-based e-mail. http://www.angelfire.com
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