| 10/12/2004 - I had known Asa since 1966 when Ocean Bay was just getting off the ground as a new chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, then known as the Massachusetts Rhode Island Chapter. We were both then in our early 20’s, hard to believe! I was dating my wife, Elaine and Asa was dating his wife, Sharon. It is difficult to realize where all the time has gone. In those days a handful of us would meet from time to time on the lawn of the Larz Anderson Museum (The Museum of Transportation) in Brookline Massachusetts. Asa and Sharon would make the long trip up from Connecticut to spend the time with fellow Studebaker enthusiasts quite often. I can remember Asa and Sharon at a 1967 meet in their |
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1958 Golden Hawk at Mt Ascutney in Vermont when the Twin Spokes Chapter (now Tri Spokes Chapter) was getting up and running. I can remember going down to Connecticut in those early years for meets that Asa had set up. No matter where we all met Asa was always there, you always knew when he was present. Asa did a lot in those early years to keep the camaraderie of Studebaker enthusiasts going.
One of my favorite memories of Asa was in the late 80’s when some of the members of Ocean Bay teamed up with the Nutmeg Chapter to do a Driving Tour of northwest Connecticut and end up at Asa and Sharon’s home in Litchfield CT. We had a good number of Studes and when we turned in Asa’s driveway and parked on his lawn the smile on his face will forever be etched in my mind. He welcomed us with great enthusiasm. He always enjoyed the beauty, design and engineering of Studebaker whether it was a horse drawn wagon, a stylish automobile or a good old truck!
Asa and Sharon had traveled up to Ocean Bay’s Northeast Zone Meet on September 11th this year. I never had a chance to talk to him or even see him, I was on the show field judging all afternoon. Elaine did have the opportunity to talk to them since she was on the registration table that day. Asa and Sharon had another engagement that day and would have to leave early. They just stopped by to say hi and take a quick look at the Studes. Asa told Elaine that he owed me a phone call and he would be in touch soon. I had called Asa a few weeks prior to the Zone Meet to ask him to bring something special to the meet since it wasn’t too far from his home, but I only got his answering machine. When Elaine had told me that she had seen Asa and Sharon, I felt badly that I didn’t have a chance to talk to them as well.
For some reason they were on my mind all afternoon and that night too. They were old friends and I only saw them on occasions like Zone Meets once a year, but it was always good to see them. Asa always gave me encouragement in whatever I was doing for the club and in my efforts to keep Studebakers alive and in the public eye.
When I received the news of Asa’s untimely death, it really shook me up. I knew that Asa’s health was not good but to have his life shortened even more by an untimely auto accident really hit me hard.
Asa will be missed by his family, friends and all the many people he met, even briefly, while enjoying his interest in the transportation field. Asa had a lifelong interest in Studebakers and wheeled transportation and their history. His collection of antique vehicles included three horse drawn vehicles, thirteen farm tractors, and thirty-six motorized antique cars and trucks. Asa was co-author of the hard cover book THE STUDEBAKER CENTURY which went through five printings over a period of twelve years. Additionally, he authored numerous articles on Studebaker history.
Thanks Asa for all your contributions and good works – you will be missed.
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