LVCC History
We had the pleasure of interviewing LVCC's very first President, Ed Hohe, at the 2012 Das Awkscht Fescht car show.
Ed recalled that LVCC was formed when a group of local Corvair guys
kept on bumping into each other at car shows in the Valley. After the big
Philadelphia CORSA Convention in 1976, they decided it would be good to
form their own Corvair club where they could trade their experiences on a
more regular basis.
Dick Lehman hosted the first LVCC meeting at his home in Bethlehem. There were about a dozen members at that time. Ed, Dick Lehman, Randy
Kohler, Louie Bauer, Ben Daubert, Dick Weidner, and Jerry & Kathy Lopez
were among them. There was a guy with a pony-tail, too!
After the early meetings at Dick Lehman's house, LVCC moved it
headquarters to Gutshall Chevrolet in Hellertown. Members of the club used
to caravan to East-coast CORSA conventions, go on picnics, and camp-out at
Carl Moore's woods in Mohnton, PA. Ed recalls that he pitched his tent
under chestnut trees and that made for a lumpy mattress!
Some time around 1982, Bill Krause founded the neighboring Pottstown
Area Corvair Enthusiasts (PACE) club, and Ed switched him membership. There were no hard feelings; it was just a matter of convenience because
Ed lived in Coopersburg, which is a lot closer to Pottstown than
Allentown. PACE remained an active chapter of CORSA until 1995. By the
way, although Bill Krause was the leader of PACE for years, he has
also maintained his membership in LVCC. Bill was among the many Corvair
people in attendance at Das Awkscht Fescht this year.
During the interview, Ed also spoke about the Corvairs he
has owned over the years. He estimates that he has held title to more than
300! He recalls that he bought his first Corvair - a 1966 low-mileage Monza coupe - for a mere $600 back in 1970. It remained his primary
transportation vehicle for four years. It was the start of a
collection that included Spyders, Corsas, Fitch Sprints,
Greenbriers, and a whole lot more. Perhaps the most unusual of his Corvairs was a Rampside with the factory camping package. Yes, a Rampside
camper, not a Greenbrien camper. It served as Ed's hotel room and sleeping
quarters during the '76 Convention!
Ed also told the story of how he obtained the very first Classic Car
license plate issued in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He skipped work
to wait in line for it in Harrisburg on the date it was issued. His good
fortune was reported in the Allentown Morning Call newspaper, and when he
returned to work, one of his co-workers saw the article and squealed on
him! But Ed says it was worth it. He still has it, and it is now affixed
to the rear of his Buick Reatta. We have to get Ed back into our club so
he can put his Classic Car plate back on a Corvair where it belongs!
Additional LVCC History Facts.
As noted above, Dick Lehman was another of our club's founding members.
Dick was instrumental in bringing Corvair enthusiasts together in the
Lehigh Valley section of Pennsylvania. Here are facts from LVCC record
books:
First meeting of the club occurred on September 15, 1976 at 327 Montgomery
St Allentown, PA. Dick Lehman, Larry Yoder and Joseph Robinson were
present.
Second meeting also occurred on Montgomery Street in Allentown. Same three
people attending.
Third meeting was held at Dick Lehman's home 1326 High Street Bethlehem,
PA. Eight persons attended. Early officers included Larry Yoder,
Dick Lehman, Dick Weidner and Ed Hohe.
On January 11, 1977, LVCC held its first meeting at Gutshall Chevrolet in
Hellertown, PA.
n February 8, 1977, LVCC sent its Club Constitution to the Corvair Society
of America (CORSA).
On July 1977, CORSA conferred Chapter Status on LVCC, making LVCC an
official Chapter of CORSA.
In August 1977, LVCC appeared for the first time as a recognized car club
at Das Awkscht Fescht in Macungie, PA.
In 1978, Dick Lehman was elected President of the club. His term as
President lasted from September of 1978 until September of 1979. Dick
Lehman was re-elected as President in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985. Dick remained active in LVCC throughout the years until June of 1992. He
served our club for many years and we'll remember him fondly.
The Fifth Wheel, LVCC's Newsletter.
Early LVCC Newsletter Editors included Randy Kohler, Randall Murray, Ed Gallagher, Dave Riddle, San Yoder, and more recently, Wes Heiss and Allan Lacki. A big thank-you to all the people who have kept LVCC an active Corvair club since those early days in 1976!
This web page was last updated 11/02/23 by redbat01@verizon.net