Some very sad news for members and friends of NEMO came over the Thanksgiving weekend. We heard that our dear friend Dave Newman passed away.

Dave and his wife Barbara were in Florida, finalizing their move from Kingston, Mass., and getting ready for a much-deserved retirement. They were staying in a rental property while scoping out a more permanent residence. Dave apparently died in his sleep.

Dave and Barb were very active NEMO members from the day they joined. Many of us first met them at Mini Meet East 1998, which was NEMO’s first (and remarkably successful) attempt at hosting an MME. They attended with their daughter Christa, who was just a little girl at the time, and their Canadian-spec Mini. If you have the panoramic photo from that event, you will see the Newmans on the right in the second row, five cars from the end.

In subsequent NEMO-sponsored MMEs, the Newmans were always right in the middle of things, organizing, designing T-shirts, whatever. They were always very generous with their time and support and it is hard imagining an MME without them. Dave even found an Indian restaurant for a bunch of us to go to while we were at the 2023 MME in Rochester, N.Y. (he loved Indian food and the place did not disappoint).

Dave and Barbara received the “Mini Enthusiasts of the Year” award at NEMO’s 2024 Holiday Party in Putnam, Conn., and this writer could not think of anyone who deserved the accolade more.

Before retirement Barbara was employed as a receptionist at South Shore MINI, where her love of Minis classic and modern always shone through. Meanwhile she and Dave continued to build their own collection, which at the time of their move included a Moke, their “British Open” special edition classic (as seen at Stowe’s British Invasion), and their super-rare MINI ClubVan decked out as a woodie (also seen in Stowe). The ClubVan won First Place in the MINI class, and the Newmans won the award for Best Attired Couple (see photos above).

Dave was a fan of Mini and MINI racing. He and Barbara met Paddy Hopkirk at a U.K. event in 1999, and again at the Watkins Glen Mini Festival in 2018. Paddy was a famous rally driver who won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini Cooper S, car #37. At Watkins Glen, Paddy autographed the dashboard of their British Open Mini.

Dave wrote numerous NEMO newsletter articles about MINI racing and the MINI JCW Team. He met JCW Racing Team owner Luis Perocarpi in 2017, and we featured two photos of Dave and Luis in the newsletter (and a photo of Barbara and Luis.)

Over the years Dave became famous – or infamous? – for his many postings to the NEMO Google Group containing Mini trivia that he unearthed on the Internet. Of course, that wasn’t all. If he knew you had a particular interest, you just might receive a special posting. Dave knew, for example, about my fondness for French cars, and awarded me with many tidbits about Citroëns, Renaults and the like. They always made me smile.

You’ve probably read about people being “generous to a fault,” especially in an obituary, but in Dave’s case that was no exaggeration. During the Newmans’ Top Gear party many years ago (see Faith Lamprey’s note below), Dave saw me admiring a Grundig stereo receiver that was in his garage. He told me he picked it up at a PX flea market for the princely sum of $1. I offered to buy it from him for the same price. He said okay. And $1 it was.

What! I still have that Grundig in my office and am probably listening to it right now. It only puts out 8 watts per channel, but I can turn the volume all the way up and there’s no distortion. Hey, it’s a Grundig.

Dave also found out that I was a fan of Patrick McGoohan’s TV show The Prisoner. Soon I was the proud owner of a black polo shirt with a “No. 6” patch sewn on it, courtesy Dave and Barbara. Then we started talking about The Man from U.N.C.L.E. In no time at all I received a few dozen DVDs from Dave, each with an episode or two from the series – including some I know I never saw before.

And who can forget that when Dave and Barbara went to Mini events in the U.K., where Barbara’s family hails from, they saw to it that their friends in NEMO got videotapes or DVDs of all the festivities?

All these little courtesies turn out to mean a lot to your friends, and that was Dave through and through, with plenty of help from Barbara. The world will be a much emptier place without him. Dave was a true Mini “character” in the best sense of the word and he will be hugely missed.

Here are a few thoughts from other NEMO members...

“Long story short, the owner of that old red Mini was Dave Newman. I soon had a Mini of my own, joined NEMO, and met so many great people along the way.

Dave was a standout, though, and I enjoyed caravanning to many shows with him and Barbara throughout the years. My deepest condolences to Barbara and Christa.” —Dan St. Croix

“This is so sad. They were so excited to be moving out of the cold weather and nearer to Christa. My memory of note: During our planning for Mini Meet East in 2008 [in Bethel, Maine], Dave took the moose by the horns and designed the hats (which I still have one of) featuring ‘Moose and Squirrel.’ The hats and shirts were a huge hit and they are still seen at events today.

“He also took great pride in filming the English Mini meets and making DVDs of the events for us.” —Ken Lemoine

“Dave was always supportive of one’s needs and our faithful source of anything Mini. He must have had search engines running 24/7. May he rest in peace.” —Paul Berton

“Oh no. But he just posted. This is so sad. Every bit of him was the best. Huge respect for Dave. Terrible loss to all. My deepest condolences to Barbara and the family." —Philip Darrell

“One of my favorite memories of Dave was the Top Gear party he and Barbara threw at their house in 2010. It featured many of the cool Top Gear elements — the Wall of Shame, an interactive video quiz with Richard Hammond, track time (I won!), and even an appearance by The Stig. The Stig came screaming up the driveway in a Porsche, got out, posed for pictures in his black race suit, and let us gobsmacked women sit on his lap, all the while keeping in character and not saying a word. After a while, he got back into his car and screamed off again. It was an amazing day!” —Faith Lamprey

It was the spring of 1976 when Barbara got her first Mini. She was only two years older than the Mini itself, and in much better running condition for sure. At the time her father, Scotty, was driving an Austin America, and since Scotty was from Glasgow and her mother from London, it was almost a given that her first car would be something British. About a year before she had met me, and since we started dating and got married after she let me work on that Mini, she either made a huge mistake, or I got away with being a self-taught shade tree mechanic for all these years.

When it came time to look for a car, the Mini was on her mind. Barbara had been to the UK many times with her parents and fell in love with the Mini. She has pictures of Minis from those trips in the 1960s and even has a picture of an Outspan Orange, which underneath was a Mini. So, having just got her license, it was off to the Bargain Hunter’s Guide and what popped up? A 1961 Mini 850 “needing work” — but only $250, well within the price range of a fixer-upper.

Love is blind, so they say, and it was no different here. We went and saw the car. It was pitiful. And like a puppy at the pound, its personality showed through and said, “Please take me home.” Some hands were shaken, and we arranged to rent a U-Haul enclosed trailer the next weekend to pick it up and deliver it to Barbara’s home in Weymouth, Mass.

I think Scotty had an old Dodge van with a hitch, and that is what we used to tow the enclosed trailer. We thought it would be a good idea, just pop the Mini into this 6x12 and put the brake on and leave it in gear. It wouldn’t move, would it? Tie downs? We didn’t need no stinkin’ tie downs! Well, actually, we did, but stupidity and cheapness prevailed. A few minor dents to the bumper mounting areas followed.

Brakes? Nope, no brakes, no handbrake. It would start, but the clutch master needed work and was hard to manipulate smoothly. So we pushed it into the trailer, stuck some 4x4 blocks under the wheels and off we went. Arriving at the house on a nice sunny day, we carefully pulled and pushed the car out of the trailer using planks for ramps. Another lesson in trailering — always attach your ramps somehow to the trailer or they go boom boom at the wrong times.

Now the car was out and facing the trailer. Scotty got in the car, saying he was going to back it up, turn it around and drive it to the position outside their house. Eh, Scotty, remember, no brakes. Okay, no problem. The car was in gear, the starter button on the floor was pushed and off it went. Straight into the back of the U-Haul trailer. The headlights were at ramp level. Scratch two sealed beams. So we pushed it around with Scotty driving.

Now the car was moving by its weight alone down a slight grade to the dirt area in front of the house, sort of an extension of the dead-end street. At the end was a chain link fence. Since Newton’s law of motion applies here, the Mini in motion remained in motion until acted upon by the fence. Scratch two signal lenses, and the grille fell off. Enough for that day, time to bring the trailer back (in dead silence from Barbara’s side of the van).

The next day it was time to make a list of everything the car would need in order to become roadworthy. I somehow knew of Mini City and their famous catalog, so we ordered one. We had a Haynes Manual, which was somewhat old and battered, but it came with the car.

The body was rusty, the sills had huge holes, the brakes didn’t work, the carb needed rebuilding and the battery had all but gave its last and needed replacement. The tires were not bad, and the spare was original — meaning as hard as an old rock but it held air, somewhat. The wiper blades were shot, as were the door seals, which was no problem in the rain, as it had holes in the rusty floors to allow any water to drain out as fast as it came in.

Not having any garage space to work in, all the work was done on sunny days just outside the house. I was driving a 1968 Pontiac Catalina at the time, and all my SAE tools and supplies fit handsomely in the trunk, which was about the same size as a Mini. First up, order all the parts. Then, get delivery of half of them with the rest backordered. The brakes got fixed first, then the handbrake, then the lights and turn signals, and onward to the carb. An oil change followed, and then the clutch master went out and needed a rebuild. We then fired it up and found that the radiator needed fixing, so off it came and over to the local radiator “specialist” who thought it was a “heater core” and only charged us half price of the usual service, as long as he and his overalls-clad buddies could laugh at the size of the radiator. We never dropped by with the car as promised, as we were sure the laughter would be longer and louder.

At the time I was a poor college student and working two part-time jobs, one of them at a local garage, pumping gas, installing tires, changing oil, and other minor things, so I had use of some tools as needed. As far as bodywork went, we pulled out the dents, filed down to bare metal and bought a gallon of Bondo and hardener and went at it.

Now comes the stupid part (in education circles, they call that “getting experience”). Unibody construction was not too common those days on American cars, and owning a car myself with a full frame made me think that the sills were “strong enough” even though they were missing their entire tops when looking down from an open door. We were short on funds and on Bondo but had a surplus of gravel at the end of the street. So, just like a concrete foundation on a building, we mixed up Bondo, hardener and gravel, and filled the entire sills up with this slurry. It hardened and we sanded it smooth. Voila! As far as the bottoms of the doors, which were rotted out completely, a boat fiberglass repair kit with cloth and resin fixed those nicely.

After that treatment, we had half the blue body in gray primer, so we sanded the roof, sprayed it black and then the rest of the car in primer to match, registered it, and took it to the garage where I worked for an inspection sticker. It passed. So I thought I would treat Barbara and her new car to a full tank of high-test to celebrate. I pulled the car out of the inspection bay, out to the pumps and opened the door while bragging to my boss how wonderful a Mini was. The door opened out, the window channel gave its last breath and the sliding windows fell into the space between car and door, right onto concrete. Without saying a word, my garage boss walked to the bays, got a broom and shovel and handed it to me and walked away. I had to explain to Barbara that I never checked to see if the channels were in fact attached, and looking at the passenger’s side, we saw that only rust was fastening them to the car. Duct tape was installed for the ride home, minus two left side front windows.

Now it gets better. On the way home from the inspection I was driving. The bonnet let go of the front latch at about 50mph and smashed into the windscreen. Luckily, there were no driver side windows, so I stuck my head out to see and slow down. Barbara did not speak to me for a few days, as she drove her new Mini, sans boyfriend, around town. After a few months, with repairs becoming more frequent — like wheel bearings, tie rod ends, tires, etc. — she decided to sell the car and move up to a Morris 1100. (Kind of like a fat Mini, same type mechanicals but nicer. That is another story.)

A chap from Portugal bought the car, and for the next few years drove it all around town. Where it is now we do not know, but I can assure you, the sills were never stronger than gravel-reinforced Bondo.

[Contributing editor’s note: This article first appeared in the May 2011 NEMO Newsletter. It is my favorite article by Dave.]

SUTTON, Mass., Oct. 19 — In late September, Wendy Birchmire e-mailed me about the 45th Annual Waters Farm Fall Festival. This is a two-day, weekend-long event with a large antique and classic car show on Sunday. The show was new to me, but Wendy attended last year and had a great time.

Waters Farm was built in 1757 and is a non-profit organization that holds special events throughout the year. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and aims to give visitors a glimpse of 19th century New England farm life. A lookout near the farm house has a beautiful view of Lake Manchaug and adjacent farm land.

The Fall Festival was a cross between Old Sturbridge Village and an old-time agricultural fair. There were tractor pull and ox pull competitions, antique engines and farm tractors, blacksmith and shingle-making demonstrations, barrel train rides, children’s crafts and activities, hayrides, crafts for sale, farm animal demonstrations, a farm animal petting zoo, a dog Halloween costume contest, and a very amusing “Witches Dance.” There was a variety of food vendors, plus the large multi-marque car and truck show.

The car show started at a civilized 10 a.m. It was a crisp, sunny, fall morning, and during the drive down I had to turn on the heat in my 1968 Mini Traveller.

I arrived at 9:30 a.m. and there were already a lot of cars on the show field. I parked near the far end of a long row, between a Nissan 300ZX and a 1950 DeSoto S10 sedan. Directly behind my Mini was a massive 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special. The Caddy’s tail fins were almost as big as the Mini.

A second 300ZX was parked next to the first. The cars were owned by a father and son who attend shows together.

Wendy Birchmire trailered her 1973 Union Jack Mini 1000 and Bob Brownell squeezed in next to it in his 1963 Austin Mini. They were three long rows over from my car at the opposite end.

Two other British cars were nearby, including a rare 1961 MGA Twin Cam, and a 1975 Triumph TR6. Other British cars in attendance included 1966 and 1967 Sunbeam Tigers, a 1958 Triumph TR3A, a 1965 Triumph TR4A, and a 1974 MGB.

I initially mistook a 1963 Holden EH Premier for a British car, then recalled that Holden was an Australian subsidiary of GM. The Holden may have been raced as there was an “Aussiespeed Street and Racing Products” decal on the rear window, Aussiespeed components under the bonnet, performance wheels, and an add-on tachometer. The right-hand drive car had a 115hp engine and a three-speed automatic transmission, so perhaps a previous owner just wanted some performance tweaks. This was the only Holden I have seen outside of Australia.

There were lots of American muscle cars present, a few hot rods, a beautiful 1956 Chevy Corvette, and a restored 1940 Ford Panel Truck with side mount spares located behind the front doors.

In the unusual vehicle category was a 1958 Willys CJ3B / U.S. Navy model. The Willys had four separate gear shift levers and was repainted. A restored 1979 Ford Pinto station wagon featured wire wheels and pop-out rear windows like classic Minis. There can’t be many Pintos still on the road.

My favorite American cars had lots of gratuitous chrome, massive tail fins, and preferably both. A 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville edged out a 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood for best fins. A 1957 Chevy Nomad and a 1959 Plymouth Sport Suburban were close fin runners-up. For cars that only had massive chrome bumpers, it was a toss-up between a 1947 Cadillac Fastback, a 1953 Buick Super, and a 1954 Buick Roadmaster. The Roadmaster had a slight edge due to the Dagmars, four chrome portholes, wire wheels, and an “I Like Ike” bumper sticker.

There were a few non-British foreign cars, including a Yugo with the original window sticker, a VW Dune Buggy, a VW Thing, a Honda Acty Kei truck, and a 1952 Mercedes Benz 220. The Mercedes was in pristine condition and looked like a prewar design with running boards, headlights in the front fenders, and a square shape.

It would have been easy to spend all my time viewing the show cars and chatting with owners, but there was so much more going on at the festival. There were dozens of farm tractors dating from about 1920 to the present. One person I spoke with brought six and let his grandchildren drive around the field on two of the smaller tractors. Yes, in case you were wondering, there are tractor collectors.

The tractor pull was a popular spectator activity with multiple grandstands on a hill overlooking the course. Tractors are grouped in different classes based on their weight. They pull a large sled filled with heavy concrete blocks along a 100-meter track. For each round, additional blocks are added to the sled. Tractors that can’t pull the weight are eliminated, and the furthest pull wins. There is definitely a fair bit of skill involved to avoid spinning the wheels, and popping wheelies was common when getting the sled moving.

About twenty costumed witches and one warlock participated in a choreographed Witches Dance. They danced with brooms or magic wands to a variety of pop music and hip-hop tunes, often singing along. The costumes were elaborate and many dancers wore bright red wigs.

The entire Dance lasted for about 25 minutes, which was impressive considering the participants were middle-aged and older. The final song was the theme from the Bewitched TV show. There was a large appreciative audience, and the witches invited people to join in at the end.

I will be sure to include the Waters Farm Festival on the 2026 event calendar. The car show takes place on Sunday. There is plenty to keep young children or grandchildren busy.

The link is https://watersfarm.org/.

Be sure to visit the Gallery to view more photos.

The NEMO Holiday Party will be held at The Crossings Restaurant, 45 Main Street in Putnam, Conn., https://crossingsbrewpub.com/. The date is Saturday, December 6th, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

This is a new restaurant for us this year. It is in downtown Putnam. We have reserved their heated patio — just for us. And they reportedly have a great selection of draft beers. Thanks to Dave Black for arranging all this!

We need a head count, so RSVP by e-mail to faithlamprey@gmail.com, or call or text me at (401) 651-5576 ASAP (by 11/29 at the latest). Let me know the names of who will be attending (and ages of any kids). We will be ordering off the menu.

To the delight of many, we will be holding a Yankee Swap so plan to bring a wrapped gift (try to keep the cost below $35). A Yankee Swap means that someone else may “take” your gift when it is their turn to pick. (Warn your kids so they don’t get upset if this happens!) You get to pick a gift for every gift you bring (please, no more than one per person or the party will never end).

Our Holiday Party is one of our more popular events every year and this central location in Connecticut is convenient for the majority of our members. Hope to see you there!

NORTH FRANKLIN, Conn., Oct. 26 — An eclectic mix of nine cars got together in eastern Connecticut on a brisk October morning for the Fall Cruise organized by NEMO member Sebastien Geerens, his father-in-law Mike Bailey, and friends Jethro and Sheldon.

The starting point was Arrowhead Acres in North Franklin, and it was there that the tour ended up after about three hours on roads that took us through quaint towns down to the coast, over to a covered bridge, and back again for lunch.

It was what one NEMO member called “a spirited drive,” led by Mike in a Triumph TR6, with four classic Minis, a MINI Clubman, a second TR6, a GTI, two motorcycles, and even a Corvette. Among the NEMO people and friends attending were Steve and Tony Borges, Dave Black, Greg Mazza, Jon Gardner and Barbara Salome, Faith Lamprey and I, and, of course, Sebastien.

The tour kicked off a few minutes after 9am, with the first stop being for petrol and provisions at a nearby convenience store that sold virtually everything – even fine cigars if you were so inclined. Turn left once you walked through the door and there were donuts and coffee to be had at a Dunkin’ installation, turn right and there was the rest room (in anticipation of a relatively long drive). Walk back outside and there were the gas pumps. Faith topped off our ’67 Mini, on its maiden voyage since getting it back from the Borges’ shop, while I picked up a snack to tide us over till lunch.

Lest our line of cars get separated at a traffic light, we downloaded the route map on our phones before we left for the tour. There were no paper copies so if you did not have a phone (or were technologically challenged like me), you needed to follow someone closely who did, and have them watch for you in their rear-view mirror just in case. Fortunately, I had Faith riding with me, who is technically savvy and actually enjoyed this high-tech aspect of the trip. I must admit it all worked out well. No one got lost.

The cloudy skies turned sunny less than halfway through the tour. Most of the foliage was still on the trees and downright gorgeous. The roads were smooth, curvy and pothole-free – very Mini-friendly.

There were two stops along the way, the first to regroup and refresh at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, the second to visit the Old Comstock Bridge, a covered bridge in East Haddam dating back to the 1840s. It was there that Jon revealed he used to live in the area and go fishing with his dad on the very river the bridge traversed – a lovely spot.

Upon our return to Arrowhead Acres we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch. Faith, Jon, Barbara and I ordered the turkey bacon club sandwich on the café’s own artisanal bread, highly recommended! Since Arrowhead Acres is also a winery, Faith and I treated ourselves to a refreshing glass of wine.

The Fall Cruise was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday in late October. Many thanks to Sebastien and his friends for making it happen, and to all the NEMO members who by participating made it a success.