The Antique and Classic Car Show in Utica, Pt2

This is part two of my previous post about a terrific car show we went to earlier in July. I snapped dozens of photos, but have reserved the best for you.

The winner of the event was a man from Pennsylvania. He owned this car, the amazing 1928 Isotta Fraschini. What a slick car.

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Photo Hunters: Garbage

Garbage is today’s theme. Boy oh boy. you could get REALLY creative with this one! I was tempted to snap a photo of a box full of the worst books in the world, or a photo of the current White House and Congress, or of my local school building… but I think it is wise to avoid politics today, lol. So I decided to go with *just* garbage. Although, as the saying goes, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

Here’s a photo of some garbage– er, treasure. I drove by a salvage barn on Route 20 in Madison, NY. It’s actually a cool place– they have some of the neatest things to be found there. If you are willing to dig past all the garbage.

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Don’t Blink! It’s Bouckville, NY

Maybe it was the gloomy, overcast late-winter’s day. Or maybe it was the dingy rural landscape, weather-weary and tax-trodden. At any rate, I was compelled to snap photos of this tiny little town called Bouckville, NY, as I zipped through on my way home from Hamilton, NY.

Bouckville’s only claim to fame must be its status as the location of the largest antiques show around– the Madison-Bouckville Antiques Show. People come from all over the country and the world to scour the tables, barns, tents, and antique stores during the big weekend in August. I’ve been through the area during that weekend, and it is nearly impossible to drive through the undulating crowds of antique hunters.

Traveling here in early March is another story.

The entire town was like a ghost town. Oh sure, there were signs of life around– I saw another car on the road, and the gas prices were up again– but I didn’t see a person anywhere. And I stopped to see if the Chenango Canal Cottage Museum was open– not a soul around. Read more

NYC Lawmaker Bill To Restrict Museum Firearms

Another kooky “do-gooder” in New York City wants to heavily regulate antique firearms. This could kill the museum and re-enactment business in Upstate New York.

A New York City lawmaker’s plan to regulate antique firearms like other weapons could have severe economic repercussions for museums and historical societies around the state and prevent hundreds of living history events and re-enactments staged every year.

If passed in its current form, the proposal by Democratic Assemblyman Michael Gianaris of Queens would make the state the first in the country to require owners of antique guns, black powder weapons and muzzleloading firearms to go through a background check and purchase a license, said Ralph Walker, a legislative specialist with the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association.

Presently, antique firearms are exempt from regulation under New York law. Gianaris’ plan would regulate them like handguns without exemptions for historic sites, museums, living history events, reenactments, educational programs or purposes, or interpretative events.

My question is, why do we need regulations for antique guns? Antique firearms are dinosaurs; they don’t load well, they are not accurate, and most are very old and fragile. An overwhelming amount of these guns are owned by museums and collectors. It’s not like people in the state are going to lock and load and stalk the neighborhood with an 1776 musket. You also have to use black powder and, in some cases, paper wadding, to operate them anyway. What is really going on? Why would a NYC lawmaker want to slap antique gunowners so harshly? Hmm. Could there be an ulterior motive besides doing it “for the children”??

“Many upstate communities depend upon heritage tourism as a major economic contributor. This bill would be a terrible economic loss to them … and would be a disgrace to New York state’s proud history and heritage,” said Doug Cubbison, of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum.

Such a stupid law would kill the historic Upstate re-enactment business, and cripple most Upstate museums financially. Hmm. Plus, no one is really talking about the most important issue: the right to bear arms.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.