Had a great time yesterday. Weather was nice. I was really happy I put the windows in my BesTop since it was 25 degrees on the way down. It was fun to see some new guys and see Landsharks amazing Bronco find. This may have been the longest Breakfast yet as it almost turned into lunch. I didn't get any pics of the Broncos in parking lot, but I did find a kick-ass place for a Bronco Photo Shoot. It is an old abandon factory that would be a great backdrop.
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The new Member of The Month was announced as well - I will leave that announcement up to Gregg.

Had to leave a little early...but did snap some pics....

One more...

It was a great time. Got to chat with a bunch of great guys and gals as usual. I didn't want to dig out the Bronco from it's hiding place so just drove the truck.

That is the old Gates rubber factory building. It was slated to be torn down and turned into housing, but those plans were placed on indefinite hold when the housing market went belly up. A hospice patient I took care of worked there for a bunch of years. They made rubber and stuff out of rubber (go figure) like v-belts. The area is heavily polluted with asbestos, PCBs, and trichloroethylene from years of manufacturing with super-toxic stuff and the costs of the toxic cleanup were a central part of what put the redevelopment on hold. The patient I worked with had a weird cancer, probably from being a secretary there. Still, a pretty interesting building. I'd love to go in and take a look around, but the cops keep a fairly close eye on it after a guy died falling down an elevator shaft in 2008. If we could find a legal way to get close enough it would be a really cool spot for a photo shoot.

My mom retired from there. She used to work in the print shop printing all the manuals and sales stuff for Gates. Print shop was one of the last things to go, besides the clinic (yes they even had their own clinic and doctors for company healthcare). We had a few neighbors when I was growing up that worked there as well. I am surprised it hasn't been torn down before now.

Justin, they just recently had a teen fall through the roof and get hurt so they can't watch it to close.

As mentioned they have been trying to figure out a way to clean up the ground pollution. I guess there is a huge area down in the lower levels as well as in the ground itself that has a massive amount of liquid chemicals sitting in it and they dont know how they are going to get it out. I also hear the place is full of asbestos and coupled with the chemicals the clean up budget is astronomical.. so it sits rotting..

they have security 24/7 there now. A client of mine is across the street in the newer office buildings and I get all the juicy toxic info..

Glad you guys had a good time! The South group did too. No pictures were taken and Corey was the only one of the three of us in his bronco. I wasn't man enough to drive mine topless. Enjoyed a good breakfast and great company and kicked the tires a bit!

J.D.

It was fun talkin with the crew and checking out the broncos. Met a few new faces. Good times. Been real busy the last few months and it's nice to be in good company.

Sorry we missed it! We were in Korea searching for EB's! Did not see any........

November Member of the Month is over in the Chit Chat area.