From the Editors

We’ve gone retro!  In honor of the 40^th anniversary of our newsletter and the 30^th anniversary of the Road Chatter name, we decided to take you back a few years with this special nostalgia edition.  We hope you enjoy it!

Early this month we were pleased to learn that the editors of Old Cars Weekly recognized the Road Chatter as a Golden Quill award winner for the second consecutive year.  We are proud to accept this recognition on behalf of all NIRG members.

This month we wrap up the story about the history of our newsletter.  Since January, we have been asking the following questions:

When was the NIRG newsletter started?

What was it originally called?

How did it become the Road Chatter? When?

Who benefitted from the new name?

Were other names considered?

In February we answered the first question:  When was the newsletter started?  The answer is February 1969.  Last month we explained that initially there was never really a formal name – just “The Newsletter” or “V-8 Newsletter.”  We also challenged readers with a contest to answer:

 How did it become the Road Chatter?  When?

The results are in!  Well, not really – we did not receive any guesses.  So read on for the rest of the story and the answers to all the remaining questions.  Thirty years ago this month, Newsletter Editor Diane Wrobel announced a contest to name our newsletter and come up with a logo.  She gave examples from some of the other regional groups, including the Omaha Region’s Vapor Lock, Western New York’s Greyhound Express, and Mission Trail’s Deuce News.  Entries were to be sent to the editor or brought to the May meeting with the winner being revealed at the June 12 meeting.

On June 12 the newsletter officially became the Road Chatter.  1977 NIRG President Ray Tognarelli of Lombard was declared the winner by a vote of members present with the name and the logo shown above.  His prize was a paid-up membership for 1980.  Honorable mentions went to Chuck Wrobel for The Greater V-8er, to Bob Iverson for Running Board News, and to Bob Tessarolo for Spirit of V-8.

With apologies to the late Paul Harvey, now you know the rest of the story.  We are proud to carry on the legacy of the NIRG newsletters, from the early typewritten pages, through the early years of the Road Chatter, to the full-color editions of the current years.