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About Us...
Information about Our AACA Ankokas Region Car Club
We are a local region of the national organization, Antique Automobile Club of America and are celebrating our 61st anniversary as a chapter in 2025. Besides group tours we continue to hold a Charter Luncheon in the spring, a Tailgate Party/meeting in June, the Haddonfield Auto Show in September, a breakfast meeting in November and a Holiday Party in December. Members have attended an air show in Burlington County, various holiday parades in several local towns, trips to auto museums, and charity fund raisers at several nursing homes and other facilities. Ankokas has an excellent periodic newsletter, Smoke Signals, which is available to members via direct mail or in color on the Internet. Regular Chapter meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM. Our new meeting location is at Gateway Classic Cars, 195 9th Ave., Runnemede, NJ 08078. Director meetings are held on an as needed basis depending upon our business needs. The appropriate people are notified of a meeting date. All are welcome to attend this meeting but let our president know you are coming.
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Interested?
Ready for fun, good company and a little work? Join our region. It's easy and can be done on this web site. We are always ready to welcome new members. Find out how by visiting the Join Ankokas web page on this web site. Please be aware that you are also required to be a member of the national organization, AACA to be a local chapter member.
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History - 1960s'
In a letter dated November 16, 1964, Dr. Roland Stratton, Charles Angle, Tom Harris, and Russ Zelley invited people who were interested in forming a regional club affiliated with the Antique Automobile Club of America to attend a meeting on November 25 at the home of Dr. Stratton on High Street in Mount Holly, NJ. As a result of the meeting, a letter dated December 12, 1964, accompanied by an application signed by 17 individuals, was sent to John Lambert, then the Vice President-Director of Regions for AACA. The National AACA Board approved the application at its February 1965 meeting. The dues were $2.00 and the following individuals were elected the first officers of the region: Dr. Stratton - Director, Thomas Harris - Vice Director, Russell Zelley - Secretary, and William Johnson - Treasurer. The first Charter Night was held in April 1965 at the Fireside Tavern in Mount Holly with about 80 people in attendance. The first organized region activity was the Apple Blossom Run at Cole and Ginger Rogers' apple orchard; nineteen cars drove from Mount Holly to Southampton, NJ. The first car event was an antique car show held in conjunction with the Cooper Hospital Horse Show in September 1966. This event, held at the Garden State Park, had 153 cars participating. Two region members received an AACA Duryea Cup Award - for outstanding effort on behalf of the AACA - Al Whiting in 1964 and Henry Feinsinger in 1966. The Region derives its name from a local tribe of Native Americans named the Ankokas. In the 1960s, it was a common practice for AACA regions to adopt the name of a local Indian tribe.
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History - 1970s'
The Cooper Hospital Horse Show continued to be Ankokas Region's major event until the disastrous fire at the racetrack in 1976. Ankokas sponsored numerous auto shows in Mt. Holly (at the Ironworks Park), in Mullica Hill, and in Burlington for many years. One of the most popular events in the 1970s was the Autumn Leaves Run and member's cars frequently could be seen in the Medford Halloween Parade. The 1976 Annual Charter Night Banquet was held at the Forum Inn in Cherry Hill. In 1977, the meeting location was the Masonville Firehouse. Club jackets were made available in the 1970s and a Brown Bag activity was an annual event on the membership meeting agenda. Another event pioneered in the 1970s was the Ankokas Rodeo, held in Moorestown.
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History - 1980s'
The region sponsored its first national AACA event, the AACA Eastern Spring National Meet, in 1986 in Cherry Hill. Planning for the 1986 meet started in 1980 and the preparation had to be extensive to ensure that the Eastern Meet went smoothly. John Price, president of Ankokas at the time, greeted all of the guests and members at the Hyatt Hotel. About 650 people attended the banquet on Saturday evening. The first Ankokas Haddonfield Show was held in 1986.
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History - 1990s'
The first Courier Post Show at the rebuilt racetrack was conducted in 1990. Since then this has been a premier meet held each spring at the track or more recently at the Cherry Hill Mall, attracting hundreds of vehicles. In 1998 Ankokas conducted an AACA Grand National Meet, with six hundred registered vehicles, that turned out to be the largest Grand National Meet in the eighteen years that this prestigious meet has been held. Membership increased during the 1990s and meetings were moved to Haddonfield, NJ, in the Borough Hall on Kings Highway, third Thursday of all but summer months. A show at the Columbus Mart on Route 206 was featured and most of the activities listed for the years above continued. During the 90s various tours were added to the schedule of events so that members could drive historic or modern cars to recreational or historic sites in NJ or PA three times a year or more.
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Into a New Century and Beyond......
Ankokas is celebrating its 61st Anniversary in 2025. Beside group tours we continue to hold a Charter Luncheon in April, a Tailgate Party in June, the Haddonfield Auto Show in September and a Holiday Party in December. Members have recently participated in an air show in Burlington County, various holiday parades in several local towns, trips to auto museums and a tour of Princeton, and charity fund raisers. Efforts are being made to attract younger members, there is a Road Rally planned, and we again plan to exhibit cars at shows and festivals around New Jersey. Ankokas has an excellent monthly newsletter, Smoke Signals, available to members via direct mail or in color on the Internet.
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