In The Beginning

In the beginning, "CRUISING" Penn Street in Reading on weekends and certain weekday evenings was the thing to do in the early SIXTIES if you lived in the Berks County area. If you were a Corvette cruiser, you of course wanted to meet other Corvette owners cruising and talking Corvettes!!

The first meetings and Vette discussions usually took place in the parking lot at City Park in Reading in the fall of 1963 and spring of 1964. The idea of a Corvette club was brought into existence with the first formal meeting at John Catalano's home on June 7, 1964.

Some of the first members included Barry Goodhart, Gene Miller, Greg Buckly, Larry Bortz, Pete Bandonis, Irvin Cramp, Howard Endy, Ernie Hammer-Schmidt, Jack Martins, Jim Krallis, Skip McCoy, Rodney Spanier, Bill Wolf, Charlie Hummel, and Larry Wixon.

From this meeting, a letter was written to General Motors Company, Corvette Division, to officially register the "Skyline Drive Corvette Club" of Reading, PA. The first meeting had 26 Corvette owners present, and by the July meeting, membership was up to 31. The final reading of the bylaws was approved at the December 1964 meeting.

By the March 1965 club meeting, the officers and Board members had affixed their signatures to the club charter, which became official on June 23, 1965.

By February 1965, the SDC newsletter was more formally established with the name "FIBERGLASS FLYER." Going into the spring of 1965, the SDC "FLYING FIBERS" hill climb racing team was in full operation. The team members consisted of Gene Miller (Capt.), Wesley Custer, Fred Spatz, Jim Marks, Scott Beggs, and Roger Custer.

They raced in local organized hill climbs such as Hershey, Fleetwood, Topton, Hellertown, and, of course, Reading's own Duryea, where Gene Miller still holds the old course record of 2.3 miles in 146.639 seconds.

One of the club's first community projects in 1965 was meeting on Sunday afternoons at the Boys' Home of Reading on Schuylkill Ave. Here, under the guidance of Pop Schultz (the Home's Director), the club would donate clothing to the boys and interact with them by showing them car movies.

If the weather was clear, a road rally would be planned that included taking the boys along as navigators to the final destination, which was usually an ice cream shop.

More than 60 years later, Skyline Drive Corvettes continues the traditions established by its founding members. Through the years, countless officers, Board members, and more than 1,000 members have helped shape the club and its history. While much has changed since those early days of cruising Penn Street, the club's passion for Corvettes, friendship, community involvement, and having fun together remains as strong as ever.