Norman Rose’s daily commute would put 32,000 – 35,000 miles per year on his Mazda Miata trading it for another when it hit 100,000 miles. He liked the sports car, but it was a little smaller than he preferred. Eventually it was a 1992 Teal Green Corvette that caught his eye. “I made the decision to start looking, and the Corvette was a close-out at $25,000 new – so the price was right, as was the color scheme.” From then on, Norm’s daily driver was the Corvette.
His next Corvette would come after his first crested 110,000 miles. It was a 1996 Convertible, and shortly thereafter is when he met husband Ed. “Turns out my husband, who I’ve been with since the late 90s, started his Corvette journey in the 70s. Between the two of us we’ve had everything from a 1960 to current at some point in time.”
Ed had purchased a 1960 Corvette, though 1959 was his favorite model year. “The ’60, I did not fit in it. I’m 6’1”. We had it for a few years and then sold it. Since then we’ve pretty much had new ones, and a variety of them.”
Norm and Ed met through a mutual friend, and while it had nothing to do with Corvette, they did meet over cars. “At that point he didn’t have a Corvette, heaven forbid he was driving a classic T-bird!” Norm laughs. “We do car shows, my husband does all the work, I walk around and socialize, then I go up with him to collect the trophy.”
Norm fondly remembers noticing very early in their relationship their differences in car care habits. “He decided to wash my Corvette, which is fine, I wash it on a regular basis. So, he’s out in the front yard washing it, and I think he’s done, then all of a sudden, he lifts the hood and he washes the engine compartment. I had NEVER washed an engine compartment of a car in my life. If it didn’t show visually then I couldn’t take credit for cleaning and washing it. I have a wonderful husband. We’ve been together almost 25 years, but we do poke fun at each other.”
A family member of the Museum since 2017, Norm is also a member of South Valley Corvette Club, which is under the umbrella of Western States Corvette Council. He joined the WSCC board four years ago as Vice President primarily handling memberships. The couple have been to the Museum several times, including the five-year anniversary, and most recently the 25th anniversary where six Corvettes from their club traveled together. Currently they own a 2017 Special Edition Corvette Grand Sport Convertible in Watkins Glen Gray with tension blue accents and interior.
Norm is semi-retired, having served as a logistics director for warehousing transportation customers world-wide for 25 years. He has maintained a real estate broker’s license for California and Hawaii. He and Ed have a small ranch with a commercial vineyard, selling their primarily cabernet grapes next door to Martin Ranch Winery. They also have a plethora of animals including alpacas, full-sized and miniature donkeys, a blind horse that one of the alpacas cares for, chickens and a few peacocks. They lease 50% of their barn, a large arena and equestrian area to a trainer who keeps horses at the ranch.
“I’m looking forward to participating in the business side of the Museum as it develops,” shared Norm. “I believe it will continue to develop and I was to be a part of that. I try to support the Museum in the western states to ensure people are aware of it and what it has to offer. And I want to have a good time and have fun with the development of the Museum and the Corvette.”
