Ha ha! Fooled you! No Orillia Show to report on. That morning, Marty and Sandy Davis (who host the post-show barbecue) woke up to a deluge of rain which hadn't yet reached the Lindsay area (Ken, Roberta, Harm and I were planning on going). Between texting back and forth at 5:30 and checking the weather network, it was obvious that the day would quite simply be a wash-out. We decided we wouldn't make the trip (not that our SC 360 couldn't use the bath) and instead headed back to bed. It's too bad because the Orillia event is always a great time - lots of amazing cars, fabulous downtown shopping and dining, and of course good friends to chat with! We'll be there next year - don't forget to register early to ensure a spot.
shows
Bethany 2016
BETHANY – 26TH ANNUAL SHOW & SHINE – Sun, May 22, 2016 – by Jodee Scott
I packed up Lessa and I in Ruth and headed out to the show early – got there about 7:45 and was 6th in line at the gates! It was such a beautiful day and as I waited for the folks running the show to open the gates, I enjoyed the greenery around me and the sound of the birds singing – until they got drowned out by the rumbling motors of dozens of vehicles coming in behind me!
I managed to get a nice shady spot and set us up. Lessa had a nice grassy spot near the fence and under some trees – where we were well shaded even into the noon hours. After I got Ruth all freshened up, I went over and registered.
John Vander Meullen arrived around 10ish with his AMX and unfortunately, we were the sole reps for our car club – it being a very busy weekend for many.
However, we enjoyed ourselves, wandered around and admired the over 200 cars on the show field.
I was so impressed with the emblems on the front of this car – not only an airplane but a picture of North and South America on the hood
Then, there was this Studebaker Avanti, I forgot the year – but I believe this particular car was number 53 of 100 built that year!
The paint job on this convertible was amazing – the owner called it the Wizard of Oz! It sparkled in the sun – beautiful!
There was a good turnout of spectators and kids play area got lots of business as well! I got a bite to eat at lunch and headed out about 1ish. I think John was going to stay to the end but I still had ‘chores’ ahead of me and wanted to get them out of the way and enjoy the rest of the weekend. It was a great car show and a wonderful way to start the season!
Sidebar – there were some folks walking around with pamphlets to upcoming car shows. The two that I was interested it were – Wings and Wheels 2 Classic Car Show, July 24th, 10am to 4pm, at the National Air Force Museum of Canada Air Park, CFB Trenton. I was told that a registrant could park their vehicles beside or under the wind of a vintage aircraft. 100{9bf56cdcf86fd5e484f7a6c7dd7f10c086072f0abab75d8e87856dbab1800b0f} of the proceeds go to benefit Quinte Humane Society and National Air Force Museum Foundation. I am definitely going to try to make this one!
The other is Blackstock and District Lions Club Car Show, Sat, May 28 at the Nestleton Park, Nestleton, On, 9am to 4pm.
Orillia Classics Car Show 2015
The day promised to be hot and sunny, and it didn’t disappoint! The convoy to Orillia started at 6:30 a.m. at the farm of Barb and Harm’s. Ken and Roberta arrived in Roberta’s Pacer and Jodee, who had stayed overnight, drove her Ambassador. Given the road construction, Harm and Barb chose a different route which was very scenic, not only for us but the local wildlife. As we approached one of a number of osprey nests, one of the birds poked his head up out of the nest and you could just imagine what he was saying: “Hey, Larry, there’s three AMCs! Boy, they’re pretty rare birds now eh?” The route brought us driving under one of two lift locks in Ontario just outside of Kirkfield. (Note: If you’ve never experienced going through the lift locks, you can always take a small cruise in Peterborough, the other lift lock location. These locks were built over 100 years ago!). We ran into quite a bit of fog so that slowed us down a bit but we were still able to make the downtown in good time at 7:30 a.m.! By that time, over 200 cars had already arrived! Thanks to Marty, we had our traditional spot on Peter Street just off the main street where he had saved seven spots! Marty (this year’s Best in Show for Limited Class of Bricklin – congratulations!) had driven his Bricklin to ensure the rest of us would be all lined up together. In addition to our cars, Sandy drove her 1987 Eagle station wagon; Ken and Irene in their AMX; and Gary and Sonia in their Ambassador. A good showing for the club!
Classics on Kent – July 12, 2015
The day started off sunny but just a little on the cool side as I fired up my Ambassador and hit the road to Lindsay. We met in the parking lot of the now closed Target store and headed off to the show. Those who were able to make it were Peter Lewko with his Rebel Machine, Ken Edwards and Roberta Sommerville in Ken’s AMX, Ken & Irene Perrier in Ken’s AMX, John Vander Meulen in his AMX, Al Rogers in his Rambler and myself in the Ambassador.
We got placed on the main street (Kent St W) on the north side and got our chairs, tents, etc set up. I don’t have any figure for attendance at this time, but Kent St W was closed from Lindsay St S to Albert St N which is about 6 blocks. Several of the sides streets, mostly south of Kent St W were closed and had vehicles parked on them so I am guessing there were around 300 vehicles. There was a great spectator turnout. The temperature soared to 28 and I heard with the humidex factor, reach 32. It was very hot and every once in a while, we would get a slight breeze which we greatly enjoyed!
As Ken Edwards, Peter Lewko and I went down to complete our registration, we came across this Hudson Terraplane that a friend of Ken’s had brought – along with his very cool Corvette that I personally loved – custom-made rims with dragons instead of spokes; dragons racing down both sides of the Corvette from the hood back – apparently something like ¼ to ½ a million sunk into the car!!! But the Hudson was very cool as well and HUGE!
Another member of the club, Jeff Spratt, brought a VW hippy midget bus complete with a Peace symbol on the grill! He and Carol are going to drive from Port Perry to California starting mid-week. We wish them a safe and incident-free trip!
I saw two other American Motor cars, a Gremlin and a Javelin as well. There were lots of very nice looking vehicles and one participant mumbled that he wasn’t sure he would even get a trophy this year because of all the really great looking and wonderfully restored vehicles.
We wrapped up around 3:30 and as I was leaving, our group set up an applause as they just found out that Peter had been presented with the Rick Broomer Memorial Award. Peter said: “from what we were told at the completion of the show, the family of Rick Broomer picks a car for this award and it is then presented to the car owner in his memory. The award is sponsored by Everyday Specialties Inc. From what I understand, Rick was one of the volunteers that helped make the show the success that it is today.” Here's Cody standing in front of Peter's car. His mother wrote that "he is very proud to pick a car in memory of his grandfather every year".
The show was a success and we enjoyed the day – out with our ‘pride & joys’ and friends!
Annual Downtown Orillia Classic Car Show – August 16, 2014
When I hit the road at 5:30 that morning, the sun was trying to peep over the horizon and it honestly looked like we might even have a nice day. This held true until about 9am when serious clouds started to move in and by about 10 we have full-fledged rain which lasted for the rest of the day.
The brave and intrepid club members that attended the event were Ken Edwards and Roberta Sommerville, Marty and Sandy Davis and me. We were also joined by Sandy’s best friend Marie and her friend Don Today (he kept changing his name and when we pinned him down he said his name was Don , today so….). Fortunately, we had an abundance of umbrellas and other rain gear. It was also quite chilly so our club jackets kept us warm and dry for the most part.
I would estimate that about 200 vehicles turned out for the event and actually, we were surprised at how many spectators turned out! We were in our usual spot, on a side street just around the corner for our favourite watering hole – The Brewery Bay Food Co. We were able to get in there a little earlier than we had reserved for and enjoyed libations and excellent fare – as always.
The rain was pouring down and around 2 we decided we had enough. So we packed up and went back to Sandy and Marty’s. We spent the afternoon chatting, watching The Expendables 2 and finished off with burgers, dogs, salad and deserts.
Even though we were a small group and the weather was miserable, we had a great time, saw some very nice vehicles, got to display ours and enjoyed the day!
By Jodee Scott
