VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Report on Charlotte, Carlisle and Hershey

(In deference to South Carolina and other coastal areas of the US, I will merely mentioned that it rained some.)

Charlotte: Good fall meet. Did rain some and breezy. Lots of people.

Carlisle: Good fall meet: did rain some and not too breezy. Even more people.

Hershey: Good weather except for a heavy shower on Friday afternoon. It was all over for the flea market after that. Seems patronage was down. Don't know.

Other than the above not too much to mention. Saw Ted Holtz at Carlisle and Hershey. Saw Chip (Asheville, NC) at one of the meets. Can't remember which one. He hung around for a few seconds. I gave hime lunch money soon vanished. Poof and he was gone.

Saw a nice 1940 SD for sale.

I my opinion it was not a good year for the fall car shows. Something seemed to be off a bit. Maybe it's just me. I think the "magic" or "fever" is gone. A lot of old enthusiasts at Hershey. Not very many usable parts. Not the treasure hunt it used to be. A lot of open spaces and parked mobile homes and trailers with no parts to speak of. Nothing has changed much there. There were a lot of open spaces at Carlisle and Charlotte too. Charlotte has become the best meet of the three. Just my opinion.

There were a lot of signs. Most reproductions which have flooded the market.

Charlie

Charlie, I really enjoyed the lunch. I'll stop by in the Spring at Charlotte. Please have the money ready, 'cause I'll be moving on........... (Seriously, sorry I couldn't stay and visit, but was late to meet somebody else)

I enjoyed Hershey.... Didn't find everything I was looking for, but had a good time seeing everybody and found a couple of bargains that made it worthwhile. Showed my '29 Phaeton on Saturday and it was a beautiful day. Exceptional weather. Saw everybody from Pinky Randall to Bruce Deford to you and lots of others.... a really fun weekend.

All the Best,

Chip

Your comments are much the same as I have heard from others who attended in the recent past, other than the weather. There seem to be fewer amateur vendors and the pro's have gobbled up most anything of quality and are holding it for ransom. I believe the reason is that the internet (Ebay) has provided a place for sellers to reach a larger customer base and it also tends to set market value. Why go to Hershey and spend over $100.00 a day to be there plus travel expenses to pay the high prices that are being asked when you can stay home and use those funds for buying parts you can want.

I forgot to mention that my spaces at Hershey were next to John Mahoney (NY) at Hershey again this year. He is a great guy andI very accommodating.

John's pals from NY are a joy to be around. At times I have a hard time understanding them but that NY accent can't be helped, I guess. One of his pals reminded of the John Peci role in "Goodfellows' Youse tink I'm funny? How-ma funny? etc and "Archie Bunker" (All in the Family) many times.

John, I hope you all made it home all right and found all was well there.

Charlie

Hey Charlie,
Im glad we amuuuzed ya, ya dink wa funny? huh? dink wa clowns? huh?
I really enjoy your company and look forward to next year already

Agree about Hershey, there were more open spaces, and more people using their spaces just for parking. (Which I can appreciate, because you have to hike a few extra miles each day otherwise to the parking areas.) Also agree that there was less treasure and more plain junk - too many "dollar tables," for items that really might as well be tossed out. The price of the original old porcelain signs are totally out of sight, up significantly from last year, even. Blame it on American Pickers.

Having said all that, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I managed to pick up a few things I needed, and saw many more things for cars that I don't happen to own - but would have been thrilled with, if it fit my car. Conservatively, I saw at least 100 people I know, mostly one at a time. That alone makes it worthwhile to me.