A little history about our 58 year-old Car Show in Stowe
Using available records, the August 1960 show was advertised as the “VAE Third Summer Invitational Rally at Stowe”. That year the gathering was a two-day event with a Back-road Tour and a supper barbecue on Saturday the 6th. After supper a WC Fields movie was viewed called “Hurry, Hurry, Hurry”. Later a barbershop quartet performed and a square dance was called by Mr. Bill Chattin. On Sunday was the auto judging and award presentations.
Wheel Tracks has no records of the 1st and 2nd Rally in Stowe. If anyone would like to share their records for 1958 and 1959, that information will be published.
Our next glimpse at the Show in Stowe is 1971, billed as the “14th Annual Stowe Meet”. Over 300 cars were on display. There was mention of a new parade route, causing some confusion, but all was forgiven when everyone enjoyed the “banner supper and the film viewing” Saturday evening. It was reported that the “new flea-market was well vendered and well attended, although falling victim to frequent rain showers”.
The Fall issue of Wheel Tracks, 1980 is our next view of the show. There were 361 cars in attendance with over fifty Woodies among them. Mr. Russ Snow was the chairman and reported a record was set with 250 flea market spaces. 1980 was Russ’s second year as chair and he announced that he would like to have someone take his place the next year.
The next Wheel Tracks that mentions the show in Stowe was the 1984 issue. It had become a three day event by then and that year Dave Gonyon was chair. An “antique clothing fashion show” on Saturday was planned and chaired by Ginger Lacombe. Other plans were a cheese and wine party Friday night and a concert on Saturday. Just like this year, 2015, there were many requests for help.
By 1987 we had adopted the name that we call the show today. That year it was billed “The 30th Annual Antique and Classic Car meet” and it took place on the Topnotch Field on the Mountain Road. It also appears that the newsletter “Wheeltracks” was a single word then and had changed from a 4-season publication to monthly. Tom Maclay was by then the Show chair and in a letter to the VAE Board he rec-ommended a hand-book should be published so everyone knows how to set up and run the show at Stowe. He also spoke of the huge lack of help and the difficulty of running the show short-handed. No other details were published about the 1987 show in Stowe. The car pictured to the left on the ‘87 show flyer was the “Best of Show” the previous year, a 1940 Ford Deluxe Convertible owned by Jonathan James of Meredith, NH.
Now, please, Fast-forward to 2015. Our 58th show at Stowe and our President Dan Noyes’ 1923 Model T mail truck is on our flyer. It will be happening in just a few days and “One Way or Another” our two show chairs will have a great event for us to enjoy. Bob Chase and Duane Leach, like always, are asking for your help in our show. Even if you have an hour or two to spare, they can use you. Call either one of these numbers and let them know when you can be there…. 802-253-4897 or 802-849-6174.
Wheel Tracks asked the guys what advancements they are most proud of on their watch. They replied with many. The new Display Ramp, ATM service, the very popular Crafter’s Tent, the Dragster Display, the Valve Cover Racing and the Matchbox Race just to name a few. One of the greatest advancements is our Innovative Educational Events. The VAE became a non-profit 501C3 organization a few years ago, the non-profit arm is called the VAAS, and the club has very effectively focused on education and our Vermont school students.
Come to the SHOW and enjoy three days of fun. Better yet, give us a hand for a few hours and we guarantee you will have even more fun.
