Objects in the Mirror...

Jeffrey Butts

During the last week of July I got a call asking me if I was going to participate in the "Classic at T-Hills" car show. Last year this "on the green" style cruise-in was a part of the Beaverton Days Parade and celebration. "Sure." I replied, "That's in September, right?" Well, no actually. It turns out that since the sky was overcast last September and rain threatened, even though it never materialized they decided to move the event to the last weekend in July. Apparently some of last year's entrants were no shows because of the rain possibility. In Oregon? Really? Well now, with the show less than a week away, the organizers were beating the bushes for entrants. At this point I should mention that my friend and fellow GTS President Russ Lindborg had sent me a note a day or two earlier saying that he had entered the Bonneville in the motorcycle class and wondered if I was going.

This is the second year for the "Classic at T-Hills." Located at the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation Department's Terpenning Center, all manner of vehicles are displayed on the grassy fields by the pool. Bands play, kids events are held concurrently and a general "fairgrounds" atmosphere abounds. This will be important later. The Parks Foundation, which last year raised $60K in grant money for related programs, sponsors the "Classic". The thing that has stuck with me about this show though is the lack of organization. The late notice is just one example. Last year, their first show, last minute advertising limited the number of entrants and judges. You would have thought that they would sit down and list the lessons learned from their experience and apply those to the subsequent show. In some cases, sponsorship for example, they seemed to have little problem but in other areas, advertising and crowd control as examples, they didn't meet anyone's expectations. Even with the last minute phone canvassing, there were only 75 entrants this year.

I got there early enough to be staged near the front. Rod Ditchfield and his wife Valerie came by to visit. Since it was early yet (about 0930) we suited Val up in bunker gear (photo left) and pulled a two-and-a-half preconnect. She had a blast flowing about 300 gallons through the nozzle during the morning. Close to us was the Sheriff's SWAT vehicle and team. I could have used them later. Stephanie and I had a previously scheduled appointment that afternoon that couldn't be canceled so if I was going to enter, I would have to leave during the middle of the event and come back again later. I asked the organizers if that would be a problem and they assured me that it would not. They had plenty of signs around the premises that said to not touch the vehicles and they would keep an eye on my stuff while I was gone. When I got back, there were kids all over the rig and the cab was in shambles. Fred and Ruby Black, whom I had met at the Elk's Labor Day car show in Beaverton last year, said that parents seemed to be totally oblivious to their children's behavior. The Black's have a 1936 Packard 120 four- door touring sedan. It is really a concours vehicle. They have a "Miss Daisy" mannequin in the backseat. They told me that they were walking around looking at other cars and when they got back there were kids with candy climbing in and out of their beautifully restored car. Like Russ said, there is a difference between the "County Fair" and "Car Show" mentality. The bikers, and there were only six of them, had the right approach. They were there in their full bad boy regalia and families stayed a respectable distance away. Speaking of Russ and the bikers, he called me about 0800 to say that the Triumph broke. He was doing his drill of breaking the sticky clutch plates loose and the Woodruff key sheared, effectively rendering his bike a static display. I love my bike. I hate my bike. I love my bike. Ah, the British.

While Rod and I were walking the huge (?) field of entrants, we came across not one, but two 1952 Willys Aero Ace cars. Now these were cars that would appeal to the eclectic technology and development engineer. Imagine the impact of parking one of these humble little gems next to the VP's Mercedes. Sublime. Both cars were owned by Anne and Scott de Ridder. They were built in the Willys plant in Ohio. They only made these for three years (52-55). Like any respectable American car of that vintage, they had aero (and I mean aeroPLANE) styling cues like a hood ornament that was a jet and subtle finlets on the rear. The 90 HP motor was aptly named the "Hurricane Six." The de Ridder's were the fourth owner of this particular car. The first owner had the car for 30 years. Although the paint is oxidized, the body is straight and the interior looks remarkably clean, if a little austere. The second owner had it garaged for 30 years and then donated it to a raffle where the third owner (a metal fabrication shop owner in Sacramento) picked it up for the cost of a $10 ticket. Anne de Ridder's father has been a long time Willys fan and he has had a Willys Jeep, Ace, or other vehicle in his family since the early 50's. Her dad founded the West Coast Willys club and now Anne runs the club and distributes the quarterly newsletter, The Dispatcher. The second car, a red one, is for sale. With only 67K miles on the clock, it is mechanically sound and complete but needs some time and effort to make it into the car it was. They are asking only $3500. I have been goading Rod to step up to the plate. Cool car.

In a stunning display of organization right to the end, the staff announced the raffle drawings around 5PM. In the middle of those, they interrupted for a duet to sing the National Anthem (isn't that supposed to OPEN an event?). When they went to do the trophies, their PA system didn't work. Oh well. The Packard won an award (well deserved). One of the dew-wrap flagged Harley guys, who brought his bike in on a trailer incidentally, took three trophies. A nice split window Corvette won the best Chevy. They blew the best Ford award on a 1970 Mustang and overlooked an original GT-350. Alas, the Willys didn't win anything and neither did the Brick. Oh well, at least nothing was permanently damaged on the truck. I'm wondering if they'll have the event next year based on the spotty turnout during the first two shows. Lord knows, the venue is wonderful and, if they can just get their shit in one sock, they can pull off a winner of a car show. I'll be there regardless but, next time, I'm not leaving the truck for a moment.