Pepper Place Car Show
November 9
Hosted by GSR
It was a beautiful day, and we had some very nice cars on display. There were a lot of people looking the cars over and they asked lots of questions. We signed up new members which is very exciting. The Farmer’s Market was very pleased with all of the interest and has invited us back for next year. They like the idea of having a show for Veteran’s Day weekend. – Vicki Bolton
 |
 |
2024 Southeastern Fall Nationals
October 23-26 – Hershey, Pennsylvania
With the 2024 Southeastern Fall Nationals in our backyard the Great Southern Region made a great showing! The show was hosted by the North Alabama Region and was very well put together.
For those that wanted to arrive early, a Wednesday Night Social was provided. A nice array of food was available for participants and a great time to see everyone. Thursday evening was the Social event held at an arcade. The photos revealed a fun time was had by all in attendance. What a great idea- an arcade where you could act like a kid again. You could also participate in a tour to Lake Guntersville and follow an old wood boat pulled by a beautiful blue GMC truck to see the boats on the lake.
We woke up early to leave Mobile on Friday morning and hopped in our truck with the 55 in tow. We arrived in the afternoon at trailer parking. Catching up with members of the North Alabama Region (NAR) was exciting. Our journey with AACA started with NAR.
After accomplishing all the normal activities of arriving at an event: stretching our legs, check-in, unloading a vehicle and such we headed to the Round Table. It was interesting to hear about the new things happening in AACA. The $5000 grant incentive to host Tours and Nationals is a great idea and I hope that many regions take this offer up! Judging School run by Dain and Stan not only is required each year for judges it was a great review for anyone judging or show vehicles.
The Friday night social was held on the stage at the Orion, and as par for the course we left our tickets at the hotel. The taco bar was so good and so was the band.
Saturday morning was early! I headed to judges breakfast and Darrin and Barrett got the car on the show field. Friends and family stopped by all day to see us.
The Great Southern Region had 13 vehicles on the show field and all received the awards they were hoping for! A few also received nominations for National Awards.
The banquet under the Saturn V was amazing. The speaker was very motivating, food was great! This Nationals will be hard to beat!
-Charlotte
The cars and sights
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Winners!
| Not Judged 1927 Marmon E75 Wilson Bodied Speedster Sam Barnett, Birmingham, AL |
 |
|
| Class HPOF Historic Preservation 1951 Cadillac Fleetwood Eddie Bibb, Birmingham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class HPOF Repeat Historic Preservation 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Eddie Bibb, Birmingham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class DPC 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Darrin R. Dahlenburg, Theodore, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 04B First Preservation 1948 Crosley Vicki H. Bolton, Birmingham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 05E Repeat Preservation 1958 Cushman Eagle Vicki H. Bolton, Birmingham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 19A First Junior 1928 Rolls-Royce Springfield Ascott Ronald J. Moore, Sr., Birmingham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 25A Repeat Preservation 1959 Triumph TR3A Anton C. Bogaty, Birmingham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 25E Repeat Preservation 1970 Triumph GT6 Ken McClellan, Leeds, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 27B Repeat Preservation 1957 Cadillac Series 62 James Wagnon, Pelham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 27D First Preservation 1960 Buick Invicta Joe M. Alfano, Vestavia Hills, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 27H First Junior 1968 Cadillac Deville Eddie Bibb, Birmingham, AL |
 |
 |
| Class 36F First Junior 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Jeff Loebler Leeds AL |
 |
 |
Hershey – The Event of the year!
October 7-11 – Huntsville, AL
We made our annual pilgrimage to Hershey the first week of October. We spent a couple of days in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg on the way up. We did a little shopping and a lot of eating. We visited some of our favorite places including the Apple Barn and the Old Mill. There was a craft fair going on and we saw some interesting things.
There was a car event in Pigeon Forge where the cars had their wheels tilted out. The cars were all very loud and odd looking with the wheels tilted so far out it looked like they were driving on the side of the tire.
We left about 5 Sunday morning to head to Hershey but hit a snag in Virginia where they shut down the interstate due to an overturned 18-wheeler. We pulled into Hershey about 9 pm. There is a Wal-Mart that allows overnight parking and we stayed there till we went into flea market early Monday morning.
The weather was fabulous all week, although a little cool in the mornings. I worked the library sale Tuesday night, and it was well attended. The show is on Friday, which makes the week go by so fast!
But that gives us two days to get home which is a good thing, time to get stuff put up and take a deep breath before heading to work Monday morning.
I didn’t get to see very many of the cars but did see a few which are included for your enjoyment.
– Vicki Bolton
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
Cruisin’ the Coast 2024
October 6-13
Cruisin’ the Coast is the biggest event in the Southeast! There is something for everyone, from parades, block parties, flame throwing to stamping stations with food and entertainment. We have fun every year and find something new to do each time. – Charlotte
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Western Fall Nationals Loveland, Colorado
September 18-20
Arthur and I had the pleasure of attending the Western Fall National in Loveland Co on September 14.
The event was held at the Embassy Suites in Loveland.
Although it was a small show, there were some beautiful and unusual cars.
We were able to take a little time to enjoy the scenery. Thursday morning, we were able to drive into the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Sunday Morning before we left, we were able to drive down to the Garden of the Gods. This is a park just south of Denver in Colorado Springs which features an incredible rock outcropping.
– Vicki Bolton
Cars by the Creek
September 7
Cars by the Creek is the annual car show in Montevallo at Orr Park in conjunction with the Tinglewood Festival. This year it was held on September 7th and the weather was very good, albeit warmer than expected, for the event. As some of you know, I have encouraged participation by our members in this show because it has classes for Original and Modified in each decade. Original for them being as the factory produced it. That’s mostly us, right?
There were over 200 cars that showed up, many being extremely nice examples. Several of your fellow members made the trip to Montevallo including Bo Bogarty with his 1967 Pontiac Firebird, Art and Vickie Bolton with their 1997 GMC pickup, John and Linda McClellan with their 1957 Chevrolet Corvette, and yours truly along with Phyllis with our 1970 Triumph GT6+. Honorable mention also goes out to Ed and Carol Keller with their 1955 Ford Sunliner because they were on their way there and had a hiccup with their car and didn’t make it.
At the end of the day, they awarded wood engraved plaques to the best of each class. We were fortunate to have 2 winners in our group. John and Linda won Best Original for the 50’s decade and Phyllis and I won best Original for the 70’s.
All in all it was a really nice day and I for one intend on going back again. – Ken McClellan
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Special Eastern Fall Meet, Hampton VA
August 22-24
We attended the Nationals in Hampton VA that was held Aug 22-24. The venue was the beautiful Hampton Roads Convention Center. The show was held indoors, and the car owners were able to put their cars on the indoor show field on Friday. This luxury allowed many people to get their cars cleaned up and ready before the show on Saturday which allowed for a much more relaxed morning on Saturday.
We don’t always take vehicles, but we took two vehicles to this show, the 1948 Crosley and the 1958 Cushman. (See photos)
After we put the vehicles indoors, we went on a boat ride on the Hampton Queen. The weather was great and the appetizers were delicious.
We went out into the Hampton Harbor and the Captain pointed many of the local highlights out including the Newport News Middle Ground lighthouse which is still used today. (See photo)
On Saturday morning, the show started with an incredible performance of the singing of the National Anthem. (See photo)
There were many beautiful vehicles a the Nationals. Here is just a sampling of some of those.
-Vicki Bolton.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Crosley Nationals 2024
July 13The Crosley Automobile Club Inc. sponsors a National meet the second Saturday in July at the Fulton County Fairgrounds. The car show is held on Saturday but people gather all week from all over the country. The event is a family friendly event with lots of activities for everyone and lots of fun and relaxing activities.
 |
 |
| We like to bring to motor home and stay at the fairgrounds and, of course, the dogs get to come too. | |
Crosleys come in all kinds of shapes but just one size-small.
 |
 |
| The Crosley trucks are a favorite and highly sought after. The hard top Liberty Sedan is another model that is hard to find but is a beautiful car. | |
The 1949 Crosley Scorpion comes with a 4 hp crosley engine and a fibergalss body from Wilro Co. This car is one of 28 and was restored in 2023
There are a few fire trucks around that were used as amusement park attractions
Arthur standing next to a Crosley powered race car. The Crosley engine was often used for racing.
And we were very pleased to win First in our category of the CC models. It is a 1948 Convertible Sedan
Cadillac Grand National
June 14
Suzanne and I attended the Cadillac Grand National in Gettysburg PA. They had a nice time. Tomorrow is the day of the show. The 1912 Cadillac is the oldest Cadillac here. 1912 is the first year of the electric starter.
Eddie Bibb
 |
 |
 |
Fredericksburg, Virginia – Eastern Divisional Tour
June 9-13
Phyllis and I were able to take part in the AACA tour based in Fredericksburg, VA that was hosted by the Buzzards Breath Touring Region. We spent the four days of the tour visiting various historical sites and museums, learning a lot, all the while having fun driving through that part of Virginia.
Sunday evening was the opening banquet at the Stafford American Legion Post with all you could eat BBQ of brisket, pork, and chicken. I have to say I have never tasted brisket so tender, moist, and flavorful. It was a good omen for the week.
On Monday morning we visited the Fredericksburg Civil War battlefield. Our group first viewed and learned about the battlefield from the Confederate side from a ridge just west of the town. The high ground was certainly in their favor. We next crossed the river to the Union encampment at Chatham Manor, a beautiful mansion overlooking Fredericksburg (the manor also became their hospital). Buffet lunch was next at a marvelous Italian restaurant in downtown FXBG (local shortcut like Bham), where we not only had some very good food but was entertained with a slide presentation of the automobile history of FXBG, since US Hwy 1 passes through the town. We finished the day by visiting the boyhood home of George Washington, called Ferry Farm. This is the place of the famous chopping down of the cherry tree and throwing the coin across the Rappahannock River. From what we saw, George had to have had an unbelievable throwing arm.
Tuesday we took a 60 mile back road drive to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, VA. This is an extension/annex to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC and is located next door to Dulles International. Those who attended the AACA National Meeting this past February also toured this museum. It is a beautiful facility with fantastic tour guides and a marvelous variety of planes from all over the world, including one of our space shuttles. Definitely a must see if you are in the area.
Wednesday morning started with a beautiful drive into the Northern Neck of Virginia to visit the James Monroe Birthplace near Colonial Beach. The house is not original but has been faithfully reconstructed according to the original blueprints. Docents gave us a room by room tour and explained the upbringing and lifestyle of our fifth president. Lunch was next, just down the road in the small town of Montross, known as The Town of Murals. We divided up into four different restaurants, based on individual preferences. Our afternoon stop was Menokin, the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was heavily involved in the Virginia colony politics of the day. The home was originally built for him and his wife by her father and since it was built in 1771, has seen better days. However, they are working to rebuild with many of the original materials. A tall order but I’m hopeful they will get there.
Thursday we drove about 20 miles up old Highway 1 to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, where we spent the day. It is a beautiful facility that displays and chronicles, in detail, the history of this branch of service. If you ever go, be sure to set aside a fair amount of time to see and experience everything there. And of course, we finished off our tour with another wonderful buffet locally in FXBG. I think I need a bigger belt!
Ken McClellan
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Ville de Este Concours
We are at Lake Como, will show our 1934 Cadillac V16, Stationary Coupe, at Ville de Este Concours this weekend. Showed last week at Lugano, Switzerland, and won our class. – Don Ghareeb
Union Station Train Shed Car Show
June 8
The largest car show for Montgomery. Held under the train shed. Well, we try to get them under the shed, but with 200+, some go outside in the car lot and on the street. I took the Hack Truck and worked the show. – John Morykwas.
Baldwin County Tour
June 8
We enjoyed a tour of Baldwin County with the Back Roads Touring Club. The tour took us to Weeks Bay Visitor Center. There was an amazing collection of artifacts from the East Gulf Coastal Plain.
Of course the last minute road closings had us all scrambling to find our way at times. Time delays didn’t change the great lunch we had at Local and Company.
We were a few days early for the Jubilee in the bay but we did enjoy the pier and the ice cream at Cammie’s Old Dutch. – Charlotte
 |
 |
 |
2024 Marmon Muster in Cartersville, Georgia
May 15-19
Sam Barnett, Sally Barnett and James Meridith attended the Muster May 15-19. The first day events included a scenic drive to Etowah Indian Mounds and a drive to Tellus Science Museum for Dinner.
Next the group traveled a scenic route to Adairsville and Booth Western Art Museum. The Museum hosted a Tech session featuring Model 34s.
Saturday was blue shirt day. The day included a scenic drive to Rome and Cartersville Lunch was held at Savoy Automobile Museum.
 |
 |
1963 Cadillac Eldorado
The car has a 390 V8 in it. That’s the last year Cadillac used the 390. I heard about the car through somebody that’s gets his cars worked on where I do. One of his coworkers was selling the car. I went and looked at and the rest is history. I’ve had it since April. It needs some minor repairs, but I intend to get that done in due time.
– Eddie
Charlotte Southeastern Spring Nationals and Grand National
April 4-5
First, Congratulations are in order to two club members: Donna Loebler on getting a repeat Preservation for her 1978 Pontiac Firebird and Joey Moore for winning a senior award for his 1969 Chevrolet Corvette!
We visit Charlotte in April for the Southeastern Spring National hosted in conjunction with the Hornet’s Nest AutoFair, but this year was extra special as the Hornet’s Nest also hosted the Grand National and the Zenith Awards. The weather tends to be cool, and this year was no exception and was even a little cold in the mornings. We are fortunate to be able to park the motor home near the events. The two events meant that I was extra busy taking care of administration in the Smith towers so no pictures of the Nationals, but I was able to snag a few pictures of the Zenith cars. What an amazing display of beautiful cars and trucks!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Special Winter Nationals in Puerto Rico
March 23
Arthur and I went to the Special Winter Nationals in Puerto Rico and had a great time. The club provided transportation via bus to all the venues. On Thursday evening, we enjoyed the early bird dinner at a local which is a great little entertainment district. We enjoyed pizza, and drinks followed by ice cream. Almost missed the bus getting back from the ice cream line, but it was so good!
The Awards banquet featured Elvis as the entertainment for the evening. He was really good and sang so many songs. The food was very good and it is so much fun to see the excitement of the members when they get their awards.
I did not get out to see the show field much, but they always have amazing cars and unusual things as well. I did get to see some of the Volkswagens and some of the scooters which is neat since we show scooters.
They are already planning another show in two years and I hope to go back because the Region shows such wonderful hospitality.
-Vicki Bolton
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
2024 Founders Tour
March 24-29
Getting There
Paul and Tracy, David and Joyce, Darrin, Barrett, and I headed down 90 to Lafayette, Louisiana. The slow going on 90 took its toll, but when the rain started, it was nice to be traveling slowly. About 30 minutes into the rain, the blue skies appeared, and the next challenge appeared. The big green sign that was posted at our next turn said Highway 90 was closed at the border. We traveled the remainder of the route on the interstate, traveling 60–65 miles per hour.
We arrived at the destination with just an hour until the opening banquet. The greetings started, and we went off to our room to refresh. We meet with the other six members of the Great Southern Region, the Bibb’s, McClellan’s and the Senkbeil’s.
We walked over to the opening banquet. It was a nice time to say hi to everyone and get the basic information for the days to come.
Crawfish and Cantilevers
The first day of the tour started at the hotel. We visited the German Heritage Museum in Roberts Cove. The museum houses the story of the German families who settled in Acadia. We were served the most delicious, buttery German cookies.
Our next stop was at D&G Frey Crawfish Farm in Iota. We learned how the small crawfish are peeled and packaged. It was interesting that the more fat and darker the yellow fat, the better they will taste. The ladies that peeled the crawfish were so fast.
We watched the sorter clean and sort little, medium, and large into colored bags. The big ones go to the restaurants, and the small ones this year were pealed due to the shortage of crawfish.
We were served salad, crawfish etouffee’, and an assortment of cookies. After lunch, we headed to Crowley for some Cajun entertainment. We then found Frozo ice cream. There is nothing better than ice cream on a tour.
We ventured over to the Ford Model A dealership. The vehicles would ship to dealers in a box with their parts sideways in the crate. The dealer would bolt all the parts together using the vehicle elevator. The building had since been turned into a museum and housed City Hall.
Jungles, Hot Sauce and Rip Van Winkle
We started the second day of the tour at Mel’s Diner. It is a nice breakfast spot. It is designed to mimic the 1980s sitcom.
Louisiana has some great back roads to travel. There are stretches of wide open spots with farmland. Anything from rice paddies to sugar cane fields can be found. The “don’t blink or you will miss it” little town centers are reminiscent of days gone by.
After about an hour of travel time, we arrived at Avery Island. We stopped at the gate, received our pass, and drove over the two biggest speed bumps ever.
We stopped at the little country store and got our pass to enter the Jungle Garden. The three-mile-long trail through the garden let us experience the best of everything in the typical vegetation of south Louisiana. We stopped to pose in our cars with the azaleas in bloom. We drove around a pond and saw several alligators, turtles, and ducks. The massive live oaks were dripping with Spanish moss.
We traveled over to the Tabasco plant for a tour and lunch. We viewed the vats, which are two stories high. The Tabasco could be in the vats for 2 or 3 years. The vats had an automatic system for stirring. Barrett found a button you could push, and it would stir the vats and send the smell out for you.
In another building, they were bottling. That was cool to see two of the four lines in operation. One worker on the line held up a handmade sign that said welcome cruisers.
Lunch was a sample of the menu from the 1868 restaurant: red beans and rice, gumbo and etouffee’ along with hot bread pudding.
After lunch, we drove over to Jefferson Island. We entered the area through the long, live oak corridor. As we went up the hill to the Joseph Jefferson home, we viewed the home through the many flowers in bloom.
When we got out of the car, we were greeted by peacocks—lots of them. The island has a unique history that includes the actor Joe Jefferson, who played Rip Van Winkle in the 1800s.
We all discovered we were not in as good of shape as we could have been. The walk to the house was a bit steep. We learned about the family and had the chance to see as authentic home belongings as we have seen.
After returning to the hotel, a “few” of us headed to Borden’s Ice Cream for the Buzzard Breath meeting.
Riding with Steve and his Buddy
St. Martinsville did not disappoint. On the third day, I chose to ride with Steve Eason in his 1957 Corvette.
The morning was spent at St. Martin De Tours Catholic Church. When we walked in, all the statues were covered in purple cloth. We sat for a while in pews that were built in the late 1700s. They were from the original church building. This church evolved into a cross-shaped structure in the 1800s and very early 1900s.
We were on our own to tour the church grounds and the Teche boardwalk. We made it over to the Acadian Museum, where we looked at a mural and listened to a recording representing the people depicted. Each person was told this in the voice of their descendant. The African American Museum was next door. The museum had many items that displayed the culture of the people. Lunch was at St. John’s restaurant. It was in an old train depot building. The food was excellent. We were lucky to be the first to be seated and served. Due to some confusion, many people had to wait an hour and a half to eat.
The afternoon includes a guided tour of Shadows on the Teche. The Weeks family had a big story to tell about the history of the sugar cane industry, slavery, the Civil War, and more. The grandson was the last member of the family to own the home before donating it to the Historic Preservation Society.
We all walked to the Bayou Teche Art Museum, which housed the Blue Dog artist, George Rodriguez.
After our tour, but before heading back to the hotel, we headed over to Baskin Robin’s for ice cream.
Don’t Rain on my Parade
You could see the looming rain in the distance as we left the hotel. This was not going to stop our fun. On our fourth day of the tour, we drove quite a few miles past many of the places we had been. We saw the frogs in Rayne, the Rice Theater in Crowel, and the crawfish farms that covered the plains, all on the way to Jennings.
Our first stop was on Main Street. The street was blocked for us. This made for great photos.
We started at the Ziegler Art Museum, where several Louisiana artists were featured, including James Audubon and Elton Louviere. After viewing the works of art, we went across the street to an antique store. I found some interesting things but did not bring any home with me.
We then walked back to the other end of the street to see the W. H. Tupper Merchandise Museum. This housed the entire inventory of the store at its closing in 1949. We did continue down to the end of the street to check out the bakery. Before we knew it, it was lunchtime. Mike’s Seafood provided a buffet lunch that was very good.
The afternoon took us to Gator Chateau at Oil and Gas Park. We all took turns holding a year-old alligator.
From this stop, we caravanned over to the SW Louisiana Veterans Home. It was beginning to rain quite a bit. We didn’t see many vets, but we sure hope they saw us.
Acadian Culture
The thunderstorms woke us up during the night. The rain was heavy and washed pollen out of the air.
On our last day of the tour, we headed to Vermillionville to tour the reproduction of Acadian Village. We spent the morning casually strolling through the buildings.
The highlight of the village was the ferry across the bog. Darin and David gave several rides across.
Lunch was at the event center on the grounds. This place had the spiciest food so far. That made it much easier to not overeat.
We drove .2 miles to the Jean Lafitte Acadian Cultural Center and walked through the artifact display. We watched a 30-minute movie about the hard lives of the Acadian people. We left there and headed to Borden’s Ice Cream for a late snack. A short break at the hotel was welcome before the closing banquet.
This was a fun tour, and so many new friends were made. We are looking forward to the next one!
– Charlotte
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
2024 AACA Annual Convention
February 8-10
We went to the Convention in Chantilly VA and we had a wonderful time! We toured the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly. We spent several hours touring the facility. Some of the highlights include a Lockheed Blackbird (pictured on the cover), a Concord Jet, the Discovery Space shuttle, and The Enola Gay. We had lunch on a balcony overlooking the Space Shuttle. Lunch was absolutely amazing! A buffet offering salmon, chicken, green beans, salad and of course dessert.
After the tour we stopped at the Sully Farm. The home was closed for the winter but the grounds were open. The home was originally owned by Richard Bland Lee, a great uncle to Robert E Lee.
We were treated to the First Lady’s lunch where a speaker from Days End Farm talked about the rescue of horses. Other features of the convention included seminars, judging schools, the trade show. One evening featured a night of gambling. But of course, it was with play money. Everyone started out with the same amount and then you played with that money and traded it in at the end of the evening for raffle tickets for prizes that had been donated. It was a lot of fun and enjoyed by all.
The highlight of the Convention is the National Awards Dinner. We had a wonderful meal at the host hotel followed by the presentations of awards.
If you are interested in seeing the National Awards, you can find it on the AACA Website:
aaca.org/national-awards/
Congratulations to Charlotte for winning the Master Editor award for our newsletter!
– Vicki Bolton
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
