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Close to 350 Cadillacs and LaSalles and 1105
people came together in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, from August
12th through the 16th to celebrate the CLC's 50th anniversary, the
largest CLC event since 2002. By Saturday morning, the show field
looked like a Cadillac enthusiast’s dream used car lot.
Most of the cars on the field came from New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
New York, and Connecticut, but there were representative cars from
all up and down the eastern seaboard, and cars from more distant
states like Ohio and Indiana were not uncommon. It’s said that the
1941 model year is the most popular in the club.
Judging by the numbers on the field, the 1970 cars look to be making
a strong bid for that title, as they outnumbered the 1941 cars at
this Grand National. The oldest cars on the field were two 1916
models. One, a stunning green and black town car, was driven about
the show field by its owner and his wife, both of them in period
costume. The judges roamed the show field, doing their usual
careful job of inspecting and appraising the cars.
The awards dinner was a grand affair. People really do come from
far and wide to attend Grand Nationals, with several members from
Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania present.
The original artwork for this year’s Grand National poster, designed
and painted by noted artist Dan Reed, was auctioned off for $8,000,
with the proceeds benefiting the CLC Museum and Research Center.
The big
highlight of the night for the Southern California Region came when
our own webmaster, Gary Friedman, won the Website Excellence Award.
Congratulations, Gary!!!
And, in
recognition of the 2767 miles she travelled, my 1977 Coupe de Ville
won the Longest Distance Driven Award. I guess the Alaskans
couldn’t make it this year.
A huge
round of applause is due our hosts, the Valley Forge Region, for
staging this momentous event and making it look easy! |
