which would mark every single
meal, we headed out to Carlisle. I
had brought my pickup truck as our
transportation, as I was hoping to
return to the lake with at least one
sizable piece of automotive treasure.
We arrived early in the morning
to the carnival atmosphere that is
Carlisle during this type of event.
Locals capitalize on the limited
availability of parking spaces by
charging $10 to allow you to park
on their front lawns. We found a
lot across the street from one of the
entrances to the fairgrounds; it was
operated by the local fire police, and
also $10, so we chose to park there.
Another sawbuck apiece gained us
admission, and we were awestruck
by the size and scope of this event.
As far as the eye could see in
just about any direction, we saw a
veritable sea of cars, parts, and tools
of every description. It was difficult
to decide where to start, and even
after spending the entire day there,
I’m not certain that we managed to
see it all.
Numerous manufacturers and
retail vendors dotted the landscape,
interspersed with untold numbers of
private sellers who had brought along
their surplus cars and parts. This
venue was certainly no place for the
ill-informed, as the offerings ranged
from true bargains to “wooden
nickels”, and included everything in
between.
Early in the day, I chanced
upon three fellows wearing t-shirts
emblazoned with the “Mopar” logo
(the nickname for Chrysler auto
parts), except instead of “Mopar”,
the lettering on their shirts read,
“Moneta”. We obviously needed to
talk.
I caught up with them, and
employing my best affectation of the
Virginia vernacular, I asked them
“Are y’all from Virginia?”
They all about-faced at once,
and exclaimed excitedly, “No,
but we know there is a Moneta
(they pronounced it Mo-nett-a) in
Virginia; we’re from New York”.
It turns out that Moneta is their
family name, Italian in origin, and a
friendly conversation ensued. They
have a family reunion at Carlisle every
year, and those who are interested in
cars include a trip to the fairgrounds
as part of their weekend.
We all turned our respective
attentions back to the main event. I
have never seen so many ’55 through
’57 Chevrolets in my life, not to
mention Model T bodies and rare
and collectible cars, going back about
100 years. We marveled at such
rarities as a 1950 Plymouth with
63,000 original miles, all original
except for a recent paint job, sharply
contrasted by a pitiful example of
a ’68 Firebird convertible that was
literally crumbling before our eyes,
bearing a simple sign that begged,
“Make Offer”.
Some weeks prior, I had visited
the Carlisle website in order to try to
get the “lay of the land”, and Dave
and I had decided that a visit to the
“car corral” was definitely in order. I
imagined this to be a modest sized
fenced in area displaying cars for
sale. The jaw-dropping reality was
that it more closely matched the size
and scope of the SML Wine Festival,
and was chock full of “survivors”
and classic cars in various stages of
restoration. Even though I felt like
a starving man looking into the
window of a fine restaurant, I was in
heaven.
I found my wife’s dream car, a
yellow Mercedes 560SL, in pristine
condition, and at fair market price.
Thoughts of returning home to a
hero’s welcome raced through my
mind. All that was missing was a
trailer to haul it home… and the
Old Cars Continued...
Phil & Gavin Hager
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Discover Smith Mountain Lake
Winter 2014
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