You don’t just see century-old Fords in un-restored condition every day, let alone have the opportunity to buy them. Photos by the Hemmings Staff.
They tell you it’s big and that it will rain, but it’s really tough to convey just how big the Antique Automobile Club of America Eastern Fall Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania, aka “Hershey,” is. For one thing, the acreage is low and rolling. You can never get a good view of the entire show field, which incorporates the grounds and parking lots surrounding the Hersheypark amusement park and The Giant Center.
Hershey has been going on every fall since 1955, and although old timers will tell you how much bigger it was in the days before the Internet (I think of it as “The Mud Era”), it blows anything else this writer has experienced out of the water. Think of the biggest local swap you’ve attended and multiply by at least six. Also, the prices are better than on the Internet, so bring cash. Even most of the food vendors aren’t yet toting tablet computers and credit-card swipers.
An ancient International Harvester truck with four generations aboard races against a Sears Motor Buggy with period-clothed crew in the high-wheeler races.
It’s not just a swap meet, either. There’s a car corral for ready-to-go vehicles that you could conceivably buy during the week, clean up and drive to the car show on Saturday, there’s the car show itself, there are lots of regular ol’ antiques to buy, vintage clothing, lots of delicious fair food and even events. Illustrated above you see the high-wheeler races where the oldest of the old race against one another in a delightful two-lap affair after the vintage race cars prove they run and drive and are thus eligible for show competition (see the gallery below).
A 1949 Diamond T 201 Pickup crosses the auction block at RM Sotheby’s Hershey Auction.
There’s even an auction held nearby at the Hershey Lodge by RM Sotheby’s where everything from driver-quality to concours-correct vehicles are bought and sold, not to mention a healthy smattering of art and automobilia. Full Classics, sports cars, exotics, muscle cars and trucks all cross the block during the two nights of the auction.
Perhaps only at Hershey will you encounter something as unusual and wonderful as a 1922 Gray roadster.
Capping things off on Saturday is the car show. This writer was awestruck by the breadth and scope of the show. There were unusual cars, beautifully restored cars and amazingly preserved cars–all ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary. Sadly, our visit to the show was cut short by rain. Thankfully, it was the only rain seen all week and most of the event took place under blue skies and 70-something temperatures.
If you’ve never been to Hershey, you really must go. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
The Auction
The Car Corral and Swap Meet
The Car Show
