The Der Dutchman Restaurant in Plain City, Ohio held the end-of-the-season cruise-in banquet on Thursday. More than 134 people signed up for the festivities.
For a little historical perspective, this marked the sixth year the restaurant has held a weekly cruise-in from May through September. The very first cruise-in occurred on May 24, 2012. A total of seven cars showed up for that first cruise-in. Boy have things come a long way since then.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Here are some of the highlights from this season...
- The cruise-in reached 100 automobiles (104 to be exact) for the very first time on June 29. The 100 mark would be reached again on August 24 and September 28.
- Bad weather affected five cruise-ins including the first week
- Host, Wayne Nisely, missed his one and only cruise-in on June 22 because of a health issue.
- Wayne celebrated his 79th birthday on July 27, however, the celebration had to be postponed to the following week because of bad weather
- This season had 183 first-timers. There were first-timers every week except for two of the rain outs
- 327 people participated in at least one cruise-in this season
- My four-year old grandson recorded his first ever cruise-in
Der Dutchman presented everyone that registered for the banquet a beautiful plaque commemorating the season.
Of course, there had to be group photo of Wayne and the gang before the evening ended.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say a heart-felt thanks goes out to Wayne, his wife, Luella, Victor, Drew, and the Der Dutchman management for making this season the best one yet.
Next year's cruise-ins will kick-off on May 24, 2018. I've already got it marked on my calendar. Can't wait for another great season.