My father was back in the hospital this past week so for the first time since Memorial Day weekend, I didn't make it to any car shows.
I did, however, manage to break away for a few hours on Thursday evening to attend the Der Dutchman end of season banquet.
More than 200 people pre-registered for the banquet so there weren't very many empty chairs.
Wayne Nisly got the evening started by sharing some facts about this year's cruise-ins.
- Wayne's database has accumulated the names of 1013 people who have registered a vehicle a least once during the past three years.
- The total number of people to register in 2019 was 2341.
- There were 341 first-timers this season.
- There were four rainy evenings, but only two cancellations.
- It was estimated that 84 lbs of bratwurst, 300 hot dogs, 600 hamburgers, and 115 gallons of ice cream were consumed during the season.
- On June 29, the restaurant held its first-ever coffee and donut cruise-in.
- Four times this year the cruise-in registered more than 200 vehicles.
Besides the food, another highlight of the evening was the presentation of plaques commemorating the sixth year of the cruise-in. Everyone who registered a vehicle in 2019 and attended the banquet received one of these plaques.
As the plaque says, this was the best year ever for the cruise-in. And with that popularity came an issue that was barely noticed during the previous five years. Cooking all those hot dogs, hamburgers and brats, unfortunately, created a lot of grease which found its way onto the cars. I moved parking location three times during the season trying to keep my car relatively grease-free.
I'm not sure there's a good solution to the problem other than cooking less food. I guess it's the price one pays for having the most popular cruise-in in Central Ohio.
Despite the grease, it truly was a great season. Every Thursday I looked forward to hanging out with friends and seeing some fantastic cars. And the chance to win some delicious goodies didn't hurt either.
I overheard someone say the reason they enjoyed the Der Dutchman cruise-ins so much was that it was a laid back way to spend a Thursday evening. I think that pretty much sums up this sixth year
How do you get your plaque, if you were not at the banquet?
I would contact the restaurant and ask to speak to Victor. He is the assistant manager that oversees the cruise-in.
Could I come by this Saturday evening to pick up my plack
See my comment to Michele Wilson. You'll need to contact the restaurant.
Hi Kim, Sorry to hear your father in hospital,hope all is well there ... missed you over weekend at the shows. I made the Croton show on Saturday and rainy Zoo show on Sunday.Both shows had good turn outs. Was good to see Dave Kindig again this year, he is so cool. hope weather holds for this coming weekend ? Hope to see ya soon. Larry
Hi Larry, My Father was discharged from the hospital late Sunday afternoon. I had planned to attend the Zoo show but his discharge threw a wrench into those plans. Riverside Hospital originally wanted to discharge him on Saturday evening. They called to tell me he was going to be discharged as I was driving to the football game. After some back and forth discussion, I got them to postpone his discharge until Sunday. Riverside Hospital is not high on my list right now. You'd have to convince me to let them treat my dog. And I don't even have a dog. Needless to say, my Father is back in the skilled nursing facility at the Forum. We'll see what happens in the next week or so.
As for this weekend, I'm hoping to get a couple of shows in. Going to try to go to Marysville on Friday evening and the Trunk or Treat show in Hilliard on Saturday. The weather forecast for Saturday doesn't look very promising at the moment. If you're going to the trunk or treat show, I'll be sure to stop by and say hi.