With only three shows in the area, the schedule of Sunday events was significantly leaner than Saturday. The biggest show of the day was the 38th Annual Poor Man's Nationals held at the Past Time park in Plain City, Ohio.
Beautiful weather graced the Central
Ohio Area for a second day attracting 272 vehicles to the show from all over the area.
Organized by the Buckeye Rod Builders, the show offered music, door prizes, 50/50 raffles, food concessions, and games for both young and old.
This was my first time attending the Poor Man's National. The size of the Past Time park is large enough to easily handle the number automobiles. But unfortunately much of the road surface in and around the park is gravel. A LOT of dust was kicked up by cars coming in and out of the park. Depending on where you parked, your vehicle could end up a different color by the end of the show.
My friends and I parked back among the trees, well off the beaten path. We decided shade and less dust was more important than a little tree sap on our cars.
Even though the show was open to all makes, models and years, it traditionally attracts a lot of "rods" and coupes. The show definitely seemed to favor that style of automobile.
Here are some of the rods and coupes that grabbed my attention.
THE AWARDS
There were 25 "Buckeye" picks or "favorite" awards. In addition to the "favorites", were special awards for long distance, club participation, participants pick, ladies pick, and president's pick.
A major criteria the judges used when selecting cars for award was their creative and originality.
Here are a few of the "Buckeye" picks I managed to photograph.
Special Awards
Long Distance:
1934 Ford coupe from Mesquite, Nevada
Club Participation:
The Goodguys Club
Participants Pick:
1942 Chevy Fleetline owned by Ann and Larry Bechtel
Ladies Pick:
1940 Mercury convertible of Mark Jaynes
President's Pick:
1927 Ford T-Coupe owned by Tim Harbert
PRIZES
Every automobile registered for the show was automatically entered to win door prizes. Registration numbers were randomly selected throughout the show for winning owners to select from a table of door prizes. Before the awards presentation, the registration numbers were reset giving everyone a chance to win one of the several sponsor prizes.
Our lucky friend, Frank, received one of the sponsor prizes from the Raven's Glen Winery and Italian Restaurant in West Lafayette, Ohio. Frank did have to show ID to receive his prize (just kidding).
After the awards presentation, five lucky car owners were randomly selected to win $50 in cash. Some very nice door prizes for a $10 registration fee.
THE GRADE
I'd give the show an overall grade of B. Besides the dusty conditions, there were only two food vendors. Only one of those vendors offered lunch-type food (hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, etc). The other sold ice cream only. This created long lines to buy food. It would have been nice to have several more food vendors, especially considering everyone was a captive audience with the show being held in a park.
I also thought the number of "favorite" awards for a show this size was rather small. Something in the range of 50 to 75 "favorites" would have given some more cars a chance to receive an award.
On the positive side, the show was well-organized. Registration was only $10 when other shows have started charging $15 and $20. And leaving the show was orderly and uneventful. Will I attend next year? That, I'll have to think about.
My 1st time at the show. Great location, although dusty. My only complaint is something that happens at too many shows.... when announcing awards, please
mention what year/make/model won (and where from, if known).
I completely agree about announcing the year, make and model when presenting the awards. The window placard for this show did not include that info which I though was kind of strange.