Chickasha swapmeet ends

[Gene_French]

Sadly this years Chickasha Swapmeet will be the last ( for now) ... the cost of operation and difficulties in coordinating all the necessary functions have become too great ... the reduced vendor attendance and increased cost have made it impractical to continue this meet ...
i want to thank the Erslands for the massive amount of work they have done thru the years to make this my favorite meet ...Sadly , this is the end of a great event ...i will post some pictures later when i have time to re-size them to fit this site ...
Gene French

[Steve Jelf]

It's not the only one. When Pate moved to TMS the magic was gone. I gave up Iola due to the increasing shortage of antique parts and the ever-rising price of admission (yes, you have to pay to get in and spend money). Seldom do you know you're living in a Golden Age until it's gone. Being old has certain advantages. I experienced Real Radio, bought candy bars for a nickel and a bottle of pop for a dime, saw steam locomotives in regular service, watched Gleason and Panorama Pacific live, and bought a new car for under $2000. All of that is gone now, but I remember.

[Dan Hatch]

Come to Luray this May. You will be coming back ever year. You can see parts there that have not been on the market in years.

[signsup]

Just thinking out loud here, I'm a newbie to this hobby, but a veteran in the military vehicle group. Each year they hold a International Convention with displays, swap meet, vendors and workshops. It rotates every year as it is hosted by a local affiliate and the proceeds and split between the two. Perhaps some of the larger Model T clubs could consider hosting such an event? Yes, it's a lot of work and planning, but the number of volunteers needed to run such an event is subsidised by sponsors and local charities such as Rotary Club, Elks, Boy Scouts, etc., help man the parking lots and help with vendor set up and take down.
Just throwing it out there. I know of an event in Luray that appears to be hosted by a affiliate Model T club in conjunction with a tour.

[TXGOAT2]

"Seldom do you know you're living in a Golden Age until it's gone..."

I remember Free America. It was a wonderful place. (It could be again).

[John kuehn]

With more pictures and other viewpoints it does appear that the Chickasha swap meet was doing pretty good this year. Maybe not like years ago but pretty good.
It does seem there would be more than enough interest to have a swap meet in this area somewhere. The southern states have enough old cars besides Model T’s to have a meet thats more than just pre WW2. Seems like a Model T, early V8’s and cars up to the 60’s might work.
Yes I know there is the TMS meet but there could be another meet in Texas or Oklahoma besides that one. But what do I know. There will be more interest in what will happen. If anything.

[Susanne]

It's not the only one. When Pate moved to TMS the magic was gone. I gave up Iola due to the increasing shortage of antique parts and the ever-rising price of admission (yes, you have to pay to get in and spend money). Seldom do you know you're living in a Golden Age until it's gone. Being old has certain advantages. I experienced Real Radio, bought candy bars for a nickel and a bottle of pop for a dime, saw steam locomotives in regular service, watched Gleason and Panorama Pacific live, and bought a new car for under $2000. All of that is gone now, but I remember.

steve, you are definitely not blowing smoke there!!!

My first car that I bought with my own money as a daily driver cost all of $100, a 1962 C-word Corvair... Also had a couple post-brothers era (by a HUGE long shot) big block Dodge/Plymouth cars, and numerous 100-250 dollar motorcycles. Any of which are now considerably far more expensive than I could afford on my low wages. I wish I had all (or any) of them now... what fun!

I remember dime candybars and 2 bit cokes (or 7 ups or RC's or even - god help me - Tab). Nickle for the bottles, you returned them and got a nickle back, so I would collect bottles and use that for various and sundry purposes. The movies were still a big thing, and they had a cartoon or 2, and early on, an actual newsreel. A kid could go to the matinee, see the movie (and sundry shows), a bottle of pop, and either some malted milk balls (yeaaahhh) or popcorn, and have change left over from a buck.

Tho by the time I was a youngun, this thing called Television had taken hold - black and white, and I was the remote (lol) but it brought the world (and sadly, the then current war) into our living room. I still remember Lawrence Welk and the McGuire SIsters in B&W, along with Mutual of Omaha WIld Kingdom, and the Indian Test pattern (after the national anthem and the air force fly by) when I stayed up tpp late and got in trouble - yes, in monochrome!

We lived in the golden age. But I also had a radio (ok, more than one, I was a radio geek as a kid) and I would either tune into the 2 stations that were doing reruns of the old radio shows or shoot "DX" looking for thse far away radio stations to eke in on one of them (KNX in Los Angeles and KOA in Denver were especially prized as a kid in rural west Northern California) I would be fascinated by those voices from afar - (and KOA also did radio show reruns - yay!!!!) and copy down program details for a QSL card from them.

We lived in more innocent times, and I truly believe, better times. My dad just got into the old car thing, got ME into it through my grandfather's british iron fetish. I bought a couple vehicles,but I won't go there, because a lot of people here (sadly, another sign of the current times) riblethink it's a nice dartboard on my back. Wouldn't have happened back then either - people were more loving, caring, and giving. And not so damned caustic.

I also remember - there were numerous swapmeets that local clubs would put on. My first very cool accessory was a set of spring counterweights for a T made by the Hendee Motorcycle Co that were in Indian Red (of course) that I got for 5 bucks. Wish I still had them, but instead they went with a certain unmentionable chassis. Enough of that!

In that spirit, however...

Just thinking out loud here, I'm a newbie to this hobby, but a veteran in the military vehicle group. Each year they hold a International Convention with displays, swap meet, vendors and workshops. It rotates every year as it is hosted by a local affiliate and the proceeds and split between the two. Perhaps some of the larger Model T clubs could consider hosting such an event? Yes, it's a lot of work and planning, but the number of volunteers needed to run such an event is subsidised by sponsors and local charities such as Rotary Club, Elks, Boy Scouts, etc., help man the parking lots and help with vendor set up and take down.
Just throwing it out there. I know of an event in Luray that appears to be hosted by a affiliate Model T club in conjunction with a tour.

This was how we did it in the old days. Like I said, all the local clubs had their own swap meets. Some got regional attention and we had people driving a hundred or 2 miles to be there. And the idea of a "Traveling" major swap meet, annually, hosted by various local regional clubs, might just be the way of the future. I remember one set up under 3 stretches under a freeway (a '15 coil box with an aftermarket lock switch (I'd never seen one),the missing parts for my Muncie, Parts for my motorcycle project, and a good fronty head) went home with me.

It's sad I'm longer over there, as I would love to start to spearhead the return of this... I'm sure it COULD be done. There are still cheapish venues, maybe not in a fairgrounds, but under a freeway or an empty lot or parking lot with porta potties... It still wouldn't be Hershey or Luray or (damn) Chickasha, but it WOULD help keep the hobby alive, and maybe get some 14 year old kid the wherewithall to find parts to start their own project. And if it moved every year... it could STILL go on. and our disease, er, passion would spread instead of dying out.

And yes, after all of us old codgers and codgerettes are long gone, the hobby may carry on. no, it MUST carry on!!

[John kuehn]

I agree that the times of yesteryear are days gone by as far as swap meets are concerned.
The time is coming when antique cars will be less interesting than the later old cars because the later cars from the V8 era onward you can drive more safely and possibly get out on more main roads. Plus the real T enthusiast types are either old, dying off or already gone.

That doesn’t mean T’s are a dying hobby but as Swap Meets geared for Antique cars will be getting less. What antique car parts will be found will be a the super big meets like Hershey and etc.
If Chickasha or something like it is revived it needs to be something for the newer old guys and folks that grew up,with the 50’s -70’s cars. Those guys are the new old retired guys. Something to think about if it happens at all. But those guys are slowly getting old too.

[Susanne]

I agree that the times of yesteryear are days gone by as far as swap meets are concerned.
The time is coming when antique cars will be less interesting than the later old cars because the later cars from the V8 era onward you can drive more safely and possibly get out on more main roads. Plus the real T enthusiast types are either old, dying off or already gone.

That doesn’t mean T’s are a dying hobby but as Swap Meets geared for Antique cars will be getting less. What antique car parts will be found will be a the super big meets like Hershey and etc.
If Chickasha or something like it is revived it needs to be something for the newer old guys and folks that grew up,with the 50’s -70’s cars. Those guys are the new old retired guys. Something to think about if it happens at all. But those guys are slowly getting old too.

Which is why it is SO damned important to get others into this insanity, er, hobby. I see 20 year olds who bought their first T and are, as we were when we got ours, enamored. Others equally as young are grabbing the "rarer" cars for the same reasons - us old people are either divesting our collections, or our kids are doing it for us because they have no sense of what we loved, and devoted our hours and small fortunes toward. C'est la vie!

I most likely won't be here in 75 years to keep ejoying the hobby, I don't think MY kids will, but someone's kids will.. and to me, that's just cool!!! Kids who weren't born 30 years ago are buying our now discarded relics and keeping them alive. WE as the old codger(ettte)s of this hobby should be reaching out to them (and their weird music --lol--) and sharing what we know, so what we know isn't lost, but saved. So in 75 years, after we are all dust and they are almost dust, they will have the culture to pass it on, akd keep these almost TWO HUDRED YEAR OLD cars running... just like my parents did for me when these cars were approaching (and have now surpassed) 100. Not to mention the history of my grandparents in the 20's and 30's, which will be to them like the revolutionary war was to us. And yet...

WE can help those memories live on. Think about it.

[Steve Jelf]

...and the Indian Test pattern...

I was in third grade. After school, which let out at three, I stopped at Jimmy's house on the way home. Jimmy's family had a TV set. He turned it on and showed me that test pattern. Shows didn't come on until evening. Later that year I would walk two blocks on Thursday evening to watch The Long Ranger at Jimmy's house.

[TRDxB2]

interesting was too young to know how to use it

[John kuehn]

Besides the Indian test pattern here’s two more TV logo’s of days gone by. I don’t think these would be acceptable these days.

[Norman Kling]

The first swap meet I attended was in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. There were also some in the San Fernando Valley. The big one in the area was at Vetran's Stadium in Long Beach which continues to this day. Not that far from most of the most populated areas in Southern California. There was one for all makes of cars of many year span held at the Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. That one has been discontinued since the Chargers moved out and the stadium was demolished for a smaller one and housing along the river. Bakersfield has one for many makes. Then it was moved to Tulare where the Model T area was way in the back and a long way from the parking lot for us old timers. Now it is going to be in Famosa which is near Bakersfield. I only went to Hershey once. Thought about buying some coils, but was afraid the airline would think it was some kind of bomb. I did meet Bruce McCauly while there. I know a few younger folks who are interested in T's but not as many as before. You see our generation saw them on the road every day and since there was a great depression followed by the second world war, many survived until the 1950's and us young people then wanted one so the hobby got a good start. Model A's were and still are very popular as well. I have 4 sons and one daughter and only our daughter was interested in inheriting mine, but she lives right on the coast of Washington State and it would rust out even if parked in a garage. Which I don't think they have a garage. So if you know some younger people interested, try to encourage them to keep these old cars going. It will also be harder with phasing out gasoline.
Norm

[John kuehn]

Norm.
I have a friend I worked with many years who built up a 63 Ford step side PU with his son while his son was still in HighSchool. He put a built up 302 Ford engine in it and and spent several thousand on it. He gave it to his son on High School graduation. A year later his son traded it for a new Ford PU almost even up because the 63 PU was a really nice rebuild. This was in 1995. Yes you’re right . Your kids aren’t always really interested in what we liked in our day.

[ModelTWoods]

Since my post, yesterday, disappeared like a ghost, I'll post again. I hate to see Chickasha disappear, but I guess it couldn't weather the economy. For the average person, who isn't a well healed retired person, or in business to the hobby, it just isn't a financially viable 'fun' vacation to take, given the increase in transportation costs, accommodation costs, and food and other costs. I remember back in the 70's when I would go to Carlisle and Hershey, every year and the trip cost was never a consideration. The only consideration was whether I had enough 'vacation time' from work, to take off ! Fast forward to today, I now live in a San Antonio suburb; not a Houston suburb, but similar swap meet situations affect the hobbyist in Texas. All but one major swap meet in the Houston/Southeast Texas area have disappeared. For North Texans, Pate and Decatur are still going, but neither are like the original Pate meet, was. In central Texas, I am fortunate to still have two swap meets available to me, although neither can compare to Luray, Carlisle, or Hershey. One is the Hill Country Swap Meet in Fredericksburg in the HOT summer and the other is the New Braunfels Swap Meet in April. I don't know how it fared during the COVID years of 2020-2022, but I know it was a sell out of over 1000 available spaces in 2023 because I couldn't get a space. Yes, it is not a 'pre-war' only swap meet, but it is still probably the best 'early' swap meet to go to in Texas that I know of. I'll be there with two spaces and other members of the San Antonio, Kerrville, and Austin Clubs will be there too. My only regret is that with my health issues, I can't load up a large box truck with my parts to take there. I'm a native Texan, and proud of it, but the drawback to living in a big state is the distance involved to go to another state. You can drive from Orange, Texas to El Paso, Texas, a distance of 855 miles, but it will take you 12.75 hours to do it. On the other hand, one year coming back from Hershey/Carlisle, I left Chambersburg, PA at sun up and drove to Chattanooga, TN, arriving about dark finally stopping in Tuscaloosa, AL at 2 AM after driving through Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama, not including Pennsylvania where i started the day from.

[YellowTRacer]

This post has drifted a bit. The topic was the end of Chicasha. It doesn't have to end. The Erslands carried it this far. Some one of you vocals that live in or around that area could step up and volunteer to chair that event......... and the end is gone!

Ed aka #4

[dr1960]

Don't give up too soon. I heard from a reputable source the Irsland's son Ryan is looking into options to continue the swap meet.

So just a bit of a rant. Swap meets die when people don't support them. When people don't come, the vendors eventually don't come, and it all goes to a death spiral until it is no longer viable to put on by the hosts. I have been going for more than 20 years, a youngster by many standards. I consider the swap meet a complete success if i can sell enough stuff to pay for my trip there and get some great old car advice. All of the rest is great times with good people, picking up a few parts that i may or may not need, and lots of knowledge exchange. The hobby moves forward to next generations when we continue to participate and share our interest and knowledge with future car enthusiasts.

I hope there is a way forward to keep a great swap meet in the midwest.

My two cents.

-David

[DHort]

Little Hershey is coming up on Saturday, May 18 in Belvidere, IL. This is close to Rockford. I believe Bob's will be open, too.

[Bill Everett]

My first Chickasha meet was 1999; I remember staying in El Reno because no rooms available any closer.

What I remember clearly were the open trailers, loaded with every conceivable item for a T addict, including some whole cars and bodies.

What really sticks out in my memory were the steamer items as well as steamer repair parts. The vendor, I think from New Jersey (but don't quote me on that!) was in one of the buildings and had a cluster of interested customers. Some items were NOS, some were used, and some appeared new.

The meet was so well attended it appeared to me it would go on forever.

For an event like Chickasha, or any other, to continue, customers need to come and buy a few things; I believe it's as simple as that.

[Gene_French]

i will try to post some pictures ... not sure how this will work since i am using a new computer and a very old Kodak camera ... wish me luck !

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[Gene_French]

Hurrah , looks like this works ...will get the additional photos re-sized and posted here ...Gene French

[Gene_French]

More pictures ...

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[Gene_French]

more pictures ...

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[Gene_French]

more pictures...

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[Gene_French]

more pictures ...

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[Gene_French]

more pictures ...

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[Gene_French]

Sorry , i did not get any pictures of the very sparsly populated outside spaces or the North building ... all the pictures i posted are in the South building ...Gene French

[ModelT46]

I have one suggestion. create a new post and post your favorite photos and stories from past meets. This would be a tribute to those who made this event great.

[tdump]

I just got back from a antique radio meet in charlotte and the parking lot was sorda full but I didn't see very many young people out there. all were older.
and alot of literally free to take home stuff. so many people have died that worked on the old radios there is a shrinking market. I guess it is the same for the prewar cars.