The Vintage Motor Car Club of America

An update from Tracy Lesher, the VMCCA Bulb Horn Editor

- posted December 26, 2024

Oh boy! Here I am in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, for the 2024 Revival Glidden Tour. Someone asked me if I was driving. I will say that I would LOVE to drive my 1933 Ford Tudor, but driving and taking pictures do not mix well. I was a little nervous about this Glidden "Freshman" business. I never joined a sorority while in college. I have no experience with pledging or hazing. My first assignment from the Dean of Freshmen, Pat Swigart, involved getting a list of ten tour participants from ten different states. Piece of cake. The other mention I will make is that it was a wonderful opportunity to meet some of our club members.

Speaking of which — during the Wednesday afternoon tea, Sally Murray asked me and another freshman what we enjoyed the most about the Glidden Tour so far. I ran out of time to answer the question. I will answer it now. In my opinion, the best part of any tour are the people on it. The 78th Revival Glidden Tour provided me with countless opportunities to connect with our members. There will be more to come about the Revival Glidden Tour in the January/February issue.

VMCCA is The Touring Club. There has been much discussion about the need for 2025 tour hosts. From personal experience, I will tell you that hosting a tour involves a lot of work, but it is a lot of fun and very rewarding. Back in 2015, Jeff and I, along with support from the AACA Buzzard’s Breath Touring Region, hosted an AACA Vintage Tour (cars 1931 and earlier). At the time, Augie and Jack were much younger (Jeff and I were too). We were busy with everything that comes along with life—work and responsibilities (still are for that matter). My point is that a tour can be organized by busy people. One of the best parts of organizing our tour was showing off what our area of southeastern Pennsylvania has to offer. Searching and exploring your backyard for places to visit can also be full of surprises. "Hey, I have never been on that road before!" "I did not know that place existed!" "Who knew that was there?" And it was fun working with my husband Jeff in order to pull everything together. You pick the timing and the places to visit. Watch the tour magic unfold. Take a look at the last few Bulb Horn issues and check the calendar. Reach out to those people who have hosted a tour for advice. Antique car people are the best and will be happy to help.

I hate to mention this. On a sad note, we lost longtime VMCCA member and Bulb Horn artist in residence Rich Eagle. He graciously shared his unpublicized paintings with me for Bulb Horn future issues. I have a few remaing in the queue, and I will continue to include each one until they run out. This past summer I had spoken with Rich, and he mentioned his health struggles. It is a tremendous loss to the hobby. As I place his last pieces of artwork in the coming issues there is a degree of sadness knowing that at some point there will be no more. Rich's obituary will be in the next issue.

Get out and tour.

Tracy Lesher,
VMCCA Editor