50+ Lifestyles

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

America’s Fascination with Car Shows
Part 2 of a 2-Part series

By Eloise Graham

There is one car show that stands out above the rest, the Granddaddy of all car shows. It’s the Iola Car Show and Swap Meet in Iola, Wisconsin. Iola is a thriving metropolis of a mere 1,236 people according to the 2020 census. But three days out of the year the town grows to 132,000+ people.

The car show started in 1972 when Chester Krause wrote a letter inviting old car enthusiasts to bring their unique care to a pork roast hosted by the local Lions Club. About 20 cars and their owners gathered on the grass near Lake Iola to chat about their cars and enjoy the pork roast. The next year, the event’s name was changed to the Iola Lions Club Antique Auto Festival, Chicken Roast and donation Auction. Improvements in 1981 included erection of a tower, a former U. S. Forest Service structure.

I attended the show in 1986 or 1987. We parked in some farmer’s field at the edge of town and walked 1/2 mile or so to the large field with rows and rows of cars, pop-up tents with items to buy – a regular swap meet. I recall the town residents sitting on their from porches watching as many car enthusiasts invaded their town, doubling, tripling – no, ten times the size of the town. We just spent the better part of the day there. The next year my husband went back and purchased a 1965 Mustang maroon colored convertible for our daughter.

The grounds has grown to over 300 acres. Displays include the following: Pre-War, vehicles produced prior to 1942; Post-War, 1943-1995; Blue Ribbon, 1990 and older vehicles; Fin-Land, the cars from ’57 – ’61 that had tail fins; Old Cars/Young Drivers, older cars with drivers under the age of 25; Original Owners; Late Model; and Women with Wheels. The dates for 2025 are July 10 – July 12.

And now a young lad’s perspective.

I came across this that my son wrote a few years ago when he was remembering times he spent with his dad.

When I was a kid my dad used to take me to car shows with him. We lived 30 minutes from Flint, Michigan so we could go to the new car show where prototypes from all the major auto makers would be revealed. We also attended antique car shows where restored, modified and original condition antiques were displayed. Once or twice a summer we would spend a day walking around in some giant building or field looking at vehicles.

I don’t remember how old I was when he first took me, but I do remember that I really didn’t like it. For the first several shows, I found the experience to be tiring, boring and more than anything, FRUSTRATING. First, you are not allowed to touch, let alone climb into anything. When you are a kid, that is all you want to do. “If I can’t  climb in and start pulling levers and pushing buttons, then why would that thing even exist ?”

Then when I as a bit older, I remember thinking, “If we’re not going to leave here with one of these, then why are we here?” I didn’t see the point of looking at something if we were not going to acquire it.

When I would say something along these lines, Dad would just smile. He’d then say, “What do you mean? Look at this ’63 Sting Ray. It’s a thing of beauty.” And off he would go. When I caught up he would explain how the ’63 was the first year that Sting Ray was introduced to the Corvette/Chevy line-up. This fueled the fire of the Corvette vs Mustang rivalry that was just starting to heat up. “And look at that’54 Nash…” and on and on.

Now as an adult, my son helps organize car shows for his community.

There are many car clubs in the QCA and surrounding area. Quad City Cruisers comes to mind, but there are many others. Some of the members drive lots of miles to attend shows in other states. Check out websites and Facebook pages for a car show near you! They are still happening this fall.