Avant les hordes de touristes: les voitures anciennes originales de Hershey

The annual A.A.C.A. Eastern Nationals event at Hershey creates, among other ancillary events, a pop-up Mecca for old cars, parts, and services for them. It draws crowds of car-loving people from all over the world; I heard at least four other languages beyond the usual English variants, as well as French and German.

The "flea market" of buying and selling was hot and heavy in the vendor spaces on the huge stadium parking lot, and that was only part of this week-long happening. Car dealers and their tents, a boulevard stretching around the perimeter of the Hershey Bears' hockey stadium, a major auction at the nearby Hershey Lodge—all provided a sure overdose of car mania. And, of course, the A.A.C..A.'s concours event on Friday occurred in perfect weather, with at least 1,000 cars being judged for their respective awards, everyone competing to a measured standard that gave all participants a chance to earn an award.

I sold more copies of my book, Classic Speedsters, while walking the show field than I did sitting in a sales tent earlier in the week because I kept running into fellow speedster fans who were also admiring the cars on the field. I wasn't trying to sell, but folks kept asking me what I did as an automotive writer, and I was gratefully giving out book cards like they were candy.

At an event like this, you meet total strangers with similar tastes, you strike up a spirited conversation, and pretty soon you're old buddies swapping stories and contact information to get together for a future coffee or beer.
What an event. Ya gotta go sometime—it's recommended!

Just finished up another great week at Hershey! I believe what you see in this picture is the old Hershey convention hall built in the early 1900s in Hershey Park before it was an amusement park. They held events and concerts there which would explain the parking. It is still there in Hershey Park. Eventually, it had the Hershey Arena attached to it in the 1930s and later became the Hershey Museum for a time.

The Hershey Hotel was not built until the 1930s so that could not be the building in the picture. Here is a another picture of the building in period and a more modern shot.