[TR] Triumphs Digest, Vol 4, Issue 326

[Keith Stewart]

Right you are Marty. I have been at every Summer Party except the first one -
even in the years where they did not have a summer party, I visited anyway.
Summer Party started as a way for TRF to thank their customers. The events
were great, the new friends were phenomenal, and checking out what may or not
be correct on so many cars was a fantastic opportunity. Many years ago, there
were over 1000 people at the BBQ and drive-in movie and then the next night,
sitting down to dinner followed by live entertainment and a dance. There is
nothing like it. For the first few years, we drove our TR4. Later, we brought
our Spitfire. More recently we have brought our TR3. Maybe cancelling now and
again was a mistake. Maybe moving the date around was a mistake. But,
regardless, the fun and value remain fantastic. Early on, my wife and I made
Summer Party a family vacation every year. Now, the kids have all moved on to
lives of their own but still reminisce about Summer Party and talk about one
day coming back for one more Summer Party. In fact, we are thinking about how
to make all of that happen - I have to figure out how to get enough cars ready
for everyone.

Any way, it is hard to believe that more Triumph owners (and other marques) do
not take advantage of such a fantastic opportunity and value. It doesn't
matter whether you are into the competitive aspects (well done Sukey family
and Richard Goode) or the fun aspects (fantastic Mountain Tour and Winery
Tour) we all appreciate Dave's bonfires and music at TRF's grounds and the
fantastic friendships we have developed over the years. Charles is more than
just a vendor, he has always been a supporter of our hobby and in the case of
the Summer Party, a provider of fantastic opportunities. Thanks Charles.

For those who have never been or for those who have not been there in a long
time, let's all get together next year and have a blast. I hope to see more of
you on the streets of Indiana PA next summer.

Keith Stewart
London, Ontario


On 2010-08-02, at 2:00 PM, Marty Sukey wrote:

> Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 20:06:23 -0400
> From: marty sukey <trmarty at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [TR] TRF Summer Party 2010
> To: 6 Digest <6pack at autox.team.net>, Triumph List
> 	<triumphs at autox.team.net>
> Message-ID: <BAY123-W4885C3132C6BF49951B5B2BAAD0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> We just got back from the summer party and are still grinning. Had a
wonderful
> time as usual. Participated in drag racing, poker run, LeMans start
contest,
> winery tour, car show, autox, big dinner, and all for around $100 and there
> was more stuff we could have done but the days did not have enough hours in
> them.  We have been attending this event for about 20 years now and the
> general format and the fun level is still the same. What has changed is the
> amount of people attending. There is only about a third of the people
> attending now as there was in the old days. The drag race and autox events
> have a fraction of participants from the early 90's. I pondered this on the
> drive back thinking to myself man, there should be a waiting list to get in
> this thing for as much fun as we have every year. What has changed over the
> years? Is it the economy? Is there just not that many of these old cars
> running any more? Has the age of the participants shifted to the point
where
> doing these types of things with the cars is of no interest any more? Have
the
> cars become too valuable to drive? What are your thoughts?
>
> Marty