Early on a gray Saturday and Sunday morning, several club members braved the chilly May Gray and met at the Orange County Fairgrounds for an English Car event. The show was put together in support of the Scottish Festival and Highland Games being held during the Memorial Day weekend.
Represented were several beautiful Austin Healeys. There were 3000’s on display along with a couple of Sprite’s and 100/4’s. Also representing the Healey moniker were some absolutely stunning Jensen Healeys. There was an E-Type Jaguar along with a very nice XJ6. Bentley was represented along with a couple of very clean Spitfire 1500s. A Lotus 11 and a Super 7 were there along with a handful of well- maintained and very sharp Morris Minors and Mini’s.
The Scottish Clans were represented by the many booths which were set up just past the cars lined up at the entrance of the event. The booths told individual and varied stories of the Clans they represented along with the histories and contributions to Scotland, the UK and the United States of each of the Clans. The booths displayed the Clan tartan or tartans and the representatives manning the booths were enthusiastic about sharing their personal stories and clan histories.
The Festival was a true family event. Seeing the young lads and lasses decked out in their traditional Scottish wear was a sight to behold.
In times where family histories and traditions seemed to be discounted, seeing a young person of Nive or six in a tie and kilt was refreshing. The kilts, of course, matched those worn by their parents and every young person who came by the car event was curious, courteous, excited and incredibly well behaved.
Hats off to the families who attended this event.
There were many stocky lads and sturdy lasses all about during the weekend. They were tossing telephone poles around, chucking large rocks and pitching stones with an attached sturdy spring or small tree branch. The real names for such games are: The Caber Toss (shortened telephone poles), the Stone Put, (tossing a rather big rock), Hammer Throw for both heavy and light weight throw. (tossing a somewhat smaller rock with the attached stick or heavy spring). Both the men and women in these events wore colorful kilts representing their Clan and the Clan colors were on full display. As it turns out, the difference between the men's and women’s kilts was simply the length of the kilt. Both rocks, poles and kilts were flying for these events so thank goodness some of the more traditional Scottish ways were not strictly followed during these competitions. Speaking of Kilts, the club was well represented by what one member, in jest, referred to as “men in plaid skirts”. Watching a Scot, by heritage, in a kilt, trying to climb into a single- seater Lotus 11 while trying to maintain his dignity, was not for the faint of heart.
There were bagpipe and traditional Highland dance competitions, Sheep herding and police dog expositions. A whisky tasting arena, beer booths and traditional Scottish foods were available. The food may not have met everyone's culinary expectations (or delight) so Mexican food, burgers and pretzels were also available for the faint of heart.
After all, Scottish meat pies (lamb- burger in a pie crust) and Haggis are not on the top of most menus in the USA.
The vendor booths held a wide variety of items. From traditional kilts, dress outfits and heavy wool sweaters. Sock knives and all the various accouterments required to truly represent one’s Scottish heritage abounded. There were Jewelry booths. Booths which sold every imaginable style of knife or sword. Hogwarts robes and of course there were the Scottish themed trinkets which made the kids smile and act the rogue when their parents decided an eight-year-old really didn’t need a mace or war hammer to thump his or her sibling with.
In attendance were Club members Phill Caliva, Greg Aden, Nancy Ashina and her friend Steve Schreiber, Bob Bolling and his son, Chuck Lakowski, Steve Magoffin, Tim McNiff, Ann Johansson, Peter Huchings, Steve Johnson, George McHarris Flavio Montoro, Rick Shoemaker, Mike and Tom Biss. If someone was omitted, the author takes full responsibility and offers his most humble apology. He was volunteered (shanghaied) on the second day of the event to do the write up; so a true accounting of the attendees was difNicult due to a failed memory test of the weekend's events. So along with help from other attendees who understood the predicament the author was scrambling to rectify. This list of attendees was created.
Among the Club attendees, stories were shared, Lies were told, smiles, exaggerated stories, memories and good times were shared. All in all, it seemed that all was good under God’s blue skies. A sincere “thank you” goes out to all who helped during the event and in the creation of this event overview.