Annual 300 Letter Car Spring Meet
A foreword fromNoel Hastalis- Echoing the positive comments that others who attended our KokomoMeet have offered! A big Thanks! to Ralph and Rockey for their hardwork planning and producing this big party, as we nearly tipped the100 attendee bogey. Though a bit wet on Wednesday for those drivingin from the south and a couple other showers that followed, theweather cooperated nicely. Our Saturday Car Show was all blue skiesand sunshine, with 22 Letter Cars showing off their chrome - onlymissed having a J and a Hurst! - along with 7 other older 300 Sportsand Mopars by our members, and a nice collection of other interestingMopars with a few random GMs and Fords. Standouts among these werethe radically modified '35 Chrysler Airflow and the 1919 DodgeBrothers Touring Car with an RB motor topped by '64 Short-ramsstuffed in its narrow engine bay. A special Thanks!also to Jeff Bailey, who not only trailered in his sweet Silver MistL coupe from Oklahoma, but also brought his 1:25 scale models that hehad beautifully built - including one of almost every Letter Car(missed C and E) – and then generously donated to be raffledoff to 14 lucky winners at our Awards Banquet.
A summary fromRalph and Rockey… We would like to thank everyone who attended the spring meethere in Kokomo, Indiana. 
We especially appreciate those members whomade the soggy trip into Kokomo on Wednesday, May 15th. The meet’s initial gathering took place at the host hotel onthe south end of town. Attendees rolled in to complete theirregistration process and obtain comfortable accommodations. Laterthat evening, we held a general meeting to get to know each otherbetter, to provide an orientation about what to expect over the nextfew days and to answer any questions. The rains finally came to anend overnight; hopefully everyone got a good rest in preparation forthe great activities coming up.
OnThursday, May 16th, we took a trip together up to Auburn, Indiana. Our destinations weretwofold, first to the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum (or ACD) and thenalso to the NATMUS (National Auto and Truck Museum). Approximately65 club members were in attendance and around 10-12 letter cars wereactually driven from Kokomo to Auburn and back again, without anyincidents of course. The ACD tends to focus on elegant motor cars ofthe past and as well as the history and evolution of Hoosier-basedautomobile manufacturers and parts suppliers. The NATMUS houses agreat selection of muscle cars and trucks, race cars and customizedvehicles in many different flavors.
Our group seemed toenjoy both museums and the stunning contrasts between the two collections. After returning to Kokomo, participants broke fordinner individually but reconvened later that evening for a Chrysler300 Club International Inc business meeting. Afterwards, everyoneretired at their own leisure to prep for the next day’sfestivities.
Our Club wasinvited to visit the Grissom Air Museum in Peru, Indiana on Friday,May 17th. Again roughly 65 or so members were in attendance and a dozen or soletter cars were driven to the site. We were broken up into smallergroups and then guided by museum volunteers, first through the insidecollection dedicated to the history of the US Air Force in generaland Grissom Air Force Base (GARB) in particular and second, outsideand around the grounds where many historic aircraft and armaments areon display.
The folks who are in charge of the museum verymuch appreciated our interest and our patronage. The club received anice letter from Frank Faulkner, who wrote “Good afternoonRalph, Rockey and the 300 Owner’s Club members. Thank you forvisiting our Grissom Air Museum today. We GAM docents (Larry. John,Thom and Frank) enjoyed hosting you today and sharing some storiesabout Bunker Hill ARB, Grissom ARB and several of the GAM artifactson display. Thank you also for bringing your classic Chrysler 300vehicles to GAM.”
The club once againreturned to the host hotel in Kokomo for a brief respite, and laterthat afternoon, everyone travelled to “A Summer Place” inSharpsville, Indiana for some “eats” and a walkabout. This is a “genuine” 1950s-style Hoosier small town,including a barber shop, a gas station, a diner, a movie theater, afire department and more, constructed in Jim Richardson’s ownback yard. Given our sizable attendance, we had to break into twogroups, and each had its own dinner schedule. Ever the consummategentleman and host, Jim watched over his guests carefully andeveryone seemed to enjoy their visit to his own personal village.
The ‘Big Day”was Saturday, May 18th. Things got kicked off with a letter-car themed show hosted by ButtonMotors in Kokomo. Our prayers were answered for nice weather; brightblue skies, comfortable temperatures and light breezes ruled the dayand helped everybody at the show stay feel great. A special area wasprepped along the front of the dealership’s property, wheremost of the 22 letter cars were parked in order of model year (andletter sequence of course). Space was also provided for a variety ofother MOPARs (non-letter cars and others) plus a few nice GM and FORDmodels. 300s and other Chryslers were selected for awards using a“people’s choice” methodology and the winners wereannounced at the Awards Banquet later that afternoon. Button Motorswas definitely grateful for all the attention our 300 Show brought totheir car lots and they did a great job taking care of us all whilewe were on their property.
The awards dinnertook place at Elite Banquet and Conference Center in Kokomo. Thesite did a nice job setting up the venue and provided great food anddrink service. After we had all eaten and drank our fill, awardswere called out and presented to very worthy owners. We hope thateverybody left happy.
In closing, wewould like to thank Noel for all his efforts toward coordinating withclub members and providing needed information for our attendees andthe events club members. Many thanks to Sandy Henderson for creatingthe center pieces for the banquet and to Mark Henderson for helpingus out with event pictures. Finally, many thanks to each of ourChrysler 300 Letter Car members who attended the Spring Meet. Wehope you all enjoyed yourselves and look forward to seeing you againsoon.
With very bestregards, Ralph Rhees and Jim Rockey
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Photo credits: Warren Anderson, Carl Bilter, Kurt Brueski, Bill Elder, Noel Hastalis, Dawn & Jamie Hyde, Don Verity, Gloria Moon, Mark Obermann, Ralph Rhees.
