by Brad Nauss…..
Citroëns at Carlisle brought together a true group of enthusiastic Citroën owners and friends. In spite of the rainy weather the group had a great time, and were a very important part of the Carlisle Import Show.
Citroëns and enthusiasts began to arrive on Thursday. An impromptu dinner Thursday night at a local pub was enjoyed by all.
Friday saw yet more people and cars arriving, to an overcast and damp day. They enjoyed the cars which were on display, and searched the flea market for that elusive part. A group of 28 enjoyed dinner Friday night at the brand new Gilligan’s West Restaurant, where the food was delicious. Owned by local Citroën collector George Lois and his wife Leah, a visit to a Gilligan’s Restaurant is always the highlight of a stay in Central PA.
Friday night overnight, the heaviest of the rain came. Saturday morning, everyone awoke to steady but lighter rain, and started arriving on the show field by 9 AM. The weather certainly dampened the attendance, but at least 11 enthusiasts had their cars ready for the show field. The weather would persist, and varied from a light drizzle to light rain for the remainder of the day.
Dave Agar had manufactured a special display so that he could remove all the body panels from the driver’s side of his DS, and display them beside the car. Many people enjoyed watching him remove the panels, and during the show this was one of the major attractions for “non Citroën” attendees.
Dave Agar’s “DS deconstucted” display.
Dave’s car is a tribute to the “Sur Balloons” advertising DS, which was produced for a short time in
1959. The display idea came from the Citroën advertising brochure.
Dave Agar’s display, modeled after the DS “Sur Balloons” advertising car and brochure.
At 1 PM, Dave Burnham gave a very informative seminar on engine rebuilding. He also had many engine parts on display, which he used to demonstrate what he discussed.
Dave Burnham putting on his seminar on engine rebuilding.
Brad Nauss gave a seminar on the Citroën DS, its innovations, and use of new materials to make these innovations possible. Brad also had articles on display for “show and tell”.
Dave Agar and Brad discussed Dave’s display, and explained how the body panels attach, then Dave reconstructed the car while many watched in awe about how the DS is assembled.
After the seminars were over, Paul Anderson led a small group of cars on the “Tour of the Valley”, and they had a fun time.
Saturday night, a cold and damp group of Citroën enthusiasts and friends arrived at Fiddler’s Restaurant for dinner. We were welcomed with nice warm outdoor heaters under the pavilion, and as always, a great selection of appetizers and main entrees. Nice cold beer was on tap, provided by Brad Nauss Automotive and George Lois from Fiddler’s Restaurant. Dinner was topped off with desert, provided by Brad Nauss Automotive. A special “Happy Retirement” cake was made to celebrate Judy Reiter’s retirement earlier this year. We were sorry that Judy could not attend at the last minute, but the group ate the cupcakes surrounding the cake, and left the cake to be delivered to Judy by a friend.
After dinner, it was time for the awards. Brad thanked everyone for attending. Special guests were introduced including some new faces in the crowd. Dave Burnham and Dave Agar were recognized for their HUGE part in providing a seminar and the special display, and were presented with bottles of wine and other small tokens of appreciation by Brad.
Winners of the “People’s Choice Judging” were presented with their awards, as follows:
- Best early D series – Dave Agar – 1966 DS21
- Best late D series – Bruce Logan – 1973 DS20
- Best series one CX – Peter Kristensen – 1980 CX2400
- Best Traction Avant 11CV – Brad Nauss – 1950 11BL
- Best Traction Avant 15CV – Carl Erb – 1952 15/6
- Best Citroën, special category – Roland Sotello – 1987 BX
- Best of Show – Carl Erb – 1952 15/6
Everyone enjoyed the evening, and certainly went home warm and full of good food. We all agreed, that Citroëns at Carlisle is all about the FRIENDS…..with the cars just a means to get us all together for the weekend.
Sunday morning some of us awoke to dry weather, some to light drizzle. By the time we arrived at breakfast at the Middlesex Diner, it was drizzling and raining lightly. A great breakfast was enjoyed by 20. Following breakfast, some said their goodbyes, and headed for home. A small group drove to the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing in York Springs, PA. We had a great time looking at the history of racing in Central PA and beyond. We got to see cars that we had seen in car magazines when we were younger, and some that we had actually seen racing. A special treat was meeting and talking with Lynn Paxton, local racing legend who is very involved in the museum. Lynn even showed Dave Agar upholstery in one of the race cars, which was done by Dave’s upholstery person in Ohio who had done Dave’s lovely leather interior.
We ran into a group of four French tourists, who were there enjoying the museum, and were thrilled to see our Citroëns and talk about the cars. Quite a great ending to a nice weekend of friendship and cars. By early afternoon, the weather had cleared, and it was a beautiful warm day.
I would like to thank all of those who came for Citroëns at Carlisle. A special thanks to those who brought their cars in spite of the weeklong forecast of heavy rain. I encourage everyone to put Citroëns at Carlisle on your calendar to attend next year, when Citroëns at Carlisle will be celebrating “100 Years of Citroen”