TALES OF 40 YEARS: # 28 – IOLA WINTER CAR SHOW

Chris Halla worked at OLD CARS WEEKLY when we started in 1978. Chris liked old cars, but he wasn't really a "car guy." Writing and poetry were his real loves. However, Chris was responsible for the one and only Iola Winter Car Show. Chris lived on a farmstead that was located on the edge of the village. He had a barn on the property and there was an old, red Mustang in the barn--a GEN 1 coupe. That 1978-1979 winter was a humdinger with many cold days and lots of snow. Sometime around January or February we were all developing cabin fever, so Chris decided to get his bargeque out, buy some brats and burgers and have a snowy cookout. Then, he came up with the idea of pushing the Mustang out of the barn and having an "old car show." Naturally, we put some photos of this in the WEEKLY and called it the First Annual Iola Winter Car Show. Believe it or not, the idea did not take off like the July car show idea had done. What do you think we did wrong?