Fisher Craftsman’s Guildsmen event at Dayton Concours d’Elegance – September 20th

Dayton, OH - The Dayton Concours d’Elegance is becoming a conveniently located Midwest annual event for former Guildsmen to renew associations and share our Guild legacy with the public. This is the fifth consecutive year since Guild historian and author John Jacobus met local Concours scale model committee chairperson Randy Derr at the 2015 Great Salt Lake International Vehicular Model Competition and Convention. The awareness and enthusiasm of both the public and former Guildsmen for our Concours display has grown each year.

The Fisher Craftman's Guildsmen event will be at the Dayton Carillon Historical Park display venue in the Dicke Transportation Building, Dayton, Ohio.

For those not familiar with the event, check out the excellent Guild FaceBook website displaying coverage from previous years. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2013040262309413/?ref=group_header

As in the past there will be an accompanying Guild meal, beverage and social time for this year’s event. They will gather at the Carillon Park Brewery’s Bier Hall Sunday evening, September 20, starting at 4:30, after Concours officially closes. Meals and drinks are ordered off the menu and there is no additional fee for this social event. Even though last year we tried the Saturday evening time slot before Concours vs. Sunday, to facilitate a single overnight stay for out-of-town Guildsmen, almost everyone still wanted to reconvene at the Bier Hall again after Concours as well, so Sunday is the format for this year.

Past years’ Bier Hall gatherings have included an informative and enjoyable informal “Show and Tell” session. Past topics have included Tony Simone’s status on legacy initiatives, Paul Tatseos’ and Rich Ray’s presentation on the Gilmore Car Museum display, Mel Francis’ Guild FaceBook website, Jeff Goldstein’s “Piston Palace” museum in Rhode Island, “Bud” Magaldi’s League of Retired Auto Designers involvement, Bob Aikins’ aviation art, and Ron Pellman’s SCCA adventures.

Here are some “Show and Tell” teaser topics for this year that are dependent on who attends and may be willing to share. As a local host for several years I have learned that Guildsmen who attend Concours are a very active group and have many other activities competing for their attention this weekend in September – telescope association meets, model railroading conventions, etc. So, while it is unknown at this point who may attend this year’s Concours here some potential topics which come to mind:

Ron Will’s story on his “Turbo Phantom” design (Bob Hope advertisement, etal) Bob Aikins story on 1989 “Aikins Design – One” (AD-1)

Milt Antonick discussion of current day design training (Center for Creative Studies)

John Jacobus discussion of transportation collections at Smithsonian

Randy Derr (Concours Model Committee) current day scale modeling

Most beautiful car designs ever (anyone, Mel Francis?)

“Most Memorable” Guild winning models (some may never be seen at Concours - presenter at risk of differing opinions!)

If you are interested in sharing any “Show and Tell” topic of your own choosing or from those listed above, please let me know.

In addition to sharing the Fisher Craftsman's Guildsmen legacy with the public and our social gathering at the Bier Hall, Randy Derr has initiated a new wrinkle for the Sunday Concours model car display. With the support of Paul Tatseos we will have a display of automotive artwork from former Guildsmen including the League of Retired Auto Designers.

Carillon Park is a significant attraction in its own right, showcasing Dayton’s innovative history, including an original Wright Brothers plane. It’s link: www.daytonhistory.org. It is a “living museum” with many active displays, including the micro-brewery site of our “Bier Hall” event. For early arrivers there is also a free “Cars and Coffee” display of a wide variety of cars in the parking lot in front of the Carillon Brewery on Saturday 8:00-11:00 am.

Here’s additional information for your Dayton visit:

A big draw is the National Museum of the Air Force: www.nationalmuseum.af.mil. We also have the National Aviation Heritage Area (NAHA, link: www.aviationheritagearea.org), a “federally designated National Heritage Area consolidating more than fifteen aviation-related sites in the Dayton, Ohio area” (Wikipedia). NAHA points of interest in and around Dayton include a replica of the Wright Brothers shop, Huffman Prairie where the Wright Brothers made their early flights, Neil Armstrong Museum (a longer drive north to Wapakoneta) and several smaller closer-in museums, such as the Wright “B” Flyer museum which may be offering flights on a replica Wright B Model plane (free flight for members; approximate $100 membership). The WACO airplane museum is also nearby in Troy. These smaller museums may have restricted hours. Tours of the Wright Brothers Hawthorn Hill mansion can be scheduled and the site is just up the street from Carillon Park.

Former Ford Director of Design Gale Halderman, who oversaw the design of the original 1965 Mustang, and who was 2018 Concours Grand Marshal, owns and operates the “Halderman Barn Museum”, a wonderful attraction in Tipp City, just 19 miles north of the Concours site, which is open by appointment. America's Packard Museum in downtown Dayton “is the world's only restored Packard Dealership operating as a museum, and only full-time museum dedicated exclusively to the Packard Motor Car Company, its products and philosophies” (http://americaspackardmuseum.org/the_museum.html).

In addition to registering for your Concours participation with Randy Derr, please let George Herzog know if (1) you and guest plan to attend our Bier Hall social gathering, and (2) wish to present a topic for “Show and Tell”.

The gathering is, as in some previous years, in a schedule conflict with the Air Force Marathon which places great demand on local lodging. If you are halfway inclined to come to the Concours/Guild reunion this year as an out-of-towner, I suggest you make your reservations early. You can always cancel. If you have attended Concours in previous years and wish to share where you have found favorable lodging, that information will help me make recommendations to anyone who asks.

For more information: George Herzog, VA Regional ’57, ’58, ‘59 ggherzog@sbcglobal.net