Traditions
By Dave Quinn
Many of you have heard the Michigan Rowdies are NAMGAR’s first chapter, formed in 1976. We have always been an MGA ‘only’ club; although several members share their garages with Magnets, T’s, B’s and C’s. The Chapter has several traditions. We try not to take ourselves too serious and always strive to make membership fun. Our prime focus is enjoying MGA ownership by driving them. When it comes to hosting national meets, it is time for us to do a little boasting.
GT-10
Hosting a GT every ten years began in 1985 in Plymouth. Registration was $20 and rooms $49 a night. Stories say nearly one hundred MGAs from seventeen states and two provinces were in the show. It was, we believe, the largest attended GT up to that time; however, we have no records to support it. Highlights included the Red Baron Rally and a caravan to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Ladies have always played a major role in our activities and the “Ladies Color Tune” tech sessions were a highlight. We had a red London-style double deck bus to transport folks into downtown Plymouth to take in the sights.
GT-20
Ten years later GT-20 was held in Lansing. Starting the year before we began wearing t-shirts that read “The World’s Largest MGA Party”. We strived to keep cost down; registration was $30 and rooms $62. We had 200 register and 361 people attend. Things started off with a bang – thunderstorms, lightening, and lots of rain. It would continue throughout the event. When the hospitality room doors opened the party began. Five quarter-barrels of beer were consumed in the first four hours. Event highlights included a 1950’s “sock hop” dance complete with 1950’s style clothing and a hula-hoop contest. Elvis was there as a full-size standup cut-out. The one thing everyone who attended remembers is it rained so hard the day of the car show the storm drains in the parking lot all plugged up. Flooding had water nearly knee high for some of the 136 MGAs on the lot, which included a record setting 36 MGA coupes. Volunteers jumped in to push the MGs to high ground. MG gods took pity, and it stopped in time for car judging. We provided free baby-sitting for six children the night of the banquet. At the awards dinner only one Rowdie managed recognition. It reinforced two things. As a club we do not block vote and many of our cars, as nice as they are, are drivers – both good things in my book. Did the meet live up to the billing? The hospitality numbers said 10 quarter-barrels of beer, 15 liters of wine, 39 two-liter pop bottles and countless subs and snacks were consumed.
GT-30
The GT in 2005 was in Mackinaw City, in northern Michigan. We shifted the focus from Michigan’s automobile heritage to its lakeshore coastline and unspoiled north, all linked around the Mighty Mac, the world’s longest suspension bridge, five miles long. Our host hotel was $99 a night. It was undergoing some upgrades. We gambled some on our hotel selection to get the lowest rate possible popular area rate. In the end it got mixed reviews. Overflow hotels, which were needed, were nearby. Registration was $50. We had 187 registrations (372 people) with 102 first timers. Highlights included “high tea” with champagne at the Grand Hotel which was reached by a round-trip ferry. The car show was at a waterfront park with Lake Huron Bay as the backdrop. 164 MGAs were displayed with registrations from 34 states and 3 Canadian provinces. Fourteen MGAs drove over 1,000 miles, three over 2,000 miles. Other activities included the ‘tunnel of trees’ coastline drive (M-119). Trips to the Soo Locks entertained some, while the ring-ading clang of slot machines pulled others across the Bridge to a St. Ignace casino. In another first, we replaced the usual GT t-shirt with a button-down shirt with an embroidered logo; we sold 61 men’s and 29 women’s shirts.
GT-40
The Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth was the site of our next GT. The area ranks as Michigan’s highest number of tourists. We were able to keep registration to $60 but the room with tax was $128. Entering the grounds you crossed over a covered wooden bridge above the Cass River. We had 172 registrations (347 people) with 159 cars. They purchased 103 polo shirts, 108 t-shirts, and 114 logo pins. An outstanding performance by Etcetera on opening night set the mood for a great week. Downtown food offerings included two of the oldest family-owned restaurants in the US, dating back to 1856 and 1888 – Zanders and the Bavarian Inn. Known for chicken dinners, combined they serve nearly two million dinners each year. Other sites of interest included Bronner’s Christmas store and a Military/Space Museum. The Bavarian Inn Lodge was perfect for a car show on grass along the Cass River. Pretzel and strudel cooking classes, good tech sessions, gimmick rallye, Bavarian Belle paddle boat rides, great weather, great raffle items, 50/50 raffle, brewery visit, and a neat tourist town just walking distance over the wooden bridge all made for an outstanding GT. A Rowdies highlight was Bruce Nichols, one of the club founders, receiving the Mac Spears award 39 years after establishing the club’s tone and motto “People First!”
GT-50
Our GT is heading to northern Michigan for a second time. The Great Wolfe Lodge in Traverse City will be the host hotel. Save the dates of June 2-6, 2025. It’s just around the corner . . . stay tuned for more announcements. Reservations should be available around the first of the year.
