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Wednesday, 05/28/03; Altoona, Pennsylvania

 

Homecoming!

 

Last night at supper, we had a powwow about where to go next. Keith’s brother, Phil, in Columbus, Ohio was a target. When we changed our planned routing in Maine because of the weather, we still had thoughts of Gettysburg and Columbus as our routing. However, Joann had never seen the Niagara Falls, so we thought that she should have that opportunity. Through miscommunication (yes, it can happen in a group as small as four!), Keith thought that the group had given up on Gettysburg. Our discussion showed him this error. So we set out for Gettysburg this morning. This fit in better with Phil’s schedule as well, as he and wife Marcia were to attend one of their granddaughter’s graduation on Friday which would conflict with our arrival in Columbus.

 

Joann is originally from the Altoona area and still has numerous close relatives living there. They were disappointed when we cut Gettysburg from our itinerary. They were delighted when we called en route to tell them that we would be coming their way. Barbara, Joann’s niece, set up an interview with Channel 10, the Altoona CBS affiliate station. A meeting was arranged in Ashville, PA, not far from Altoona for about 1500.

 

When we began today’s leg, the fog was quite thick and Keith, who was in the lead, found it difficult to locate a filling station. We had not filled up last night as we usually do. Our tanks were near empty and we dared not attempt crossing the bridge back to Buffalo until we had topped off. With this accomplished, we were on our way with the work traffic. Careless drivers entering the Interstate almost clipped Keith twice! South of Buffalo, we joined US 219, which would be our principal route to and through Pennsylvania. This road was initially four-lanes and the traffic was light; however, the concrete surface was quite bumpy for our old cars. We were actually glad when four lanes became only two and the surface became macadam, which was better suited to our needs. About an hour into the drive, the fog gave way to hazy sunshine and a bit later the clouds took on definite cumulus forms and we enjoyed the warmth and light of our old friend, Sol, whom we thought, had forsaken us. We drank in the wonderful sights of the countryside: old barns and houses, fields of hay and wild flowers, rivers and streams. In Pennsylvania, we spied two old barns that had been painted with “Mail Pouch” ads in some bygone day. We were not quick enough to capture these with the camera, much to our chagrin. We should have stopped as they are definitely Model A era advertising and a part of our nearly forgotten period.

 

By the time we had reached the center of Pennsylvania, the sky had become completely overcast and a cool wind was blowing. In spite of this, we found a spot in the parking lot of a defunct roadhouse to prepare our picnic lunch. Our cars were facing the road and before we had finished eating, a passing pickup truck stopped and backed up. The lone occupant got out and came over, extending his hand in friendship and introduced himself. He was a local Model A owner – had two A’s! He chatted with us until we had packed up and were ready to depart. He wished us the best of luck and we were once more on our way.

 

When we were about 90 minutes from Ashville, we called Barbara to confirm our position and Estimated Time of Arrival. A few minutes later we encountered a road construction area and were forced to wait agonizing minutes for the approaching one-way traffic to pass us by so that we could take our turn. Finally, we were on the move! A large yellow crane decided, just as we were about to pass its position, to lumber into the road and we were forced to follow it for a slow crawl mile. All the time, we were thinking about the planned television interview and wondering if we would make it in time. One of the problems we had was the lack of signs on some of the towns. We were frequently puzzled as to where we were exactly. This was the case when we finally entered Ashland. Before we knew it, we were barreling down on this group standing in the parking lot of the Ashland Inn, our place of rendezvous. We saw the cameraman and knew that this was the place!

    

Kerry interviews Clara; Queens for a day...

 

We had a grand reunion with niece Barbara and nephew Bob and it was introductions all around. Joann and Joan were presented bouquets of flowers and we met Jennifer Goodwin, the Channel 10 newscaster and her cameraman Kerry. Our party was interviewed individually and we took Jennifer and Kerry for a short ride for familiarization and filming. The TV crew had to depart to make a deadline and the rest of us retired to the Inn where our greeters had a late lunch and we had liquid refreshments.

 

Then we were off to seek rooms in Altoona. We wanted to be settled in the motel by 1800, as that was when the news and possibly our interviews would be aired. We all just knew that some breaking news story would wipe us out and we would miss our 30 seconds of fame in Altoona! However, this must have been a dull day in the news world, so shortly after 1800, we saw a short shot of our cars with the promise of more to come. Later, we saw the whole thing and we all were pleased with the outcome. We know that frequently things get garbled in the editing, but we are quick to affirm that Jennifer and Channel 10 got it right! When we went to the motel restaurant later to eat and meet again with Joann’s relatives, we expected to get mobbed by well-wishers and the curious for our autographs – no such luck!

 

So, to bed to be rested for our run to Gettysburg tomorrow.

 

The Famous (?) Four

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