By Jim Studer
For a guy who isn’t one, I certainly enjoyed my 5th Gear-Head day. Maple Lake is to be congratulated on this successful presentation of classic cars and community pride. Thousands of people combed the business district introducing a community of businesses and hardworking volunteers to Minnesota and beyond.
While I can’t use most tools and wouldn’t know how to tune an engine, repair or replace auto body parts, I enjoyed my five hours in front of The Book Break. I visited with people I know and met newcomers, exchanging ideas and book talk. I even sold some.
The party gets bigger and bigger; this year a reported 1,400 units decorated the town. With that many cars how many more people rode in with the drivers? Add to that number the several thousand who arrived by less classic transportation, and the total grows to between five and seven thousand by my estimates. I am told this started in 2011 as a much smaller version which doubled and tripled in size quickly. The work of many, especially Scott Champland and John Rivers, has taken the Days of Old celebration to new heights.
Meeting and selling a book to the first Blue Devil I ever met was a treat. She was from Davenport, Iowa and proudly wore her high school class reunion Blue Devils shirt. Chicago provided another out of state visitor who came in with Windy City tales and left with a book. A Wright County resident wanted a copy of The Road Taken and then noted the cover of The Mystery of Tony the Goat. He said goat’s milk saved his life as a lactose intolerant newborn. He left with both books.
The day was filled with a parade of rebuilt and polished gems of the road not to mention all the good eats available. I noted many people carrying engines and auto body parts. Some were pulling a wagon full of items picked up at the swap meet. The site seeing and the fine dining weren’t the only wins of the day.
The Book Break had more traffic than I had seen in other years. Many left with a blue bag of books. Most visitors to the bookstore outside table didn’t buy a book, but left many good stories there.
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