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Greencastle serves as Model A motor tour pitstop Friday
Making a pitstop in Greencastle for a bite of lunch and a splash of gasoline, 17 restored antique Model A Fords rolled into town and out Friday.
Members of the Prairie A’s Antique Ford Club, based in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., were en route to Brown County Friday as part of their annual multi-day motor tour that included lunch at Charlie’s in Greencastle’s South End.
Friday’s heat and humidity were taking their toll, club spokesman John Pratt told the Banner Graphic as the merry group finished lunch and headed to their vehicles parked in orderly fashion at the southwest corner of Robe-Ann Park on the old Clearwaters’ Nursery site.
“The heat’s been bothering us some, not just the cars but the people, too,” Pratt said with temperatures in the mid 80s but humidity closing in on 100 percent.
“I’d like to say the trip has been uneventful,” he smiled, “but it’s hard to take about 100-year-old cars cross country without some kind of issue.”
But the obstacles have been relatively minor. A flat tire slowed them down en route from east-central Illinois to Turkey Run State Park Thursday and then one overheating car became an issue Friday morning.
The group was due to arrive in Nashville “hopefully tonight,” Pratt joked Friday as the 30-mph procession was about to begin anew. At Nashville, they were to begin a two-day stay at the Abe Martin Lodge at Brown County State Park.
The four-day motor tour also lost one participant, after starting with 18 Model A’s, when one person had a medical issue. Compounded by the heat, they decided to head back to Illinois.
Meanwhile, for fear of the cars overheating, the group has been “forced to go about 30 mph” while staying off the main roads, Pratt noted.
In fact to get to Greencastle the tour went through Marshall, accessed State Road 59 for a bit before turning east onto Ferndale Road and coming through the country, eventually using West Walnut Street Road to reach Greencastle about 11:45 a.m.
“The backroads are better for us,” Pratt said. “We like roads with lots of scenery and sights along the creek and all.”
Pratt has been planning the motor tour since last August and he and his wife recently drove the route in a practice run. It is a 550-mile round-trip tour with the longest part being a 170-mile return trip home on the final day, he said.
“The biggest problem will be getting across State Road 37 (north of Bloomington). Because of all the construction we actually have to get on the highway for about 600 yards, and that’s a long way when you’re doing 30.”
Meanwhile, Pratt and his group had nothing but praise for their stop at Charlie’s, commending manager Troy Scott for being exceedingly helpful and for all the work he put in on making their visit go smoothly.
The group departed from Charlie’s about 12:45 p.m., headed to Casey’s to gas up and then planned to take the backroads, including Airport Road, out of Greencastle to continue their trek south.
The oldest vehicle in the pack is a 1928 Model A, Pratt said, noting that they are all from the 1928-31 period, except for one 1939 Ford.
Pratt, who currently owns two Model A Fords, said he’s owned a Model A ever since 1961.
The drivers are experienced, too, he said.
“You’re talking hundreds of years,” he said of group members dedicated to the preservation and history of early Ford cars and to the fun of owning and driving one. “All of us have owned these cars a long time.”