Sunny skies, homemade cookies, and an early Christmas present were the highlights of this year’s Ameren “Thanks-for-Giving” Day parade.
The weather was perfect for the parade, especially if you like temps in the 40’s. Good thing Corvairs have good heaters, because everybody struggled to keep warm. Chris James baked a selection of homemade cookies and other goodies to curb the hunger of those who had skipped breakfast to be in the parade. And, John Carter picked this event to break the news that the permanent clubhouse for the Show-Me Corvair Club was nearly ready at the Jefferson Underground. John gave the parade unit a tour while Kristy prepared Thanksgiving dinner in their apartment. You can read about the new clubhouse and the accompanying workshop in another article. Merry Christmas!
Congratulations to Jack Holahan, who finished the parade this year in his replica of a 1961 “fire chief’s car”. Jack has the distinction of being the only member of the Show-Me Corvair Club who has signed up to represent the chapter in every major parade since 2015. Multiple mechanical failures didn’t stop Jack from signing up for every parade year after year. This year’s Thanksgiving Day parade was only the second time he had finished. Jack’s wife joined him in the car in the middle of the parade. Maybe that’s why his car survived to the end this year. You gotta love Jack Holahan for his perseverance.
The Show-Me Corvair Club fielded three other cars in this year’s parade, and all of them belonged to John Carter. Tom and Chris James crewed John’s blue 1965 Corsa coupe. Mike Hall was behind the wheel of John’s steel blue 1964 Monza convertible, and John himself took the controls of his red 1963 Spyder convertible.
The chilly weather made the crowd a little smaller than usual and a little more subdued, but they responded well to the Corvairs with waves, smiles and sincere compliments. “Nice car!” Thumbs up. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” “Hey, mister, I like your car.” Of course, there are always a few in the crowd. People were heard to say “Corsair” more than once, and one guy yelled, “Unsafe at any speed!” as the unit passed.
At least Kent Ehrhardt wasn’t behind the mic for this event. Mr. Ehrhardt is the TV weatherman who covered the “America’s Birthday Parade” for Channel 4. He commented inaccurately two years in a row that Corvairs had a tendency to catch fire.
The Show-Me Corvair Club gives thanks to John Carter, Mike Hall, Jack Holahan, and the Jameses for giving up sleep, sitting in the cold, burning up gasoline, and sacrificing time with their families to represent the chapter in the Thanksgiving Day parade!
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