For many here in Hagerstown, July 22, 2008, will always be an extraordinary day. After all, you know it’s not a typical Tuesday when more than 500 Model T Fords chug along the town’s streets. The arrival of the Tin Lizzies and their owners – part of the Richmond area’s summertime celebration of the historic vehicle’s 100th birthday – had been highly touted and much anticipated, particularly by local merchants.

Denny Burns, a local business owner who supervised a massive organizing effort for the party, said the day was everything he hoped it would be – and more. “We were absolutely prepared,” Burns said. “More than 150 volunteers were helping out, and we had about 100 law-enforcement people on hand from nine different agencies in this area. They all did a great job.”
Heidi Hauke, Owner, Across the Street Antiques Mall

Not only did hundreds of Model T aficionados flood the town’s shops and restaurants that July day, Burns said, they also flocked that afternoon to the Hagerstown Airport, where 22 vintage aircraft – including World War I fighters, pre-1930 planes, and stunt biplanes – took wing for an air show.

“We had more than 4,000 people out at the airport, along with 600 Model Ts and about 1,000 other vehicles,” Burns recalled, pointing out that the guest list also included some 50 news media representatives from organizations all over the world, including the BBC, ESPN and France’s largest newspaper, Le Monde.
Shirley Rueter, Owner, The Logo Shoppe

“Oh, it was a big day for us,” Burns said, adding that Hagerstown’s hospitality made a huge impression on visitors.

“Everyone was raving about that,” Burns said. “One man told me: ‘You guys are the nicest people I’ve ever met – and I’m from Iowa!’ And another lady asked: ‘Do you people take nice lessons, or is this natural?’”

And with so many first-time visitors in town, local entrepreneurs say, opportunities for niceness came one after the other.

Visitors came from California, Minnesota, Canada – even as far away as Australia, recalled Shirley Rueter, co-owner of the Logo Shoppe. “We’d never done anything like this before, so we really didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “But it turned out to be a phenomenal day. The weather was perfect, the crowds were great, the people were so friendly. It just couldn’t have been any better.”

“I couldn’t actually be here that day, but I heard business was just great,” said Heidi Hauck of the Across the Street Antique Mall.

“Oh, it was nonstop,” interjected Mary Thalls, a local potter who volunteers at the mall and experienced the rush first hand. “We don’t normally even open on Tuesdays, but we were there all day that day, and it was one of the best days we ever had.”

And the payoff went further than mere cash register receipts. “It was just such a fun day,” Thalls said. “The people who visited were in such a good mood and so excited to be here. They all kept saying how nice the town was and how welcomed they all felt.”

According to Hauck and Thalls, those good feelings may bring lasting benefits. “We’ve already had several people come back to the store and make some purchases,” Thalls said. “A lot of those folks live fairly close by, but just never knew about us before,” she pointed out, adding that some of those new customers plan to return on October 11, when the antique mall will hold a special, fall-themed event.

For Rueter, though, Hagertstown’s “T party” was a unique and bittersweet event – one that will always be with her.

“I’ll never forget standing on the street and just watching all those cars come into town,” Rueter recalled. “It was an experience I never had before and probably won’t ever have again.

“My uncle had a Model T, and I was very close with my uncle and aunt. Seeing those cars just really took me back to those days.”