Improvements for Future Hershey Meets

<BR>I'm sure anyone that has been to Hershey will have ideas on how the meet can be improved.<P>First I had a great time at Hershey again this year. I have been going every year since 71 and a vendor since 72. Was one of the lucky ones in the Chocolate field.<P>Here is my suggestion after this years meet.<P>One of the things I have always enjoyed is siting out around a lantern in the evening with friends to talk, inviting anyone that comes by to join in. The large number of big campers has reduced the number of night walkers and generators have made it very noisy and smelly to sit outside. It also seems dangerous to have so many generators running with campers, tents and such so tightly packed in, someone is going to get gassed. Several years we have had to ask neighbors to shutoff generators because they were dumping exhaust right in to the area we were sitting. Sometimes they do, sometimes they tell me where to go.<P>Since generators already are suppose to be off from around 10PM till 7AM why not make it from dusk till dawn. If those big fancy campers can't run 1 night without charging their batteries then they need a new battery or a smaller color TV. Of course they will have to make their coffee and popcorn on the stove instead of in the microwave, but it is a rough world.<P>What do you think, lets bring peace and quiet to the night, they have all day to charge their battery if they need to.<P>Jim...

You are definately right about the generators. Especially if your space is behind a vendor who says they HAVE to run their very loud generator all night, due to having a frezzer truck, and the Health Department makes them run it to keep their food frozen!<P>------------------<BR>George Rohrbach<BR>Visit my Web site<BR>HIGHSPEED MOTORS, Your local Studebaker Dealer of THE 20's, 30's And 40's<BR>http://www.highspeedmotors.com<BR>

I think that the problem with the generators is becomeing bigger because there are so many campers with people that do NOT vend but just need a parking space. I feel sorry for the folks in the yellow field this year.We all knew that that area would not work out even in the dry times it is wet. I was very lucky and place in chocolate instead of yellow. Across from me I counted six places that were not used by venders. In one case a blanket was spred out and some junk put on it. Another spot a small canapy was put up and their car parked under it whicle they went shopping. I suggest that some type of check be made during the meet to see any bad violations taking place. If the parkers were elswhere more venders could have been taken out of Yellow. I saw as many golf carts this year as in the past.Most of them were carrying persons that could jump off when they saw something that they wanted to look at.Several times almost run over by two wheel bikes and scooters. I saw several drive by security who took no action. Spoke to one security sergeant sho told me that he thought that it only meant they could not be in the show field by the cars.??? I can see that a lot of hard work went into the meet and I'm thankful for all the workers. But do think that if you have regulations then they should be enforced. I had a great time, don't think too many in the yellow field did.<BR>

Those of us who knew what to expect in the yellow field --- STAYED HOME! ~ hvs

In as much as I enjoy Hershey, you are right. The generator issue is one of many problems you'll find at such a large gathering. It's as dificult for people with large RV's as it is for people in tents. Most RV's are designed so you have to run the generator every 24 hours or so for about 6 hours to recharge the batteries. Generally speaking, the owners of these rigs are not trying to be jerks when they run the generator. They are just trying to keep their systems alive. Unfortunately, most generators are noisy and they smell bad. The best you can hope for is the guy in the RV uses a "Good Neighbor" exhaust extension on his generator. It vents the exhaust above the roof line of his rig. These add on units usually have some form of insulation on them so the unwarry won't fry themselves if they accidentaly touch the pipe. These exhaist extensions usually cost about $200 at places like Camping World, and take about ten minutes to install each and every time the RV is parked.<P>Can we talk everyone into using such a device? I doubt it. To me it's just a part of being a good neighbor at any campsite. Well worth the cost. Unfortunatly I've met my share of very bad neighbors at Hershey over the years. While the meet brings out the best in some people, it seems to have the opposite effect on others.<P>Between the greed of Herco and some of the real jerks who do attend the "grandfather of all meets", some of the Central & Western Division Meets are looking a lot more attractive. I wish it were otherwise.<P>Chuck Conrad

In camping, some grounds that I have had the pleasure to stay at have had rules in that there are no generators to be in use during the dusk to dawn hours. The only problem I have seen is enforcing that rule. <BR>I actually prefer to sleep in a tent when possible. It is a good way to settle down from the day and relax under the stars with friends and family. More people should do this. As for the people with the motor homes that NEED their generator, keep them all together in a feild of their own. The Yellow Feild. Just my 2 cents<P><BR>Matt

in the white field it was someone's portable gen. that was running long into the night, one night. My camper's gen. exhuast points out towards the aisle and is about 8 ft from it. Then gets turned off at 10PM like the rules state. Next year, it will have a stack on it, as this year the camper was one week and 1 day old when left for Hershey. <P>I wish Hershey would enforce ALL the rules on EVERYONE the same. I don't like the, it applies to you, you, and you and not to him, him, him and him.

BRAVO, novaman!!!

And if you put them all together in the Yellow field, they will sink in and never be seen or heard from again. ~ hvs

Gotta agree with Novaman. If the rules are good enough for one person, then they ought to be good enough for everyone.<P>Barring some kind of medical emergency or other tragedy, it's pretty easy to observe the "no generators from 10 'til 7 rule." You can watch Jay Lenno on battery power. This seems like a simple matter of common courtesy. Unfortunately that seems to be a rare commodity these days.<P>Chuck Conrad

<BR>I had brought this up before about the rules. At that time one of the things I mentioned was the ruling that you aren't to sell things available on the open market(short version). under that ruling, Coker Tire, tip sandblasting, eastwood, dennis carpenter, jc. taylor, and all these guys selling new tools shouldn't be there. Father Ron stated that is nice to be able to see what you you are getting in person. I agree with him. BUT, the rules state they shouldn't be there. Out of curoiusity, I looked in the program for this year and without really trying, came up with over 200 exceptions to this rule. If there are these many exceptions, what good is the rule? Why not let everyone sell anything they want to? There was one vendor in the white field, I was told, selling antique (non-auto) clocks.<P> Pets: in the papers to vendors, states NO PETS. Okay, we as vendors aren't allowed pets that poop in OUR spaces and we have to clean up after. Yet, People are allowed to bring their pets into the fields each day. Must be that it okay to have them if you aren't selling anything so that they poop all over the fields instead of consentrated in the owner's spot. !!I got it!! HERCO doesn't want just certain small areas fertilized. (I got it! No pets. Bring cows! They aren't pets. They're there for your food supply and fertilize larger areas. )<P> Handicapped carts: Stated in the rules, NO GOLF CARTS, no gas powered carts, etc. Then hows come they were renting them out to the handicapped. Last year the rule was the same an one guy was told if he so much as unloaded his off his vehicle he was OUT! Is it a case of if you are handicapped you can't bring a cart because Herco isn't getting aprox $70 (forgot the excact figure)a day for it? And what about all the bikes? Why aren't they stopped at the enterance to each of the fields and and returned to the owner when they LEAVE the field. The handicapped people have to put up with the little battery powered carts that don't go that good in the mud, and you can't hear them come up from behind.<P>Like I said before. The rules should apply to EVERYONE!!<P>There. I feel better now. <P><BR><p>[This message has been edited by novaman (edited 10-13-2000).]

General Reply to all of the people who know the rules!! Next year why not just come on out and volunteer your time and give the Hershey Region a hand to enforce the rules! But think about this we are all grown ups and do you really want to spend all week long bitching at those few ( yes if you consider the number of people that attend, it is only a few ) or would you just rather go and have a good time? Paul Gawel

About improving the meet...This was my first time at Hershey. I was impressed by the size.....but was unimpressed at the way it was set up. If you were looking for Buick parts and only had 1 day to be there, good luck. The program shows you where all the vendors are, but you'd have to cover the entire meet to see them. Couldn't they group together some? Maybe by decade or GM, Ford etc? I know there must be a better way, but like I said I'm new at this hobby and haven't been to other meets yet. Let me know what you think.<BR>Jake

Nice idea Jake, but totally impractical in the real world. There are those of us who have been in the flea market for 30 or more years and many of us are long time friends who have been grouped together for almost as long. I have listed myself as GM, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and General Mdse. in different years depending on what I had most of to sell that year. My buddies have probably done the same. If I had to move to a new location everytime I changed my parts mix, I would quit the flea market. Remember, to most of us the flea market is a HOBBY and not our business. Playing musical spaces every year would ruin it for most of us. Since you are new to the game, you do not realize that there are hundreds of people who know us by our spaces year after year and many just drop by for a social visit. We see each other only once a year and it is right there in our spaces. Move us every year and you will destroy old friendships. I know you would like to make it easier for the shoppers, but since it is basically a hobby the vendors interests should have equal consideration. ~ hvs<P>[This message has been edited by hvs (edited 10-15-2000).]<p>[This message has been edited by hvs (edited 10-15-2000).]

Another consideration, diplomatically pointed out to me once by a Carlisle Productions staffer, is that with similar vendors grouped together the marketplace atmosphere becomes dramatically more intense. People are able to compare prices and quality of goods much more easily, which is good for us buyers, but makes the market <I> intensly </I> cutthroat for the vendors. In other words, they'd drive each other out by having to compete so directly. <P>Even at very small events, like Import Carlisle or any of the many local swap meets, you'll never see diractly competing vendors located near each other. A swap meet organizer that does that would have no vendors to market to in very short order.