Celebrating 100 Years of a great Buick dealership in the Pacific Northwest

[Centurion]

May 2 to 5, 2013: A Tour to Oregon's Gold and Cattle Country

My wife and I are leading a Buick tour from the Seattle area to Baker City, Oregon, where we will celebrate the 100^th birthday of The Baker Garage – a Buick dealership since 1913.

Baker City was my hometown, and this dealership has special significance to me. My grandfather purchased his first automobile – a new 1916 Buick touring car – at The Baker Garage, and I will be driving a 1959 Buick Electra that The Baker Garage delivered to its original owner in March, 1959.

Glen Daugherty, who owns the dealership with his son, has been selling Buicks at The Baker Garage since 1954, and he remains active in the business to this day. I met Glen in the fall of 1960 when I was a little kid, accompanying my parents to purchase the first 1961 Buick delivered by The Baker Garage.

We are extending an invitation to collectible Buick owners from throughout the Pacific Northwest to join us for the all-Buick car show on Saturday morning, May 4 from 8:00 AM to Noon. There is no fee to display your Buick, but please let me know if you’re planning to attend and what year / model Buick you will display.

This will be a great opportunity to meet other Buick owners in preparation for the 2014 Buick National Meet in Portland!

While not required, we also welcome any of you to book a room at Baker City’s fabulous Geiser Grand Hotel for the nights of May 3 and May 4. If you’ve always wanted to stay at this beautifully restored hotel, this is a perfect opportunity. Built in 1889 as the finest hotel between Seattle and Salt Lake City, the hotel was restored during the early 1990's, receiving the National Trust for Historic Preservation's coveted Honor Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. The Geiser Grand is located just one-half block from The Baker Garage, which has occupied its structure since 1917.

Baker City itself is on the route of The Old Oregon Trail, and some of the ruts from the wagon wheels are readily visible from the excellent Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Baker City was regarded as the "Queen City" of the Oregon gold rushes, and the town's historic district includes more than 130 structures built from the 1870's to about 1915.

Please consider joining us for our Friday and Saturday evening banquets at The Geiser Grand, including a professional history presentation of The Baker Garage and the automobile in Baker City.

If you would like information, please contact me at: brianL@americanconstco.com

Click images to enlarge:

Edited February 18, 2013 by Centurion (see edit history)

[Guest BigDogDaddy]

Wow, sounds very interestig. Wish I lived closer, I'd attend. Lots of luck, and takes lots of pics.

Phil

[jscheib]

Brian,

That does sound like it will be a wonderful experience. I wish I could make that trip.

John

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Brian, I am envious. I have been through Baker many times, staring through the windshield of a truck. I would enjoy driving my Buick there. ENJOY!

Ben

[Mark Shaw]

I will be there with my 13 Buick. Maybe Mr. Daugherty will want to display it in his show room....

[Centurion]

Fantastic, Mark! I'm really pleased that you will be able to join us.

I appreciate the comments from the rest of you. Ben, you've seen lots of great country over the years. From my standpoint, there's really nothing like a road trip in the rural areas of the American West.

[ol' yeller]

Brian. pencil me in. The only problem may be that my Mother In Law's Bday is on the 4th. I'll let you know if we are coming. We will be in my '90 Reatta convertible.

Greg

[Centurion]

Greg, sounds great! If you drop me an e-mail, I'll send you the flyers about the event. brianL@americanconstco.com

[Centurion]

In 2008, the owner of the single 1954 Buick Skylark delivered by The Baker Garage posted on the forums here. This was an unrestored, original car (Malibu Blue with white roof) that was being offered for sale at that time. I've located those old entries, and hope to contact the then-owner this evening. The goal is to track down the current whereabouts of the car -- last known to be in Utah -- with hopes of bringing it "home" to Baker City for this event.

I'll keep you posted on any progress made toward rounding up this Skylark, which I remember well and sat in while parked in the original owner's garage in 1978.

[Centurion]

Thirteen rooms have already been reserved in the Buick Club room block at the Geiser Grand, and I've just sent out forty more letters this week to BCA members in Idaho and Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington. Looks like we're getting a great early response.

[Centurion]

In 2008, the owner of the single 1954 Buick Skylark delivered by The Baker Garage posted on the forums here. This was an unrestored, original car (Malibu Blue with white roof) that was being offered for sale at that time. I've located those old entries, and hope to contact the then-owner this evening. The goal is to track down the current whereabouts of the car -- last known to be in Utah -- with hopes of bringing it "home" to Baker City for this event.

I'll keep you posted on any progress made toward rounding up this Skylark, which I remember well and sat in while parked in the original owner's garage in 1978.

I have succeeded in contacting the owner of the all-original '54 Skylark by telephone -- and I think there's a very good chance of getting the car to Baker City for the celebration.

I was in Baker City for the weekend, and met with both the owner of The Baker Garage and the owner of the Geiser Grand Hotel. They are very excited about the upcoming event, and the dealership has extended an invitation for all of the collectible Buick owners to park inside the dealership building for both Friday night and Saturday night.

We now have more than twenty old Buicks lined up, arriving from four states. I'll keep this updated as all the details come together.

[Mark Shaw]

I talked with a few more Buick owners at the Portland Swap Meet last weekend who now plan to come too....

[Centurion]

I talked with a few more Buick owners at the Portland Swap Meet last weekend who now plan to come too....

Fantastic, Mark! I hope they'll get in contact with me soon. Or, if you have their contact info, please drop me an e-mail, and I can follow up with them if you think that would be helpful.

From Western Oregon, we currently have cars coming from Astoria, Sherwood, and Keizer, and would love to see more of these folks make the journey to the dry side of the state!

Edited April 9, 2013 by Centurion (see edit history)

[Centurion]

Hope it's okay that I continue to share some of my excitement here.

I've been working on a press release with the owner of the Baker Garage regarding our event. The Geiser Grand Hotel employs an individual who is retired from the National Park Service, and he is putting together the special slide presentation for our Friday night banquet. I'll have an opportunity to speak about my memories of Buicks in Baker City, and we'll especially honor Glen Daugherty, who has sold new Buicks at the Baker Garage for 61 consecutive model years! We'll also tap Mark Shaw to speak a little about the upcoming 2014 Buick National Meet in Portland.

Randy Daugherty, current owner of the Baker Garage and Glen's son, conveyed to me this morning that his dad has always said that the Buick is as fine as any car that his customers could ever buy.

The Baker Garage is inviting many of its long-time customers to the banquet, so this will be a great opportunity for the owners of our collectible Buicks to share our enthusiasm for our cars.

Following the Friday evening banquet and a fascinating "step back in time" tour of the Geiser Grand Hotel, my wife and I will open up our third floor cupola suite for a champagne and dessert social. The caterer in Baker City, a woman in early sixties, advised me that her father always drove Buicks, so she feels a special connection to the Buick automobile.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

I envy you.

Ben

[bhclark]

Your tours are almost enough for me to pack up the plantation and move cross country Brian!

[Centurion]

Your tours are almost enough for me to pack up the plantation and move cross country Brian!

Brian, we'd love to have you with us.

We're anxiously hoping that the great "silverarrow" himself will be able to fly into Seattle and participate in our tour!

[Centurion]

What began as a Friday evening banquet for the Buick Club people at the Geiser Grand Hotel has now grown to more than 100 people, including many long-time customers of the Baker Garage.

Within the last week alone, I've received phone calls or e-mails from owners of numerous Buicks who will be driving them to Baker City for our event next weekend. Among these latest additions are a '56 Special, a '58 Limited, a '72 GS Stage 1 convertible, and a one-family owned '72 Riviera. I think that the Buicks will make a great impression on this small town.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

All right, Brian, been FOUR days since this tour and no comments or pictures?? What gives?

Hope all had a great time.

Ben

[Centurion]

Ben, thank you for asking!

I have struggled to find time to upload all of my images, but made some major progress last night. I'll probably launch a new topic this weekend with a photo report on the event.

I'll say that for me personally, this was one of the most fun and significant Buick events I've ever participated in.

Given Baker City's distance from any population center, I was thrilled that our vintage Buick display was comprised of 25 cars from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California.

Mark Shaw's 1913 Buick was a highlight for many -- the perfect car to celebrate a century-old Buick dealership.

Mark forwarded this wonderful photo to me, showing the Buicks lined up Saturday morning in front of the Baker Garage, and we'll have many more within the days ahead, so please stay tuned.

[lrlforfun]

OK Buick People: It was fun......and those of you that know me know that when I say it was fun...it was FUN! Mitch

[Centurion]

Mitch, it was tremendous that you and your wife could join us! And I loved the '60 LeSabre you drove from the San Francisco area, and really appreciate that you brought this cool beauty up to Baker City.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

OK, guys, I will TRY to be patient! With much difficultie, I assure you.

Ben

[lrlforfun]

OK Brian: You know, I must apologize because I really took for granted all the work put into making this a really fun event. My wife and I were really impressed with the energy of Baker City. We really felt welcome there and this experience will stay with us for years to come. Thanks to you and LynnD and thanks to Randy who really was a fantastic host! Mitch

[Mark Shaw]

This was in the most recent issue of the BCA Portland Chapter Newsletter:

Director’s Message – by Mark Shaw

Brian Laurence organized a three day tour for the BCA North Cascade Chapter to Baker City (where he grew up) for the centennial celebration of the Baker City Garage (perhaps the oldest continuous Buick dealership in the Northwest). This was a great opportunity to enjoy a super experience in Baker City by displaying a century old Buick at a century old Buick Dealership. So, Rinda & I represented our BCA chapter at this event with our 1913 Buick.

We trailered our Buick the six hours to Baker City in time for the Friday night buffet dinner hosted by Glen and Randy Daugherty, owners of the Baker City Garage. There were well over 100 local customers & BCA members for a great prime rib dinner. We then enjoyed a short slide show with a historical narrative about Baker City and the Buick dealership and had guided tours of the historic Geiser Grand Hotel where everyone stayed. Although I am no stranger to chain hotels, I must say it has been a long time since I spent a night in such a beautiful and comfortable historic hotel.

Saturday morning we moved our Buicks from inside the security of the Baker City Garage and parked them in front of the dealership from 9 AM – Noon for public viewing. Steve Fisher brought his collection of Buick articles for display inside the show room where snacks and drinks were available for all to enjoy. There were notices in the local paper about this event and although Baker City is a small town, we had lots of people enjoying our cars and the show room displays. The best part for me was having children squeeze the 13’s bulb horn, giving rides to Randy Daugherty’s family, and driving the car to show it to Chet Smith who lit up like a little boy when he saw the 1913 Buick. Chet Smith is a remarkable 102-year old resident of Baker City who owned the Pontiac and International-Harvester dealership for decades.

Brian Laurence sent out thanks to all the participants for a truly great gathering and tour.

Mark Shaw

Edited May 11, 2013 by Mark Shaw (see edit history)