Hershey 2007

[iluvhershey]

Has anyone heard of more changes to the show this year - specifically the locations for the car corral and the car show? Someone said last year that the show field location would remain the same but be completely paved in time for the 2007 meet. Thank you.

[Steve Moskowitz]

The car show is planned at this time for the same location. The Orange Field area is undergoing a multi-million dollar paving and landscaping project and will be ready for the Fall Meet. There are several options being worked on to improve the car corral location and hopefully they can be announced in the near future.

[iluvhershey]

Thank you Steve!

[charlier]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The car show is planned at this time for the same location. The Orange Field area is undergoing a multi-million dollar paving and landscaping project and will be ready for the Fall Meet. There are several options being worked on to improve the car corral location and hopefully they can be announced in the near future. </div></div>

Just wondering, will the paving project include the show car field in 2007?

If it is still on grass I sure hope Hershey's luck holds out as far as dry weather goes.

[Steve Moskowitz]

No, the township did not approve paving of the showfield lot this year. I believe there will be some improvements in the area, however. We id put our order in for sunny and dry! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[charlier]

Hopefully one improvement that HERCO will be making will be widening the road that passes the show field.

One has to wonder if the township will ever approve the paving project where the show field is.

Then again with Hershey's recent cost cutting decisions one has to wonder just how much money HERCO will be

spending on major projects lke this.

With the Hershey Company's recent announcement of 600 job layoffs at two Hershey, PA. plants,

relations between the community and Hershey Foods are not likely to improve anytime soon.

Hopefully, Hershey Region will take a Long, Hard look at traffic flow into/out of the show field and make some

changed for 2007. Having so many AACA members getting lost leaving the show field last year is something Hershey Region

needs to deal with.

Oh well, AACA members will have to make do with the facilities we have for Fall Hershey.

If that means a muddy show field with empty spaces and show cars not leaving their trailers

then that is the way it will be I suppose.

[Steve Moskowitz]

1. HERCO is a separate entity from Hershey Foods and I do not see the current loss of jobs as being a deterrent for future projects. The job loss according to the papers will be from volunteer retirements, etc.

2. Eventually the lot will be paved. There is a long term agreement for that to happen.

3. The Region and Derry Township law enforcement are aware of the problems with traffic signage from last year and hopefully it will be addressed

4. Those cars that left their trailer last year had a beautiful setting and many people felt it was the prettiest show in years. Everyone has their own opinion. Cars are shown on grass at Pebble Beach and quite frankly most car shows. Two years ago the majority of the cars did not come out on show day due to the rains and that was on blacktop!

5. Hockersville Road is not owned ny HERCO, it is a municipal street

The amount of work it takes to put on this meet is staggering! There are no better alternatives at this point and HERCO is actively working with the region to resolve as many issues as possible. I think many of us may have forgotten what the show use to be like when it came to mud...we do have progress!

[MCHinson]

Steve, Thanks for all that National, Hershey Region and HERCO do to pull it off!

Although I have been an AACA member for many years, 2006 was my first visit to Hershey. My family had a great time. We plan to do my best to return each year that we can in the future. The grass showfield was not a problem. The only two problems that I saw that need attention were:

1. trailer parking. I dropped my trailer off in a beautiful parking lot. I came back a few days later and the parking lot had turned into a quagmire. I spent quite a while getting mud off of my Model A, but it all came from the trailer parking lot, NOT the showfield.

2. (As has already been mentioned) Exiting from the showfield to a mandatory right turn without any signs. Luckily I have a pretty good sense of direction. I found my way back to the trailer parking lot without getting lost. We had a nice afternoon drive, but it was an unplanned drive that I would have preferred to avoid.

[charlier]

1. True, the companies are separate. HERCO is owned entirely by the Hershey Trust. The Hershey Trust also owns the majority of the stock of Hershey Foods. Since both companies share the "Hershey" name I would think that the public does not understand they are separate but are owned/controlled by the same owner (ie the Hershey Trust).

2. Glad to hear it. Too bad the project has changed from "next year" (said back in 2006) to "eventually" (this year).

At least it is still a "long term" project and has not been scrapped entirely.

3. Glad to hear signage will be improved. If one turns left when leaving the show field doesn't that road come out to a traffic light on Hersheypark Drive? No doubt Hershey Region and the Township Police will look at this and other options to improve traffic flow when leaving the show field.

4. No question the 2006 show on grass was a change from blacktop (BTW, my car was on the show field). I was also on the blacktop show field in 2005 in all the rain. Had the rain that occurred in 2005 happened in 2006 (on a grass field) my car would have stayed in the trailer. No queston that the majority of show cars did not come out in the rain in 2005 (~400 IIRC). One was to wonder if even half the 400 cars that came out in 2005 would come out to a soggy wet/muddy show field.

There is no question that it requires a large amount of work to put on Fall Hershey.

The Hershey Region deserves a lot of credit and praise for their efforts.

With no better alternatives at this point, the car show will have to take it's chances with wet weather like so many other car events do. Personally, I have not been coming to Hershey long enough to appreciate the mud from years past. My Hershey experience has consisted of the car show on blacktop for a number of years then moving to grass. Some people may call that progress while other people may not. Depends on one's point of view I suppose.

[stock_steve]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">2. (As has already been mentioned) Exiting from the showfield to a mandatory right turn without any signs. Luckily I have a pretty good sense of direction. I found my way back to the trailer parking lot without getting lost. We had a nice afternoon drive, but it was an unplanned drive that I would have preferred to avoid. </div></div>

Have to add my "ditto" to MC's (and charlier's previous) comments about bad experience attemtping to find my way back to the show after being shunted down that unmarked road (right turn out of the show field). My sense of direction is (evidently) nowhere near as good as MCs, and I got very effectively lost, and drove around a lot more than expected, trying to find my way back.

Over the years I've kinda "come to expect" a bad scene at the trailer parking cow pasture, and try my best to mentally prepare. Having a stout tow vehicle with 4wd and decent knobbies also helps...

But I am also well aware of the tremendous headaches and aggravation that are "par for the course" for any old car group planning any old car event--having done so for many years myself in the hobby. Hopefully these comments can be considered constructive, as they are intended.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Last year really a tough year in terms of parking for those of us not setting up or bringing a car to show. Recognizing this is a HUGE undertaking, and thanking the region, national and local authorities every year, I do hope they do a little to correct this issue this fall. The fields were in tough shape and I am not sure what I would have done without 4WD even before the inevitable rains. Some basics they can do, while not expecting paved lots, etc. include:

Setting up better entrances/exits to these lots with gravel ramps for the inclines, and basic signage. Train parking lot staff on the basics of where to direct cars, and equip them with cellphones or another way to communicate. I encountered three last fall who could not direct me to on where to exit, I was finally misdirected and scolded by the Jr. cop who was doubtlessly having a rough day. Also, Having someone on hand to tow stuck cars - we saw many including females and older folks - who could use a helping hand. (they use this strategy in parts of I-95 in Congesticut, where I live to keep traffic flows in and out of NYC going. While it would involve some cost, it works pretty well.)

Just some thoughts on this - hopefully someone from the region will see. The "spectators" make for a huge part of the show and parking fees must produce a lot of the revenue all around. Addressing these basics would go a long way towards making the best of a challenging situation.

That said, like everyone else I am already counting the days..