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April 23, 2012 Posted by Site Admin in Blog

Heavy Hearted

Work on the book continues. As part of the research process, I have managed to pull together pretty much every Car Craft from 1977-2000. Thumbing through the old pages brought back a flood of memories. Every single one of them was good.

I noticed that the October issue every year was chock full of full-color coverage of the show. The "you just gotta be here" feeling conveyed in the pages was unmistakable. Referred to as the "Woodstock on Wheels" or "the Greatest Show on Earth" during her heyday, all that changed in October 1994.  The cover of Car Craft shouted the news: "The Hottest Event of '94."

Except they weren't talking about Du Quoin. They were referring to the brand new Car Craft Summer Cruise held in Sedalia, Missouri.

The worst part was that the Nationals weren't dead yet. They were still being held in Du Quoin and hung on for a few more years before the decision was made to move out, eventually returning to Indy for 2000. With the Car Craft support gone, people didn't view the show the same. It wasn't the destination it once was, and most didn't see it as the premiere show they once did.

Du Quoin would never be the same, and there isn't a single mention of the show anywhere within the pages of Car Craft throughout the remainder of the decade.

Seeing the familiar pages, advertisements, and features took me back to a simpler time in life, from when a wide-eyed 11-year-old took in his first Nats experience in '86 until I drove my own ride around the lake in '94 and '95.

However, back then I didn't catch the fact that that October '94 issue might as well have been an obituary. The show was over, even if it did manage to hang on a few more years after that.

The thing is, there has never been another show like it.  Most folks want it back.  But not just some local deal on a small scale. Not even a Power Tour stop. Both have been successful and embraced by locals in recent years.

What we really want is a return. A reunion. A place where old friends can meet up for the first time in years and pick up right where they left off. Maybe even more importantly, a place where the next generation of Car Crafters can get their imaginations started like so many of us did. And we need it hosted by the professionals at Family Events with the Car Craft banner plastered everywhere. Anything less would be an insult to the paradise on wheels vision so many of us have seared into our gray matter.

Won't you help me get it back? 
biPROlarRocky Robertson joins the SMR PRO-File Club!
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