Tom,
Thanks so much for bringing back some very fond memories regarding the
formation of the Washington DC Unit. Tom Howarth was indeed the Founder
of the Unit, and Bill Scott was its first Membership Chairman. Our
first formal meeting and induction ceremony was held in October, 1999 in
Shartlesville, PA and was a memorable event.
We just this past weekend held the 5th Annual Cherry Blossom Rally at
Rogers Farm in Upper Marlboro, MD, the first having been held at RFK
Stadium in April 2000. There were 28 actual units in attendance and
several other members attending without trailers. The majority of the
units were vintage, as always, but the span of years represented was 50
as we were treated to Patty Raimondo's '54 Flying Cloud fresh from
Jackson Center after its refurbishment at the factory and a 2004 Classic
Limited owned by Dimitri and Florence Paras from Toronto, Ontario.
The record for distance traveled to attend is held by Anthony Slocock
who traveled from London after not having been here for several years.
It's always a treat to see him and to hear of his exploits to ventures
toward getting Airstream into the European markets. He held audience
over the four day weekend showing those in attendance his plans and
telling them about progress being made on his prototype. There were
four Canadian units in attendance and others from New York, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Virginia,
Maryland, North Carolina, Rhode Island and New Mexico.
Despite nasty, wet and cold weather everyone had a wonderful time of
visiting with each other and swapping stories of past Cherry Blossom
Rallys and of their travels over the winter season. Several had a bit
of slipping and sliding to do upon arrival as the pasture we were parked
in was very soft and mushy and several others were a bit concerned about
departing after the weekend's rains but everyone made it out safely and
were on their way to other places or returning home.
It was another successful weekend for our signature rally and we're all
looking forward to another season of camping and camaraderie that comes
with being a member of the Washington DC Unit and WBCCI. Out unit motto
"Just Camping" is what it's all about. Our unit has grown over its five
year existence from its 20 charter members to almost 70 member families
presently and 26 affiliate families. Members of our unit come from as
far away a London, England and from many states in the US as well as
Canada. I think our Unit probably has more states of the US represented
than any other unit of WBCCI, as well as our Canadian and British
members. We're glad to have each and every one of them and welcome all
comers from far and wide. It has never been possible to gather all
members at once, but you can rest assured that when we do meet there are
thoughts about all of them.
Our next rally will be held Mother's Day weekend (May 6-9, 2004) in the
beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia at Creekside Campground in
Edinburg, just off I-81 south of Winchester. There are a total of 27
sites available, so give us a holler if you'd like to attend.
Safe travels and we'll see you down the road.
Harley C. Muse
President, Washington DC Unit (#170)
WBCCI
532 Bridges Creek Road
Washington's Birthplace
Colonial Beach, VA 22443-5108
804-224-5186