Modern Rodding STARTING OVER
ou “play around” with cars long enough and you develop personal favorites. You have your favorite hot rod, favorite weekend drive, favorite place to go eat, favorite place to hang out, favorite club activity, favorite buddy’s garage, favorite event, and, my favorite favorite “extra.” One of my all-time favorite events is the L.A. Roadsters Father’s Day Show & Swap Meet, having attended it since the mid ’70s.
There is a little something you receive and it’s my favorite “extra.” It is a pewter mug that the L.A. Roadsters (begun in 1957 by longtime and well-known hot rodder Dick Scritchfield) hand out to each rodder who brings his roadster—and sticks around until leaving time to pick it up.
While I’ve been to a staggering number of these events, I haven’t always had a roadster at my disposal to drive to the event and take home a pewter mug. But I have a bunch of times. All the early L.A. Roadsters shows were at the Hollywood Bowl parking lot until 1969 when the event was moved over to the Great Western Exhibit Center where my “up-close and personal” relationship with the show and pewter mugs began.
It would also turn out that 1967 would be a watershed year as it was the first year that the show was officially named the “L.A. Roadster Exhibition and Swap Meet” and it was the first time it was held on Father’s Day—the latter to become a SoCal tradition. Now the show is held on two days (Friday and Saturday), leaving Father’s Day set aside for rodders to keep for their family.
One more milestone was reached while at the Pomona Fairplex and that occurred in 2000 when 800-plus roadsters attended, a record. It should be noted that the Preferred Parking area has also grown to a sizable gathering of all manner of hot rods that aren’t roadsters. Come this summer 2023 will be the 57th show and the 41st time the event has been held at the Pomona Fairplex.
It may not seem like much but taking home that pewter mug each year really is something special. I suppose I will always own a roadster just because I will always want my chance to “get” one more mug.
VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 32 • 2023