Chrysler 300 Club International
Fall Meet in Alamogordo, New Mexico
September 17-20, 2014

    September, 2014



The 44th Annual Fall Concours Meet was held in Alamogordo, New Mexico in conjunction with the Chrysler 300 Club Incorporated. A good crowd of over 120 people attended in spite of the weather from Hurricane Odile. Over the years we have had rain, fog, and even snow at our meets but this is the first for a hurricane. Fortunately Odile had weakened by the time it got to Alamogordo. There were a few times during the first two days when it would rain from time to time, but the attendees were unfazed by it. After all, it was a 300 Meet - a magical time for 300 enthusiasts. The interesting fact is that it hardly ever rains in that part of New Mexico. We guess that if they experience a severe drought, all they have to do is to schedule a 300 Meet. It would be a sure cure.

The rain did require a few changes to the activities. Bill and Marilyn Allen, Meet Hosts, had planned to have a barbeque at their home in the beautiful mountains in Alamogordo, but the threat of rain required them to change the location to the comfortable indoor facilities of the Fellowship Hall in their church. The picnic on Friday evening was scheduled for a location in White Sands National Monument. It appeared tenuous at first, but the skies had cleared and the sands (actually gypsum) had dried out sufficiently for the picnic to proceed on schedule. And what a location it was. You will see from the pictures in this report that it was a simply majestic setting for the lineup of Lettercars. Just a magical moment for 300 Nuts to remember. The Car Show on Saturday took place in a nearby park and the weather was just beautiful. Sunny with pleasant temperatures.

The host hotel, the Fairfield Inn in Alamogordo, couldn't have been better. Just three years old, it looked brand new and the staff was so friendly and accommodating. And to top that, it was located at 300 Panorama Boulevard. Yes, 300! Bill and Marilyn, you certainly took care of everything. Thanks so much for an absolutely outstanding meet.



300 Panorama Blvd. - How's that for an address for a 300 Meet?


White Sands National Monument - Looks like snow but it's really gypsum.
That's the stuff which is used to make plaster.



Chrysler 300 Inc. President Kermit Eskelsen with our meet hosts Bill & Marilyn Allen


The Alamogordo Meet Captured in Pictures
Cars People Scenes Events Video

Photo and video credits: Linda Burke, John Chesnutt, Don Cole, Noel Hastalis, Martha & Mick Kreszock,
Doug Mayer, Allan & Gloria Moon, Mark Obermann, Carlton Schroeder, Don Warnaar.




The following are emails received from some people who attended the meet.

Bill and Marilyn have put on a fabulous meet ... Thanks and kudos to them. Sure you'll hear more ... It has been great. Safe travels all as we return to "the real world."
300ly,
Martha Kreszock

A big THANKS to Bill and Marilyn Allen for putting on a fun meet. Friday evening's picnic outing in White Sands National Monument (cleared skies with some puffy clouds) provided a surreal setting - spectacular moonscape-like photo ops; hiking on the sand dunes, and sliding down these dunes on round 'sleds.' Saturday's car show also was blessed with sunny skies and warm temps - until the show ended at 2:00, when the skies opened, again! The show offered a good cross-section of our 300s - 3 C-300s, 1 B, 1 C, 1 D, 1 E, 3 Fs, 2 Gs, 1 J, 1 K, 1 L. Also present was a '61 Chrysler that has been in 6 Mexican road races, Bill Allen's '56 Dodge #42 Petty recreation signed by Maurice and Richard Petty, and several other Mopars. Some were driven and some were trailered in, but they all looked great. Bill and Marilyn also graciously opened their home to meet attendees. It was great visiting with 125 people from both Clubs.
Four Letter Cars competed for the Long Distance award. The winner was Scott and Debbie Dejka and their stunning Mardi Gras red G coupe - driven from East Wenatchee, WA. Scott and Debbie beat out John Begian, Michael and Linda Burke, and me. As Mapquest tells us, Scott and Debbie, and John, each logged one-way mileage of over 1600 miles; Michael and LInda Burke over 1500 miles, and me just under 1400 miles. It was fun to see my odometer turn 28,000, 29,000, 30,000 and 31,000 miles on this cruise. I drove a total of 3,200 miles - trouble-free, once Spanky Cox had my generator rebuilt. The current log for the F is 9,729 miles driven this summer.
I won't forget this event and I think I'll leave the splattered bugs on the windshield, and souvenir bugs on the radiator in place for awhile!
Noel Hastalis
Back home in Burr Ridge, IL
300F coupe

I am reminded that "kudos" is not the plural of kudo, but rather it is a Greek word meaning "praise". So, high kudos to Bill and Marilyn Allen, to the many unseen hands that assisted them, to Bruce Toelle for recognizing so many of those unseen hands and even to the Chief Meteorologist who granted us a nice dry window of opportunity to show our 300's and other MoPars on Saturday. The Allen's combined their exquisite southern and southwestern hospitality with the superb planning and replanning necessary to serve the needs of the contingent of the faithful that seemed to grow day-by-day.
The Alamogordo area is beautiful, full of history and contains enough features to keep one busy studying them for a long time. We can see why the Allen's chose this place for this chapter in their rich and full lives.
The Barber's had an easy 2 ½ day trip back to sunny (and tinder-dry) California and remain deeply appreciative of the great efforts of all who made this another successful joint meet of the cognoscenti of Beautiful Brutes.
Forward Looking to the next meet.
Rich & Ruthanne Barber
Brentwood, CA

We "second" those kudos! Thanks again to the Allens' for their hosting of the event. The booklet, outlining day trips, routes and general information was super helpful and gave us many options for our free time. It was obvious that the planning took quite a bit of time and effort and we just wanted to let them know that we appreciated all of the work that went into this!
It was good to put faces with the names we see on the e-mails and we look forward to attending more events in the future.
Steve and Sandy Beard
Delaware, Ohio

Barb and I also want to thank Marilyn and Bill for a wonderful meet and a wonderful time. The landscape and scenery in southern NM were really special and the experience of a Club picnic at that White Sands National Monument will be unforgettable. I'll also long remember the landscape and terrain at the Allen's home; it was spectacular.
Overall though, it is the friends and members you get to see or meet again, or get to meet for the first time, that are the most memorable for me.
While I understand the complications of hosting a joint meet can mean a lot of extra work, I'm thankful for the opportunity to meet new folks and see new cars. While it may seem odd how Club affiliation has been established, I was glad to meet David Stock (WI fellow) and NM rancher Arch (Buck) Wilson, from the 'Western Club'. It was also a real pleasure to meet AZ racer Hershel McGriff (do a 'google' for Hershel's impressive resume), and author, engine builder, engineer Charles Clark (CO), who are members of our International Club. I read most of Charles' book 'Bootlegger 40 Ford' on the long plane trip home and really enjoyed the stories. Charles had told me 'the stories are all true except for the parts I made up', and I now believe that.
Thanks again Marilyn and Bill,
Barb and Carlton Schroeder

Echoing Martha, we wanted to thank Bill and Marilyn for putting together a wonderful meet. Everything was first rate and we took away many great memories. The White Sands National Monument setting for the picnic was breathtaking at sunset. So much work and effort beforehand and during the event made it a great success.
Thanks also to the brave and hardy souls who brought their cars despite the weather forecasts. What a treat to see the cars and talk with the owners.
We had such a nice time catching up with everyone before the inevitable journey home. Before we left, we were lucky enough to experience a tethered hot air balloon ride Sunday morning at Balloon Park. A drive up to Bill and Marilyn's hillside home with those endless views was the final "meet" stop before heading down to the airport. Matthew had lots of fun playing with his new little 68 Dart and 71 Challenger cars at the airport gate.
Glad everyone made it home safe and sound.
Hope to see you all the next time!
Mark, Pauline and Matthew Obermann


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