2023 Rallies and Events

FALL RALLY - JAMES VALLEY THRESHERS ASSOCIATION 

Hosts: Butch & Val Donahue

Date: September 7-10, 2023

Location: Thresherman's Park, Andover, South Dakota

Butch & Val Donahue for hosted our September rally at the James Valley Steam Show in Andover, South Dakota. We had a total of 10 coaches and 23 members who enjoyed seeing the 150 Case in action, threshing, plowing, sawmill, tractor show & parades. Though the showers on Saturday morning stopped the tractor pull, we still got to ride on the Moonlight Steam Ride (ask one of us what the surprise was that night!) and we enjoyed a great supper at the Anderson Museum where we admired the restored Corvairs, popcorn wagons, steam whistles & even an alligator! The weather didn't stop the Spark Show from happening and all but a couple GMCs had an easy exit from our parking spaces.

HOLIDAY PARTY

Hosts: Niki & Tim Anderson & Jennifer Roche

Date: November 19 2023

Location: Residence Inn by Marriott, Woodbury, MN

Thanks to Niki, Tim and Jennifer for coordinating and hosting the 2023 holiday party. The evening was full of laughter, fun, and food. Food was catered in from Hy-Vee, Tim lead trivia, and we even had an appearance of the famous Fritz Kruschel, our first club president back in 1991 (somehow his team knew more GMC trivia answers than the rest). We ended the night with a good group photo after a few attempts. 

SUMMER RALLY - CELEBRATE THE ’73

Hosts: Rick Payton & The Weidner's

Date: July 13-16, 2023

Location: Pine Harbor Campground, Chippewa Falls, WI

What a great rally we had at the Pine Harbor Campground in Chippewa Falls, WI where 21 Coaches, with 44 adults and 6 children attended the rally! Thanks to Larry and Lucy Weidner and Rick Payton for being our rally hosts. We had great weather with a little rain that only stopped us temporarily, and other than one coach having lakefront property for a couple hours, I didn't even hear of any coaches leaking. We had new members and longtime members attending, good looking GMCs, great food, some colorful, groovy, and wild dress attire, and we enjoyed an outdoor movie, American Graffiti. We even had pets join us for the rally—dogs, cats, and even a pet bearded dragon, Loki! We enjoyed a tour of the historic Cook Rutledge Mansion, and some time to check out the projects at Rick Payton's shop.  Thank you all for attending and for your many contributions! As Weston, age 4 1/2, stated to his parents before they even got back into their driveway on Sunday afternoon, "I'm really going to miss that campground!"

SPRING RALLY

Hosts: Brenda & Rodney Gens

Date: June 15-18, 2022

Location: Prairie's Edge Casino, Granite Falls, MN

We had a total of 16 coaches at the Prairie's Edge Campground in Granite Falls, MN. The 37 people, including members and guests, enjoyed perfect camping weather for the weekend. On Friday afternoon we toured the MN Machinery Museum, which is located in the old school in Hanley Falls. We spent an enjoyable afternoon looking at various displays throughout every room in the school, plus two sheds full of vehicles and farm equipment. Friday evening, we enjoyed a round of 'Peeka-Boo', giving us an opportunity to peek into each other's coaches.
Following breakfast on Saturday morning, our official meeting was held, followed by our group photo, which was taken in front of Darrin & Lindsay Gens' 1973 coach, as we are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. That afternoon, we toured the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum. The museum is a showcase of iconic aircraft, all of which they fly, and ground equipment that was used during WWII. Located in 3 airplane hangers; a trainer hanger, fighter hanger and bomber hanger, plus the 357th Fighter Group briefing, Quonset hut and control tower. The Holocaust boxcar and POW boxcar exhibits were very moving, as was the Utah Beach D-Day sculpture and battle scene. The museum is a tribute to the men and women of The Greatest Generation whose sacrifices during that time shaped the freedom and liberty we enjoy today. Their mission is to preserve the memory of the hero's of WWII, promote patriotism in today's Americans and inspire tomorrow's leaders to study and apply history's lessons. After our fill of pizza that evening, we enjoyed good companionship around a campfire.