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By Stephen Press
Hometown Weekly Staff
When one thinks of a weekend activity in Medfield, thoughts typically drift towards the town's idyllic, green spaces. Maybe a hike through Rocky Woods. A breezy walk downtown. Perhaps just laying out a picnic blanket and enjoying the afternoon sun glistening on the Charles.
For one day, though, there was something else sparkling under the Medfield sun: chrome, and lots of it.
"There's a lot of variety here today. It's terrific," said Dave Terricciano of Southborough, who stood by his beautiful 1956 Ford Thunderbird. "And you couldn't beat the weather. It turned out great."
The Medfield on the Charles Antique, Custom & Classic Auto Show (formerly The Elm Bank Estate Auto Show) was held on Sunday, June 26, welcoming myriad gear-heads and car enthusiasts alike. The show, one of the biggest in New England, was moved from its original Wellesley locale to a larger Medfield venue for this, its 14th incarnation. A longtime favorite of residents in the greater Medfield/Wellesley area, the show showed no signs of waning popularity as thousands of smiling visitors came to catch a glimpse of some of the region's most impressive automotive specimens.
By all accounts, the move to the Medfield venue was a logical, successful one.
"We used to go over to Wellesley for this," said Porsche owner Tom Tate. "Couldn't be any easier. If you've been to the one in Wellesley, you know that they have a bunch of yards, if you will, and different locations all kind of hooked together by little roads. This is basically all one big area, which is perfect."
Last year's winner, Jeff Farrell, who had arrived at 6:45 to reserve a prime spot in the shade for his '57 Thunderbird, concurred. "This is a very nice venue," he reflected as he gazed at his competition. "Elm Bank was nice, too, but they only had that one-lane bridge going in and out, so it was more difficult to get in and out. This is great. The grounds are just wonderful."
Aside from the convenience factor, the larger Medfield venue also allowed for a greater number and variety of vehicles on display.
"it's bigger, too, I think," confirmed Farrell. "They're able to accommodate more cars. There are some beautiful cars here."
Tom Tate echoed Farrell's sentiments. "There's at least three or four times as many imported cars here as there were in Wellesley," he said. On top of that, he added, "it's less likely that you'd go to the show and miss anything, because it's all right in the same field, which is good."
Bob Grenier, proud papa of a blue 1959 Corvette, noted that there was much more room than in Elm Bank shows past. "I think there's a better crowd than we've seen in the past," he also offered.
Beyond the smiling faces and automotive eye-candy, much of the brilliance of this Auto Show - of any auto show, really - was in the profusion of stories that could be found. Asking any of the vehicles' owners for the 411 on their whip revealed the show within the show.
"I had it restored. I bought it in Oklahoma, and it spent most of its life there," Terricciano offered about his Thunderbird. "But it came out of the Philadelphia region. It was originally sold in Philadelphia, then sort of lost its pedigree for the next 20 years or so, then ended up in the Southwest, then I had it shipped over to Dallas, Texas. There's a gentleman by the name of Amos Minter. He and his son specialize in '55-'57 T-Birds. They did a great job. They're really well known for it. I was very pleased with the work they did."
It wasn't all vehicular narcissism from the car owners, though, all of whom seemed to enjoy looking at their neighbors' rides as much as their own.
"There's a Packard - it might be a '39 Packard - beautiful restoration on that car," gushed Terracciano of his favorite car in the show. "Second to Fords, I love Packards."
"There's more Thunderbirds of my generation - the '55-'57, the two-seaters - than I've seen before," enthused Jeff Farrell. "And they're nicer than the ones I've seen before, too. Competition is stiff. It's fun. The whole thing is all fun."
For his part, Farrell couldn't help but take it all in. "It's a good, good crowd. These things are growing. They get more popular every year. The classic car hobby is really exploding right now."
