The Inaugural

Henry Joy Tour ©

Vermont

September 6-9, 2006

 

The first PAC Henry Joy Tour© took place in the beautiful state of Vermont this past September. We were blessed with perfect weather (the Lord answered my prayers), 43 Packards (plus a '41 Stude­baker President and a '49 Lincoln Cosmopolitan) and 102 terrific Packard people from 16 states. Mid Atlantic Packards, sponsoring Region, had a large contingent there: 22% of attendees and Packards. Not bad considering the distance! Those there form MAP Land:

 

Walt & Debbie Breithaupt 1940 One Twenty Convertible Coupe - Tom & Clare Brooks 1940 Super Eight One Sixty Convertible Coupe - Murray Cole and Thelma Cole 1947 Clipper Eight Deluxe Sedan - Dave & Jane English 1951 200 Sedan - John & Mary Sue Getreu 1956 Clipper Super Sedan - Dwight Heinmuller 1954 Patrician - Hal & Kathy Hermann 1957 Clipper Town Sedan - Rod Hobbs - Ross Miller 1951 200 modified Packup - William & Sue Nagel 1932 Stan­dard Eight Club Sedan - Don Reedy - Bob & Carol Robb - Gil Seibel & Miles White 1949 Custom Eight Sedan and Pat Zeman.

 

The Henry Joy Tour © was conceived as a meet for those who enjoy driving their Packards on tours through beautiful areas on scenic back roads. The four-day event included a total of 401 miles of touring, plus an optional tour of 64 miles! All of the Packards performed splen­didly, with only one minor breakdown, which was re­paired the following day.

Left - Dick and Barbara Langworth’s 1936 One Twenty  Right - Gil Seibel and the Hathaway’s 1929 Custom Eight

 

Day One: The Shelburne Museum, near Burlington, in the northeast part of the state, offered many aspects of Americana, including the magnificent Ticonderoga steam ferry that once crossed Lake Champlain in regular service between New York and Vermont. Fully restored and in dry dock, one could spend several hours here alone. After lunch at the Café, the group split in two, with some going to the Vermont Teddy Bear Co., and others taking the optional tour to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Co. plant in Waterbury. We regrouped in Middlebury for dinner at Mr. Ups, who had great food and a dining area overlooking fast-running Otter Creek. Many enjoyed walking through the beautiful New England town, which is unmarred by urban blight and Wal Marts. 90 miles today.

 

Day Two: Only 124 miles today, and the first stop is the Vermont Marble Museum in Proctor. Welcoming us to town is an incredible bridge, with white marble balustrades, which crosses over the Vermont Railway. The museum was a big hit and has a fine gift shop. Several buildings in town are made of solid white marble. Next stop is Robert Todd Lincoln's Hildene in Manchester. Home to President and Mary Lincoln's only child to attain adulthood, Robert Lincoln was not only a Packard owner, but served the Nation as Secretary of War under President Garfield and Minister to England under President Benjamin Harrison. He also served as president of the Pullman Co. in Chicago from 1901 until 1922. His home is vast and overlooks thousands of acres of valleys and mountains. Some of the Lincoln Packards include a 1908 Model 30 Limousine, a 1910 Model 18, and at least two more, in 1914 and in 1915. The Lincoln line ended in 1975 with the death of his and his wife Mary Eunice Harlan's oldest child, Mary Beckwith, the last person to reside at Hildene. After a house tour and lunch at Hildene, we drove to the Vermont Country Store in Weston. This evening was free to scout for a neat place to have dinner.

 

Day Three: An incredibly beautiful drive today to Ply­mouth and the Calvin Coolidge Birthplace, takes us past Killington and up along some moderate climbs with views of valleys and high country on this crystalline day. The Coolidge homestead is virtually unchanged since his birth here in 1872. Our group portrait was taken in front of the country store, with its tiger maple and mahogany countertops. After a great lunch in Woodstock, we stopped at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee. Here they care for injured birds. One of the most interesting events of the Tour, I think, gave us the rare opportunity to see falcons, eagles and a variety of hawks in an outdoor classroom-like setting. Then we're off to the glass blowers of Simon Pearce and a view of Vermont's "Grand Canyon," Quechee Gorge. Dinner tonight is on-your-own, with a suggested return to the hotel via the Brandon Gap and possible stops for dinner at two country inns. 115 miles today.

Day Four: 72 miles today, with the afternoon off. Every­one is reminded to pick up their box lunches from headquarters Brandon Inn this morning for lunch today at Crown Point in New York, overlooking Lake Champlain. Will anyone site a Plesiosaur this afternoon? The first batch of 16 Packards loads onto the Ticonderoga Cable Ferry at 9 am for the 10-minute crossing to New York and the short drive to Fort Ticonderoga. We're in luck as war re-enactors are here today, in full regalia. A special area is reserved for the Packards, closest to the visitor entrance! A very historical fort, it was completely restored after having been vandalized and carted away by local residents, with only remnants of a few walls remaining. After an interesting morning seeing what life was like in a fort, we drove a half-hour north to His Majesty's Fort at Crown Point on Lake Champlain. A splendid venue for lunch at the water's edge with a view of the Champlain Bridge, which will take us back to Vermont.

After lunch, some rain and light hail! on the way back to Brandon. A relaxing afternoon antiquing, shopping, res­ting! or a stop at Thelma's Maple Sugar House in Brandon. Thelma is in her mid seventies and still produces maple sugar. Her prices are the best we've encountered. She shows us the entire process of making maple syrup and maple candy. After the demonstration, we all (that is, the few folks who stopped) carried off lots of Vermont's best.

 

Tonight we are in for a treat that none of us expected. Chuck Flinchbaugh (co-host) and I knew that the Brandon Inn's co-owner and chef is Austrian-trained, but WOW!, what a spread! Truly, this is the finest, most elaborate and most artfully prepared buffet I have ever seen. Everyone is amazed and delighted. And, the food is delicious, too! After dinner, we are honored to have Richard Langworth deliver a short address on Henry Bourne Joy, the Packard president who brought the company to Detroit and established it as the finest lux ury car maker in the United States. chuck and I wanted to honor Mr. Joy by naming the Tour after him. After dinner, everyone is enjoying good Packard fellowship with a drink, perhaps, in the midst of our host hotel's Victorian lobby and ballroom, which served as our Hospitality Room. An elegant and old-world setting quite in contrast to the usual modern motel. Many people brought homemade goodies, all of which were irresistible.               Dwight Heinmuller