Over the years, I have attended hundreds of conferences, and while I generally know what to expect when I arrive, every now and then something happens that makes a routine trip particularly memorable.
Last week, I traveled to Hershey, Pennsylvania, for the Pennsylvania Municipal League’s annual Municipal Leadership Summit. I had visited the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center several times over the years, but this was my first opportunity to actually stay at the hotel.
Upon checking in, the desk clerk handed me my room keys and a Hershey chocolate bar. I thought that was a pretty clever way to promote the local brand. As I headed toward my room, I glanced into the gift shop, where virtually every shelf was overflowing with chocolate-themed clothing, souvenirs, and trinkets. There was certainly no question about what town I was visiting.
Later, as I walked toward the conference registration area, I noticed several beautiful antique automobiles displayed along the hallways. Now, I’ve been to a lot of municipal conferences, but vintage automobiles aren’t generally part of the program.
I soon learned that RM Sotheby’s, the famous auction company, was holding its annual classic car auction at the resort at the same time as our conference.
When I had pulled into the parking lot earlier, I noticed several large enclosed automobile trailers but hadn’t given them much thought. Little did I know what was inside.
Outside the conference center, in several cordoned-off parking areas, were more than 200 of the most spectacular automobiles I have ever seen. These weren’t the typical restored Mustangs and Corvettes you might find at a local weekend car show.
These were magnificent automobiles from another era, many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some looked as though they had just rolled out of a Hollywood movie from the 1930s. The chrome sparkled, the paint was flawless, and the craftsmanship was extraordinary.
And there they sat, lined up in a resort parking lot, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder in the grand ballroom.
Naturally, my curiosity got the best of me.
I wandered over to the auction area and asked one of the ladies working there how much admission cost. I expected it to be expensive, but her answer surprised me.
There were no general admission tickets. If you wanted to attend the auction, you had to register as a bidder. That would cost $200, plus a $2,500 credit card deposit that would be returned if you didn’t purchase anything. I expected it to be expensive, but her answer surprised me.
There were no general admission tickets. If you wanted to attend the auction, you had to register as a bidder. That would cost $200, plus a $2,500 credit card deposit that would be returned if you didn’t purchase anything.
I had Municipal League events scheduled both evenings, so attending wasn’t really practical. Still, I was curious about who might be sitting in that ballroom, bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars on automobiles.
Maybe Jay Leno, the famous car collector, was there looking for another 1935 Cadillac convertible. Perhaps some Hollywood celebrity was about to add a rare Packard to an already impressive collection.
Instead, most of the people I saw milling around the hotel looked like a bunch of gray-haired baby boomers, some wearing jackets and T-shirts advertising their favorite automobile brands.
Come to think of it, I probably fit right in.
Ultimately, I decided against paying the admission fee. After all, they would have given me one of those numbered auction paddles, and knowing my luck, I would have scratched my head at the wrong moment and found myself the proud owner of a $300,000 Stutz Bearcat.
One particularly spectacular white convertible caught my attention, and I took several photographs. I later discovered it was a 1935 Auburn 851 Supercharged Speedster, the very first one manufactured. Sotheby’s estimated its value at between $850,000 and $950,000. Suddenly, my concerns about accidentally purchasing a $300,000 Stutz Bearcat didn’t seem quite so unreasonable.
Explaining that purchase to my wife would have been considerably more difficult than explaining the $200 admission charge.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Municipal League conference, visiting with old friends and making new acquaintances. But wandering through that parking lot, admiring automobiles that represented another time in American history, was an unexpected treat.
It reminded me of something I’ve discovered many times over the years. Some of life’s most interesting experiences aren’t the ones we carefully plan.
Sometimes they’re the ones waiting for us just around the corner.
Or, in this case, in a parking lot in Hershey, Pennsylvania.