May 27, 2019: Crystal Hills Memorial Day show, Athens, GA.
Read MoreEach Memorial Day, a car show is held in the beautiful Crystal Hills neighborhood just south of Athens, Georgia. The show is part of the neighborhood's annual Memorial Day Celebration, an event dedicated to Memorial Day and all that it represents.
The original idea from 2009 was nothing more than a simple get-to-know-your-neighbors gathering for the holiday weekend. But as plans were being put into motion, the idea of a neighborhood gathering transitioned into what is now referred to as the annual Memorial Day Celebration, a large event that features music, activities for kids, and a vintage car show.
I went to the first show in 2009 not knowing at that time that it was the inaugural event. My then-wife and I had moved to Athens earlier in the year and were doing some local sightseeing with her parents who were visiting from Austria. We saw signs for a "Car Show" and decided to check it out, much to the delight of her dad and his camera. I've attended the show several times since then depending on whether or not Mother Nature decides to cooperate.
This is always a great show that never fails to disappoint in terms of the diversity and exceptional quality of machinery present. From the late model daily driver collectibles to the 6-figure Ferraris, this show is a feast for the eyes and camera lens.This year marks my fifth visit to the Crystal Hills Memorial Day car show since its debut in 2009. The difference for me this year was that I was able to participate in the car show instead of just being a spectator.
The show is billed as "Invitation Only" meaning you can't just show up and park. My guess was that this was done to create an upscale event similar in feel to a Concours show with a lot of specialty cars.
While I consider my 1996 Jaguar XJS convertible to be a nice car, it's not a vintage classic. The early XK and E-Type Jaguars I've seen at this show before fit that bill perfectly. So I always figured that my car was not what what the event organizers had in mind.
That changed during the 2016 show when I spotted my doppelganger, a 1996 XJS convertible nearly identical to mine. I asked my dentist, who gets an invite each year, how I could get invited. "Easy," he said. "When you go this year, ask to be put on the mailing list."I arrived at the show and headed to the registration desk to ask about being put on the mailing list for next year. One gentleman at the desk, who I didn't realize was one of the show's organizers, asked me if I brought my car, and would I like to show it.
Yes I would !
I told him about seeing my doppelganger at past shows. "Oh yeah, he'll be here today."I saw this car the last time I attended this show back in 2016. This year, I had a chance to chat with the car owner. This car is nearly identical to mine - same color combination, same wheels, similar mileage. Both of us have owned our cars for similar amounts of time. But the funny thing is that I've never seen this car anywhere except at this show.
The Model A was available in more that 45 different body configurations. Most of them, (like the tudor, phaeton, roadster, and closed-cap pickup) were made by Ford. Other body styles, (like the cabriolet, sport coupe, open-cab pickup, town car, victoria, and station wagon), were supplied by outside coachbuilders with Murray and Briggs being the most popular. One way to distinguish a Murray body from a Briggs body is to look at the top of the side windows. Murray bodies feature a slight arch whereas Briggs bodies are flat. The slight arch on the windows seen in the photo above identifies this car as a three-window four-door sedan with a Murray body.