I woke up on August 30, 2012, and I excitedly readied for the days ahead. Today was the day when my grandparents, my cousin, my sister and I go on a yearly trip to Auburn, Indiana for the Auburn Cord Duesenberg (A.C.D.) Festival. The Festival includes an antique automobile swap-meet, a vintage treasure sale, and a parade. While we’re there, my sister, my cousin and I usually sell vintage clothing with my grandmother as my grandfather works at the swapmeet. After I had finished packing my bags, my grandfather called me out to the barn where he stores his white with aqua-pinstripe 1935 Auburn 851 Coupe Cabriolet and the matching 1936 Mullins Trailer. As he backed the car out of the barn, I helped direct it into the carrying trailer.
Once the car was in the trailer, my grandfather said to me, “Strap the axles, remember front then back, and don’t hook the brake line.”
“I know, I know,” I replied. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this.”
Now that the Auburn was in the trailer, and my grandmother’s hats and dresses were in the motorhome, we left on our three hour ride, with my grandfather and I in the motorhome. My sister and my cousin rode in my grandmother’s car. We were headed to the Auburn Gear parking lot (Auburn Gear is a gear manufacturing plant near the A.C.D. Museum).
We arrived at Auburn Gear around 5:30 in the evening, I opened the trailer and unhooked the Auburn while my grandmother drove her car to the museum in order to set out the things she would try to sell early; due to the fact that if we don’t set up the night before, we only get a half hour to set up, my grandmother has too many things to be able to set everything out in a half hour. It was to no avail, by the time she got to the museum, the Cord Room and the Duesenberg Room (where the “Ladies of A.C.D.Vintage Treasure Sale” was to be held) were closed off. Upon my grandmother’s return, my grandfather backed the car out its trailer and he drove us around town, and we went out for dinner.
The next day we woke at 6:30, my grandmother put Eggo brand frozen waffles in the toaster as breakfast for us. My grandfather loaded the Auburn with what he would try to sell at the swapmeet and drove off to set up.
After my sister, my cousin, and I finished our breakfast, my grandmother drove us to the museum. We all carried boxes to where our grandmother told us to put them. I unpacked the boxes and exhibited the merchandise as my grandmother told me. My grandmother gave us each a table with the girls managing one and I controlled a whole table by myself. The table I was working at had brooches, rings, gloves, and hats, while the girl’s table had only hats. Around noon, my grandmother took my cousin and sister back to our motorhome to get them ready for the ladies luncheon and left me in charge of the store.
They returned at 12:30 as everyone else was leaving for the luncheon, so I went over to the swapmeet to help my grandfather put his things away. Once his merchandise was stored in the trailer, we drove around town like we do every year during the ladies luncheon, looking at garage sales.
After the luncheon finished and the girls changed out of their fancy attire, our family played marbles and card games for the rest of the afternoon.
The next morning, when I awoke, grandfather had already taken the Auburn to get it’s picture taken and parked it at the field where the parade would start. At 11:30 am, we all walked over to the car and set up our chairs until the parade started at 1:45, around noon, I walked to the pavillion to buy us lunches. When we’d finished lunch at half past noon, my sister and cousin ran over to the A.C.D. Kids Club, where a magician was performing for the children.
The parade was right on schedule, the cars started in order of model, finally it was time for us to join the line up of the cars. After a while, we were in front of the judging stand, the announcer explained over the loudspeaker what model the car was, the year and that the owner was my grandfather: Bruce Beimers. Once we turned the corner, we didn’t bother to go through the rest of the parade, so we went back to the motorhome. I hopped out of the car to lower the door and waited for my grandfather to drive the car into the trailer, I strapped down the axles, closed the large door and stepped into the motorhome. We left auburn gear and headed home.