By Barry Reichenbaugh

Who says cats don't like water?

Tropical Storm Allisonor, what was left of hertried mightly to dampen spirits at the recent 2001 CCOA Nationals, in Williamsburg, Va. But a little rain (OK, a lot of rain) didn't halt judging or chase away the 97 registered Cougars on hand for the June 15 to 17 event.

The show, hosted by the Delmarva Cougar Club (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia), was the only CCOA-sponsored national gathering of Cougars this year. The DCC chose Williamsburg as the show site because of its many historic attractions and family entertainment opportunities, and many show attendees took advantage of that fact and turned their weekend into a family vacation of several days or more.

"The excitement level was high and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time, both at the show and in Williamsburg," said Delmarva President Jim Karamanis, who headed up planning for the show. "Even with the monsoon-like weather, the show really went off without a hitch."

The first show day, Friday, was damp, but tolerable. Most of the activity that day focused on registrations and arranging cars by class. The rain let up a couple hours before the Friday evening "Parkway Prowl" cruise along a 12-mile stretch of the scenic Colonial Parkway between Williamsburg and Yorktown, the site of the final major battle of the Revolutionary War. About 40 Cats participated in the cruise, the route for which was suggested by DCC Editor Phillip Payne. He also designed the official show logo, used on everything from T-shirts to the official show program to trophies.

"It was a lovely, scenic driveluckily without rain!" said Clare Rocheford, of Alexandria, Va. "It was great fun to be part of a Cat pack on the road. It reminded me of friends who go on rides with their motorcycle 'gang,' except we were all driving Cougars instead of Harleys!"

Saturday, the main show day, again started off wet. But the rain came mostly in sprinkles the first half of the day and periodically stopped long enough to allow a good viewing of the cars by show attendees and judges, alike. But as the day progressed, the rain came more often and for longer stays, and by day's end judging took place under golf umbrellas and a registration tent dragged out onto the parking lot for use as a makeshift carport.

"The judges didn't give up," CCOA Vice President and Head Judge Frank Paty said. "When it became clear the rain wasn't going to stop, they improvised and overcame the elements to finish the job in plenty of time for the awards ceremony. In fact, even with the rain, they finished up nearly on schedule. It was an incredible effort all around, and I can't say enough about all the volunteers that helped with judging."

Seminars made for a popular and convenient way to get in out of the rain Saturday. Ed Drozd, of the Connecticut Cougar Club, led off with a well-attended discussion on "Finding Those Impossible to Find Parts." Many in the audience of about 25 picked Drozd's brain for sources and search techniques and reported a lively and informative discussion. Chad White, of Auto Krafters, followed up with two other successful seminars: "Understanding Ford's Parts Numbering System" and "Putting a Show Shine Back in Tired Paint."

Kids at the show were able to stay dry and get their faces painted, play a Cougar-based word search game, and enter a show coloring contest arranged by Laura Reichenbaugh. The coloring contest challenged kids to color the show logo, and they responded with beautiful resultsalbeit, in a few colors Mercury never offered for the Cougar!

More than 120 turned out for the show banquet Saturday evening, where award winners were announced and several special awards were presented. CCOA Region 2 South Director Ken McDowell won about $150 in the show's 50-50 raffleand no doubt spent a good chunk of it for gas on the drive home to Irving, Texas. The "Hard Luck Cat" award went to Kent Sharpe, of West Bend, Wis., who overcame two bad tires, a broken water pump and a bad radiator to get his '69 XR-7 convertible to Williamsburg with time to spare before the start of the show.

Cougar parts vendor Lin Thurston, from Texas, endured the intermittent rain all weekend and mastered the act of packing and unpacking as he serviced a steady crowd of Cougar owners seeking parts for their projects.

Sunday morning dawned with brilliant sunshine, cool temperatures and low humidityseveral organizers joked about doing the judging over again, given the perfect day. Sunday morning also brought another cruise organized by Payne, this time in the opposite direction on the Colonial Parkway, to Jamestown Island.

Karamanis said the show, nearly two years in the planning, was hard work, but worth the effort.

"A lot of people, especially Delmarva Cougar Club members, put a lot of time and effort into planning and executing this show, and I think the results showed that effort," he said. "I'm not sure we'd do it again anytime soon, but it was well worth all the effort, especially to meet all the CCOA members and other who turned out."

Mark Your Calendars for 02 Nats
The Georgia Cougar Club, host for the 2002 CCOA East Nationals, has announced the show will take place June 27 to 30, at the Marriott Gwinnet Place, Dulith, Ga. Check the web site soon for details.