This crowd makes you glad to be a Geezer

It began simply enough, as a private invitation car show on a car guy’s lawn in east Wichita.

“I had ample parking … room for a lot of cars,” said Roy Merritt. “People called me `you old geezer’ and I thought, you know, I know some more of them. And it seemed like they’ve all got an old car.”

So Merritt sent out 50 invitations and the Geezer Gathering was born. And suddenly, “geezer” was no longer a term of derision, but one of respect and fellowship.

“It just mushroomed and grew from there. It’s been a fun ride,” Merritt said.

This year, the invitation list for the 11th annual Geezer Gathering numbered 206 names and, thanks to a picture perfect day, it seemed that most of them showed up. The event was held along blocked off Rock Island at Third Street, where it was moved after it outgrew the original location.

This year, the classic hot rods and street rods of the 1930s and 1940s were divided up, the older cars on the east, the newer ones on the west. Michael Behrendt explained it was an effort to recall the old days of impromptu car shows where car guys filled a block or two on a weekend night, swapping stories. And it felt a lot like that.

The “newer” cars, from the ’50s and ‘60s, were displayed in a grassy parking area south of the main building. This year there were two vintage front-engined dragsters on hand, one belonging to Mike Buchanan, the other to Jim Anderson, which took turns being fired up and “cackled” for the benefit of the crowd.

There were classic brass cars and beautifully restored, showroom perfect machines on hand.

One participant, standing between the rows of cars parked along the street, observed, “You aren’t going to find a better car show than right here, anywhere.”

The traditional big evening feed brought everyone inside the garage area, capping off the event with various awards and honors being passed out. Bob Kennedy presented Merritt with a beautifully sewn T-shirt quilt crafted by his wife, Connie, featuring commemorative Geezer shirts from the first nine years of the show.

As it has from the start, it made everyone glad to be a Geezer in a crowd of geezers.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 11:35 AM with the headline "This crowd makes you glad to be a Geezer."