Really big show

It’s bigger than ever.
For the 39th year, members of the Vintage Motor Bike Club have gathered at the Jay County Fairgrounds for their national meet.
And this year’s event stretches farther to the north end of the fairgrounds than ever before.
VMBC president Darren Chafin said Wednesday that 2,200 club members were on hand “that we’ve accounted for.”
More are still rolling in, and others haven’t yet registered.
“I’ve been coming to this meet since I was 5 or 6 years old,” said Chafin, who paints cars for a living in Lima, Ohio. “It just keeps growing and growing and growing every year.”
About 40 club members are involved in planning and organizing the annual national gathering. “There’s no one person that runs it,” said Chafin.
The meet first gathered at the Jay County Fairgrounds when local resident Ray Gabbard was club president in the 1970s.
The combination of the facilities and the abundant shade at the fairgrounds kept the fans of old motorbikes, scooters, and bicycles coming back year after year.
The focus is on the period from the early 1900s to the early 1960s, a simpler time in many ways when gasoline was cheap and travel at 30 mph was considered fast enough for most folks.
As in the past, the meet is a low-key, informal, family-oriented affair.
“This is where they want to be,” said Chafin.[[In-content Ad]]