City prepped for race

Twenty-five years ago this week, Portland was preparing for visitors.

The June 22, 1996, edition of The Commercial Review featured coverage of the city making preparations for the arrival of the Corel Great American Race.

They included:

•Hanging 40 banners to decorate Jay County Courthouse in patriotic colors

•Decorating dozens of downtown buildings

•Converting Main Street on the west side of downtown into a pit area for the 82 drivers who were headed toward Jay County.

“This is a town that’s different from any place on earth,” said Rosie Grapner, chair of the pit stop committee, noting the hours of volunteering that had gone into getting ready for the event.

The Great Race, a time-speed-endurance rally for pre-World War II vehicles, had started June 16 in Tacoma, Washington. Drivers were slated to begin their drive June 26 in Peoria, Illinois, with a pit stop late in the day in Portland before an overnight stop in Lima, Ohio.

The pit area on Main Street was to be decked out with a red, white and blue balloon arch, with tape designating the pit areas. Food stands were also to be set up on Court Street, with an announcer’s stand at the intersection of Court and Main streets. (George Reitenour, a Portland man who participated in the Great Race four times, was set to be the announcer and his car — Spirit of Jay County — was going to be on display.)

“I think Portland is going to do as good a job as has ever been done on a pit stop,” Reitenour said.