2002 Pontiac Oakland Club International

The Pontiac Oakland Club International's 30th Annual Convention was a great show to attend. It was well organized by the Almost Heaven West Virginia Chapter, well thought out with show locations, swap meet areas, and hotels within easy driving distance, and well timed since post-holiday shows always seem to hold the festive mood. If only someone could have slipped Mother Nature a bribe to keep the rains at bay ...

This year's event took place in rustic Charleston, West Virginia from July 9-13, 2002. HPP trekked across the Northeast in the Road Warrior, HPP's road-trip van, looking forward to seeing the Mountain State. When we arrived, we marveled at the capital city's beauty. Once DeMauro maneuvered the Warrior through a sea of Ponchos at the Marriott parking garage, we attempted to check in to a building teeming with people. It was when the apologetic front desk staff kicked us to the curb, reservations and all, that we concluded this riverside burg of 53,000 was besieged with Pontiac folk--the hotel was starting to double up on room reservations! Once we waded through the crowded lobby and found suitable lodging elsewhere, we strolled back to the host hotel, now a makeshift paradise that was packed with Pontiac owners, historians, racers, and celebrities. Many had been enjoying the displays, chapter meetings, tours of local interests, and swap meet since the Tuesday inception of the show, and many more would be coming.

POCI's only dim spot was the forecast: rain, a rare commodity for much of the summer, was a virtual lock to mess up the best-laid plans.

Pontiacs and Oaklands had been rolling into West Virginia since Tuesday the 9th, but the party really got started on Thursday. Along with a breakfast cruise and some swap meet action, that morning saw tours of local coal mines and shopping centers for those without gasoline in the veins. At noon, the Pontiac-driving NASCAR star Tony Stewart was welcomed at the state capitol with a parade, and he stuck around to meet and greet his many admirers. And when the urge hit to burn rubber, drag racing got underway at nearby Kanawha Valley Dragway and lasted till dark.

The rain that many Poncho and Oakland owners feared came with a vengeance on Friday after points judging. Cooler weather--the mercury topped out at only 78 degrees--was the only good part of this monsoon, and many show goers avoided Magic Island's car show in favor of the nearby Interstate 77/64 underpass that had been cleverly converted to the swap meet area. Two wide ribbons of highway provided the cover for nearly 300 vendors to do business under, and there were rare Poncho parts, great old magazines, and even entire Pontiacs to be had while sheets of rain covered previously spotless show vehicles outside. Points judging took place from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., but what the Magic Island show lacked in weather, it made up for in scenery: adjacent to the long and flat show area, barges and tugs floated under massive bridges on the Kanawha river. A cliff on the other side was an impressive backdrop for 141 Pontiac and Oakland points judged entrants.

Meanwhile, an impressive group of Pontiac big shots were on hand to speak at the Civic Center--Arnold Landvoigt, Arnie Beswick, Mike Garblik, and John Sawruk discussed our treasured history, then GM's Bob Kraut gave us a taste of the future with a new GTO discussion. Banquets took over in the early evening, and before we knew it, another rainy day was in the books.

Saturday the 13th dawned just as wet as before, but it seemed like the popular vote entrants said to hell with the chamois and came down anyway. Charleston's finest were kind enough to block off Pennsylvania Avenue, and that extra space was in high demand as many of the points-judged vehicles were parked there. As spectators headed down the embankment that separates the road from the river, they were greeted with over 400 popular vote vehicles and the amazing variety that has come to symbolize a good POCI show. Are you a fan of high-revving Sprint six-cylinders? Frame-off examples were on display. 301 Turbo Trans Ams your thing? A couple showed up that were so clean you would have thought they were new. What do you think about crazy, custom GPs with tilt hoods and monster meat in the back? You get the point--the place was flush with awesome iron and mobbed with many of the nearly 4,000 registered spectators that were present that week. The show lasted from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, and much-deserved awards were won for presentation at the banquet held in the Charleston Civic Center. For most, the convention ended then and there, but HPP went out on Sunday morning to Kanawha Valley Dragway and conducted a shootout with some of the quickest Ponchos in West Virginia. It was a devilish end to a show that made the most of the moisture, and Charleston 2002, while not quite heaven, ended up being damn close.

Next year's celebration of Pontiacs and Oaklands will be held July 8-12, 2003 in Collinsville, Illinois and put on by the Arch Chapter of Greater St. Louis. We're hoping for a monster turnout in the nation's heartland, and you can get any questions out of the way early by contacting Arch Chapter Chairpeople Jon and Mary Ann Havens at 314-838-5533. We know we'll be there--will you?