Gallery of Past Club Events
2007 Fireworks Social
July 4, 2007
Our Chapter Social for the month of July was a July 4th event at the home of Bill & Karen Marshall. Taking advantage of the City of Manassas hosting Celebrate America in Old Town and providing the largest fireworks display in Northern Virginia for our "personal" viewing, we could not plan a better way to celebrate that most British of sports cars, the MGA. The early thunderstorms that pelted the area — but bypassed Manassas — cleared out and we were left with perfect weather for the outdoor event.
We had a great turn-out of club members and were honored by special guests Lee & Liz Niner of Pennsylvania, attending with their son Tommy and his family, who live in the area. Lee & Liz are past NAMGAR Treasurers and current NAMGAR Chapter Coordinators. Those that receive MGA! magazine are familiar with the Niner's through their column, "The A's Have It" although Lee may be better know by his loving reply of "yes, dear" to Liz's uncanny sense of intuition!
Many delicious appetizers were provided by club members and traditional Fourth of July fare was cooked on the grill. Bill & Karen were proudly showing off new granddaughter Emma, visiting Virginia for the first time with parents Mike & Amanda Marshall of Texas. Mike was shown proper respect as the new father by promptly being "volunteered" to run the grill.
As dusk turned to night, we gathered in the front yard in eager anticipation of the explosions that would soon fill the sky in celebration of our nation's birth. We enjoyed the city's colorful fireworks display and at the end of the show were surprised by Karen, who provided sparklers for our group. Many commented it had been years since they had ended a Fourth of July with that most American of childhood traditions. This fact was reinforced by the difficulty in coordinating the adults, with sparklers sparkling, to pose for a group picture. Many appeared to be years-away as they wrote their names or conjured imagery in the night sky with their flaming sticks trailing streaks of light.
It has long been a NAMGAR truism that "you come for the cars but stay for the people." We would be remiss if we did not mention those that were not able to attend this year's event due to health reasons. We look forward to having Bill Ludtke and Bill Ten Eyck strong and able to attend next year's event.
Mark your calendar for next year when we will once again celebrate the Fourth of July on, well, July 4th.
