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Ebensburg’s Wheels and Wings 2009

the Balko — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:39:43 +0000

“I couldn’t get to the wings!”

Don’t let the sparseness of the crowd in the photo to the left fool you. I haven’t seen a crowd this thick since the 1987 Boston Ice Cream Festival. Behind me, on the wing block, it was “shoulder to shoulder, backs to the wall.” You couldn’t slip a sheet of paper between any 2 people there. But it was all good. It gave me an excuse to try my first slice of Clark Powell’s pizza. And that led to my second. And so on, and so on… Anyway, I was in town to shoot cars, meet folks and have a good time, not to eat wings. And they had some real pretty cars in Ebensburg, including the sweetest ride I’ve ever seen: Chris Ryan’s, of Ninety Six, S.C., 1948 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. Oh, what a beauty car. Check out the photos.

Johnstown Bike Rally 2009

the Balko — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:54:32 +0000

Bands, Bars, Cars and Mason Jars

Okay, there were no mason jars, except for what I found cleaning Mom’s garage, but there were plenty of cars and bars and bikes and trikes, and more great jams than Donnie Iris can shake his dipstick at. Saturday was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in Johnstown, PA. This event is going to take 7 stand-alone galleries and 3 posts just to catch a glimpse of what a blast every moment was. For convenience sake, I’ve combined 4 of the galleries into this post and set aside Wheels and Wings and Parade of Lights for their own posts, but, as always, you can catch the individual gallery links up at the top of the post.

The Company You Keep

The quality of life is often determined by the quality of those you choose to keep around you. This year’s rally was top-shelf because of the moments I got to share with Karen, the En Brothers (Glenn and Ken – no relation), Ken’s new friend Theresa, and, the lightning in my thunder, the Lovely Brenda. And we got to meet plenty of other fine folk along the way, and it seems, since Satori Sunday that I’ve acquired the habit of meeting old friends I never knew I ever knew. All in all, I had me a real good time.

Location, location, location…

I’ve got thousands of biker pics on the hard drive, and hundreds on the site. This year was time to branch out and see what else could be seen. We took in the sights at Richland Fire Hall, Ebensburg’s Wheels and Wings, and along Graham Ave. in Windber. The En Bros. and I even incorporated the World Famous Windber Walking Tour into our visit. I missed Beavedale Hill Climbs and Cernic’s Somerset party, and blew off Greenhouse Park and Cambria County Fairgrounds. We hit a lot of bars, Hurdle’s, TNC, Windber Hotel, Town Tavern, Crousey’s, Jerry’s, Ohio Street Lounge; but left many undiscovered. Maybe next year. Ate lots of great food: snack at Clark Powells (no wonder their pizza has a county-wide reputation), breakfast at Erikson Field (Geistown-Richland Lions), lunch at the Knights of Columbus (best halupki ever), and dinner split between TNC (blow-you-away baked Italian hoagie) and Town Tavern (just a quick chef salad, cause I’m not getting enough veggies). Again, next year I’ll have to try harder on the food.

Jammin is My Life

The Wheels Rock! Course, any band that covers Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons, as well as writes their own excellent material, is okay by me. Check out their MySpace page up above. Nice to catch up with The World’s Greatest Cover Band, The Desperados, once again. Michael Obrian and Full Kilt (also linked above) rounded out the cream of the crop. The Desperados don’t need no stinkin’ website. WHOA! Almost forgot. Honeys abounded once agan. I LOVE this town and I love my life. Thank you Jesus.

All right, wrap it up. I’ll take it. Here’s most of the phots and more to come in the next 2 posts.

Cruise In to Windber PA

the Balko — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:59:57 +0000

This isn’t your father’s Windber. It seems that, ever since the hospital told the Memorial mega-medicinal conglomerate where to stick it, this town has been redefining it’s character, and I’m giving serious consideration to moving there. They’ve got great people, low taxes, some very cool bars, their own theatre, and they know how to throw a party. They’ve even got their own vampire convention.

Three weeks ago, the En Brothers (Glen and Ken – no relation) and I took the World-Famous Walking Bar Tour (another post for another time) on a road trip to Windber . Since then, I’ve been back 4 times. This past Friday, it was for the Inaugural Friday Night Cruise In: classic, antique, and state-of the-art muscle cars and hogs lining Graham Avenue, jams in the Gazebo by Day Well Spent, and beer by the Windber Fire Department. Clear skys, a beautiful sunset, and a typical good-natured Windber crowd all contributed to the good times.

There was a time when this sort of thing drove the authorities nuts. Even today, in Lancaster, driving up Prince Street or down queen Street, you can see the signs forbidding “passing this point three times in one hour.” Some towns still don’t like this activity. But progressive Windber has embraced it, and they’re reaping the rewards.

Sponsors for the (almost) weekly event include Conzatti’s Market, Rizzo’s Restaurant, and the Windber Hotel. I know there are more, and as soon as I get back there, I’ll get a handle on the details and repost for you. They’ll be doing this all summer long, but it’s not exactly every week. They’re skipping Memorial Day weekend, but coming back the following week. Anyone who can add more info, provide links to other sponsors, or who can help identify the cars in the photos, leave your comments below. You can check out the photos from here / / /, or click the galley link at the top of the post, or the 2009 Galleries link at the top of the page.