Jim Jones, president of the Scioto Model A Club, puts his driving gloves on his Ford Model A in Marietta on Friday afternoon. Jones and other club members came to the Lafayette Hotel as part of a tour. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
MARIETTA – A small group of car enthusiasts with nearly 100-year-old vehicles arrived in Marietta late Friday afternoon.
Members of the Scioto Model A Club drove their Ford Model A to Marietta on Friday around 4 p.m. and stopped at the Lafayette Hotel as part of a tour.
The cars came in a variety of colors, from black to green to white and more, and passersby stopped to take photos of the vintage cars.
“We were founded in 1959,” Said Steve Rohner, member of the Scioto Model A Club.
The club is based in Columbus and, according to Rohner, typically tours once a month from May to October.
A Ford Model A pulls into the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta on Friday afternoon. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
“This month we spent two nights here in Marietta, a three-day tour for us,” said Rohner. “We live in historic Lafayette, which suits our vehicles. My wife and I love Marietta. We’ve been here many times. We get it. We understand it. So we thought this would be a great place to bring our club.”
According to Rohner, the Model A was built from 1928 to 1931 and was a best-seller for the Ford Motor Company.
According to Ford’s website, the Model A was completely different from its predecessor, the Model T.
It was lower, sleeker, could reach speeds of 55-65 mph, was the first Ford vehicle to feature a shatter-proof Tiplex safety windshield and hydraulic shock absorbers, and it was the first Ford vehicle to bear the blue oval logo, the website said.
The club members drove from Lancaster, Ohio, to Marietta, traveling through Perry, Morgan and Washington counties. About 22 of the slightly more than 100 members who make up the club took part in the trip, according to Rohner.
Ford Model A drives into the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel during a guided tour. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
“The trip was beautiful,” he said.
Some of the club members who took part in the tour drove “their modern cars” Rohner said this was because their Model A was not yet roadworthy.
The club tour includes a trip to the People’s Mortuary Museum and the Castle Historic House Museum, as well as a dinner cruise on the ship Major/Riviera.
Jim Jones, president of the Scioto Model A Club, was one of the Model A owners who attended Friday’s event. He likes Model A’s because they are a vehicle that can be repaired and parts can be found for them, he said.
“”“It’s a technology I can understand,” Jones said.
A Ford Model A owned by a member of the Scioto Model A Club is parked in the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
He said it was good to belong to this club and people should join such a club because “There is camaraderie, (and) help with the car when you buy your own car.”
For more information about the Scioto Model A Club, visit https://themodelaclub.org/.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at [email protected]
A Ford Model A is parked in the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta as part of a tour. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Two green Ford Model A cars are parked in the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel on Friday afternoon as part of a tour by the Scioto Model A Club. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A Ford Model A shows off red wheels in the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel on Friday afternoon. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A Ford Model A owned by a member of the Scioto Model A Club is parked in the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel on Friday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A row of Ford Model A cars sit in the Lafayette parking lot in Marietta on Friday afternoon. All of the vehicles are owned by the Scioto Model A Club, whose members came to the hotel as part of a tour. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
A Ford Model A pulls into the parking lot of the Lafayette Hotel on Friday afternoon as part of a tour by the Scioto Model A Club. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
