The Miller-Meteor Chapter was founded specifically to support these types of activities. The Logan County Historical Society is attempting to permanently preserve history and we have the opportunity to be a part of that.
This morning, I spoke to Todd McCormick, curator for the Logan County Historical Society, who confirmed the agenda listed below (previously posted by Keith Snyder last year in a different thread.) Mr. McCormick's wish is that we gather as many Miller-Meteor vehicles as possible to help celebrate the museum's dedication.
I also spoke to Tom Caserta, former Miller-Meteor employee and co-host of the previous Miller-Meteor reunions in Piqua. Any PCS / Miller-Meteor Chapter members who plan to attend the Bellefontaine event are invited to meet in Piqua on Friday, April 25. Tom is contacting Miller-Meteor retirees, inviting them to join us for a group dinner that evening. He is also contacting the Piqua Comfort Inn to see about a special group rate for the nights of Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. We'll plan to participate in Saturday's festivities in Bellefontaine. I'll post the hotel information as soon as Tom gets back to me.
Also, just for clarification, there is NOT a Miller-Meteor related event planned for May in Piqua. I just confirmed this with Tom Caserta.
Here is the specific information as pertains to the Bellefontaine event:
The Logan County Museum in Bellefontaine, Ohio (the former home of the A.J. Miller Company as well as Miller-Meteor for a few years) is opening a large new Transportation wing. They are planning a gala grand opening for this addition that includes a parade through town. They would like as many A. J. Miller and Miller-Meteor cars as they can get to participate in this parade. Here are the details:
Logan County Transportation Museum Grand Opening
April 26th & 27th, 2014
Logan County History Center
521 E. Columbus Ave., Bellefontaine, OH
Donor Reception/Media Preview – Thursday, April 24th (time to be
determined)
* By invitation only
* Donors – every person/business that donated $100.00 towards Transportation Museum will be invited.
* Media – Local radio & newspaper, surrounding area newspapers, Columbus/Dayton/Lima television & newspapers
Grand Opening/Parade – Saturday, April 26th
* Parade (set up Logan County Fairgrounds at 9:00 a.m. Parade will start at 11:00 a.m.
o Participants
* Would like to get as many Miller and Miller- Meteor cars as possible to participate – ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE US WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
* Model T group(s) and possibly Model A group(s)
* Businesses that donated towards museum will be asked to build or sponsor Logan County transportation themed floats
* Six area high schools will be asked to build Logan County Transportation themed floats. Each school will have its own transportation theme i.e. railroad, aviation, A.J. Miller, early transportation, modern, boats (Indian Lake)
* Perhaps open floats up to other businesses/organizations
* Early transportation groups – horse & carriage?
* High-Wheel bicycle rider(s)/Maybe Unicycles
* Area high school marching bands
* Logan County Honor Guard
* Grand Marshal
* Old fire trucks/equipment from local villages
* Flyover of a bi-plane
o Parade Route
* Starts at Logan County Fairgrounds
* Go north on Main Street through downtown, past Court Ave. (Oldest Concrete St. in U.S.)
* Turn right on to E. Columbus Ave.
* End at Logan County History Center
o Post-Parade
* Participants with A.J. Miller or Miller-Meteor cars who are willing to stay and showcase their cars will be able to park in the LCHC’s parking lot.
* Model Ts & Model As will park on south side of Columbus Ave. (Columbus Ave. will be closed from Powers St. to Hayes St.)
* Citizens Police Academy will help with the parking and security of the vehicles
o Open House 1:00-4:00
* Public will be able to tour the new Transportation Museum (and the current museum and Orr Mansion), look at the Miller cars in parking lot and Model Ts & As on the street.
* The owners of the Miller and Miller-Meteor cars and Model Ts/As do not necessarily have to stay the whole time
o Parking
* Shuttle parking will be used for visitors
* We will ask to use parking lots of nearby businesses on E. Columbus Ave. for parking and have small buses made available to shuttle people from parking areas to LCHC
* People will be dropped off at the bus turnaround in front of the Orr Mansion. They can then walk around to see the Model Ts/As and Miller cars and then go to museum or vice versa
* Volunteers will have golf carts to take people to the museum who cannot walk the distance from the drop-off to the museum entrance
Logan County Transportation Museum Dedication – Sunday, April 27th,
2014 from 1:00-4:00
* Open to the public
* Special guests
o Ohio Department of Transportation (awarded grant for the Transportation Museum)
o Robertson Construction – general contractors
o Major donors – i.e. Honda, TRC
o Political Officials
* Ohio Senators
* Governor Kasich
* State Senator & State Rep for area
* County officials
* City officials (acted as government sponsor grant from ODOT – did not use and city money)
* Program/Speakers
o LCHC
o ODOT
o Robertson
o Major donors
o Politicians
o Ribbon Cutting or some other type of ceremony
o Time Capsule Dedication
* Tours of Transportation Museum and current museum and Orr Mansion
