Another week plus since we have “blogged”. We have been busy with all the events of the rally. The rally is ending tonight (July 4th; I am hearing fireworks and firecrackers as I type) and we will be heading north tomorrow. Then we should have more to talk about and do more blogging once we start seeing new scenery.

Our days during the rally were similar. We would get up and go to our perspective “volunteer” jobs, break for lunch, work more, break for dinner, then attend the evening activities and program in the big pavilion after the rally officially began on Tuesday, the 27th.

Every Sunday there were interdenominational services on the grounds, put on by our rally ministry services (usually Airstreamers who are ministers, song leaders, choir members, etc.). Offering from all three Sundays raised almost $5,000 which was distributed among two local charities: The Salvation Army and the Homeless Ministries in Salem.

The first night of the rally, June 27, were Opening Ceremonies. Dan represented our St. Louis club by carrying our unit flag and placing it in its proper place in the front of the auditorium. This was repeated by over 140 other unit presidents from across the United States and Canada. It took almost an hour to complete and was an impressive ceremony.

On June 28th, the evening entertainment was sponsored by the City of Salem. It was a group of musicians and vocalists who performed songs from the 50’s and 60’s. They were very entertaining. Many from the audience got up and danced. Now considering the average age of the people being in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, that was quite a sight! One man came down out of the bleachers struggling with his cane, got to the floor, hung his cane on the railing and danced the night away with his spouse! Another gentleman picked his wife up out of her wheelchair, leaned her against him, and they danced. (She seemed to have had a stroke.) As Dan has always said, these Airstreamers are the oldest young people he has ever met.

On June 29th, a day to wear our rally colors (burgundy and beige), the entertainment was the Festival of Music, presented by our rally orchestra (yes, people who are Airstreamers that bring their musical instruments and form a band/orchestra). They put on a great program and once again, people danced to the music (a lot of it Big Band sounds). Since Dan’s cousin, Jim Grubb, enjoys music and playing himself in community concerts, etc., we invited him and his wife, Kathy, to join us for the evening program. He was quite impressed that this group of people could get a band together to sound as good as they did in such a short time.

On Friday, June 30th, Dan and I were both off. We took some time and did the laundry and went grocery shopping. We were back in time to clean the trailer up and attend that evening’s program. The Lettermen (yes, the original Lettermen) entertained us with many of their popular songs.

Earlier in the day, there were presentations by other cities who are trying to win the bid for future rally sites for upcoming rallies. The cities represented were: Perry, Georgia (where next year’s rally will be held); Bozeman, Montana; Madison, Wisconsin; Burlington, Vermont; and Gillette, Wyoming. Each city represented showed videos and had handouts. The president and vice-presidents and executive board will choose the future cities. This is exciting to look forward to, because of the travel to these areas.

On Saturday, (Canada Day), July 1st, we wore Canadian colors of red and white. We registered for next year’s rally in Perry, GA, and enjoyed a couple seminars. That evening, Dan and I skipped the entertainment. It was Irish dancers. We just felt like we needed to organize the trailer, and Dan finished the newsletter for our St. Louis group and sent it out by e-mail (some we printed and handed out in person to those who were here.)

We also drove north of here to a fruit and vegetable farm that also makes pies, etc., out of their fresh fruits. Dan and I had planned a pie and ice cream social for our St. Louis group that is here in Salem (about 14 trailers). We brought back apple pie, marionberry (blackberry) pie, apple-berry pie, peach pie, raspberry-rhubarb pie, and I made a fresh strawberry pie, sugar-free. This was for the social we planned for the next day.

After church and lunch on Sunday, we prepared the picnic area here at the fairgrounds for the pie social and had it set up and ready for the 3-5 p.m. event. There were about 30 people that attended. That evening the entertainment consisted of the Oregon Coast Lab Band. This is a group of high school students who excel in music. They play big band sounds and entertain. They were very talented.

Following that program, the International officers for 2007 were installed. This was another “pomp and circumstance” event that was impressive to watch.

Today, July 4th, all volunteer work was over by noon, and offices were torn down and packed up. Equipment and supplies are sent ahead to the next rally site for storage until next summer. Today, we wore red, white, and blue colors. This morning was a flea market, with “fleas” being brought by Airstreamers. This is always a popular and heavily-attended event.

There was a Region 8 (our region, which consists of units in the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas states) picnic of fried chicken, potato salad, slaw, baked beans and rolls. At 4 p.m. was a parade. There were 60 entries, again all Airstreamers and units. Our region paraded with kazoos and noisemakers. It was a lot of fun. We also threw out candy to the audience.

Tonight’s evening entertainment was “Elvis”. He was an impersonator from Las Vegas and was very good and entertaining. A fill-in act was a Buddy Holly impersonator. He was also good. Then we had closing ceremonies where all unit presidents “retired” the flags.

A lot of people will be leaving tomorrow, as we will. There is an executive board meeting that we and another couple will be staying to attend. We should be leaving around noon to head north. Our stop tomorrow night will be in Lacey, Washington, where we will stay for two nights. At some point along the way, we will update this blog again.

For a point of information, there were 1,038 trailers registered for this rally. So, there were approximately 2,400 people on the grounds during the rally.

Until we are farther up the road, I will sign off for tonight.

Beth and Dan