Reading Farigrounds Racer Show and Reunion - Keeping the Spirit of the Fairgrounds Alive

    New cars and cars of yesteryear were on display this past weekend at the Morgantown Classic Auto Mall, celebrating the history and legends of fairgrounds racing in Pennsylvania. Plenty of automotive legends were on display, submerging you in the rich history and culture of fairgrounds racing and the bonds it has helped create across generations. The Reading Fairgrounds Racing Historical Society pulled out all the stops, filling this beautiful section of the auto mall with everything from late model racers, to modified Model Ts, to land speed racers. Saturday saw the show filling up completely, bringing in more than 1,500 people and even drawing in the attention of The Reading Eagle and 69 News. 

    For the president of the RFRHS, Galen E. Koller, this is nothing new. Mr. Koller has been in charge of the show for about 3 years now, but has been involved in the show for going on 34 years. Koller had worked at the original Reading Fairgrounds in 1968, and eventually worked his way up to being an official, eventually leaving in 1978 for Penn Nationals. Mr. Koller went on to explain that this show was initially started to be able to bring those original racers back together to reminisce and talk about their racing days. Over the years the show has grown to even bring people in from New York, New Jersey, and Delaware to name a few states. This show is run strictly off of a donation based admission process, which Mr. Koller says is usually a great financial success. When I asked Mr. Koller why the donation based admission, he explained that they wanted to be able to make the show accessible, and by running with donations, it allows those with lower income to be able to see this beautiful spectacle. I also spoke to treasurer Mr. Michael Ritter, who has his own little story to tell regarding the show. Mr. Ritter had always been a huge fan of racing though he never actually raced himself. Originally from Allentown, Mr. Ritter had a different start than most and actually got into the show after attending it and deciding to sell some of his own racing memorabilia. As he traveled to other racing shows, his collection of memorabilia grew and he developed a new love for the Reading Fairgrounds Racer Show. 

RFRHS Pres. Mr Galen E. Koller poses next to one of his favorite cars there

    For some, it's not about the cars or the racing, it's about the camaraderie. Frank Walka grew up in New Jersey and often helped out in the pits during races as a kid. As time went on Frank left the racing scene, but as fate would have it he came back onto the scene in the 80s to work as a crew guy. Though Frank did not personally race at the Reading Fairgrounds, he still strives to keep fairground racing as a whole alive and frequently races at other fairgrounds tracks in Pennsylvania, including Circle M Raceway in Auburn PA, a place that had closed in 1959 and only opens to racers once a year. 

Mr. Frank Walka poses next to his modified Ford Model T

    Frank's wife Marcia Barker also is in the business of going fast, as she frequently operates and races land speed racers. Marcia has raced at the Bonneville Salt Flats in quite a few vehicles, but most recently in a purpose built land speed racer toting a 140 Cubic Inch Ford Mercury Mercer engine. When I asked Marcia about her love for land speed racing and what drove her to do this sort of thing, she explained to me that in the 80s she very much enjoyed her hot rod and loved street racing. Eventually she was invited to race in a Corvette and was drawn to the idea of straight-line racing and going at ludicrous speeds.

Mrs. Marcia Barker poses next to her land speed racer

    Some of those at the show are even trying to keep the spirit of fairgrounds racing alive in their own special ways. Mr. David Allen Graul of Images and Memories Recreated In Pencil keeps the legend of these beasts alive by way of drawing. Mr. Graul had a plethora of his artwork on display, all showing off the glory days of fairgrounds racing, with extremely intense and beautiful detail I may add. You can check Mr. Graul out on Facebook if you are interested in his artwork, of which I highly recommend if you are into fairgrounds or automotive racing in general as his artworks are one of a kind and are complete masterpieces. 

Mr. David Allen Graul poses next to his masterpiece drawings

    All in all the Reading Fairgrounds Racer Show and Reunion was completely and undeniably beautiful. This show helps you really see into the glory days and is a must see for anyone that is into any form of racing, or those looking to take a trip down memory lane. The show does incredible justice to the racers of yesteryear and absolutely blows your mind with the amount of detail brought to the cars, displays, and tables that have been set up. I'm not even completely sure that just writing this article does the proper justice to this absolute spectacle of a show, it really is something that will make you long for the good old days of dirt flying, engines revving, and flags waving. I'll definitely be back next year, and the year after that, and the year after that........

 A MASSIVE thanks goes out to every one that spoke with me, including  Mr. Galen E. Koller, Mr. Michale Ritter, Mr. David Allen Graul, Mr. Frank Walka, and Mrs. Marcia Barker for taking the time out of your day to speak with me and allowing me to interview you all! Scroll down to see some of the wonderful cars that were seen at this show!