The 33rd Annual Bentley Meet
I knew I was in for a great time and an excellent learning experience when my father and I departed from home on Saturday afternoon. We were on our way to the 33rd annual Bentley meet in Historic Deerfield Mass! On the way my father explained how there liters to Identify each car. He said most of these types of Bentleys had 3 liters, 4.5 liters (which sometimes comes with a supercharger), speed six (which has the generator sticking out the front), and the eight liter. When we pulled up to the inn, I saw what seemed like an endless row of Bentleys; to be exact there were 13 of them. Then we admired them, said hi to Mr. Holman, and headed to the “Trailer Zone”.
While we were there we saw Jon Lee and Manny Souza unloading Manny’s six and a half liter Hispano-Suiza. It was a dark shade of blue (that my father and I both liked) and was finished with a glossy wooden body. Manny asked if I wanted to go for a ride. I left my father standing on the curb. It was really cool to ride in the back seat because it was a duel cowl phaeton (it was also cool because I was accompanied by Sandy Lee)! The car has an exhaust cutout that made it extremely loud! I still can’t believe the difference of when it was open or closed! When I finally caught up with my father he was helping unload John Kendall’s green 1930 speed six! It had just completed a five year restoration! Bill said it needed gas soon so they were about to hop in when John invited me to come along! “Of course!” I said with a large grin on my face! So we all jumped in the car and we were off!
We all scoured the back roads of Deerfield and Greenfield for a gas station and we found one! But, sadly, it was closed. So we headed back for the inn and when we got there, there were Bentleys everywhere! While I was gone, George Holman SR had given my father a lesson on how to identify the Bentleys, which he passed on to me! It was amazing to be able to walk up and down the front of 20+ Bentleys and identify them! Then we headed down to dinner together. My father had baked fish and I had delicious vegetable lasagna! After the dinner we said our good-byes to everyone and began to head home. The next day my little cousin had his first communion and we really fun to watch! On Monday morning my father and I left really early to head back to the inn! We had to leave early to catch the Bentleys before they left for Mount Greylock. When we arrived I looked around at all the Bentleys hoping to find a ride (for Mt. Greylock) when Manny Souza offered my father and I a ride in his Hispano-Suiza! I defiantly said yes to Mr. Sousa.
While my father and I were admiring all the Bentleys, one seemed to catch my eye more than the others. It was a beautiful dark British racing green! Evan Ide was the owner of this magnificent car. Evan even offered me a ride around the block! As I replied we both jumped in. Then we speed away and Evan asked me, “Should I wake everybody up?” So, gingerly I said “Do it!” and he eased on the gas. At first I didn’t realize how this would wake someone up, but as we gained speed the engine screamed! When we returned some people had already left for Mt. Greylock! My father and I were about to get it the back of the Hispano Suiza when Manny said “Chris, I’ll sit in the back with your father, you sit in the front!” I thanked him and slid in the front with Jon Lee. Then we took off after Aneice Lassiter and her maroon and black Bentley. We followed her up the mountain and occasionally we made a wrong turn. It ended up taking about two hours to get from the inn to the summit of Mount Greylock!
When we got there I saw 28 Bentleys lined up! It looked like Bentley heaven with all the fog from the mountain. We talked and looked around for about a half an hour and then we all feasted on lunch! There was salad, breaded chicken (that my father and I both loved), pasta mixed with meat, pasta with tomato sauce. Then they brought out dessert, which was a big cream puff that had cream, lemon pudding, and it also had strawberries in the bottom part of the dough. Then we took another look at the 28 Bentleys and we started our long decent back to the inn. It was a fun ride home because we took a different path than what we came up. there were lots hair pin turns & crazy Bentley drivers passing us. We stopped at the bridge of flowers and we went in some shops. Manny got some ice cream, and I got some Peachy-O’s and butterscotch disks (the hard candy)! We weren’t far from the inn so it was a short ride from there. When we got back we said our final goodbyes and began the trip home! I have to admit… these past couple of days were some of the best I have had!
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About The Author
Christopher DeMarey
When I was just seven years old I started judging at the world-renowned Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. Since then I have become a regular contributing author to the Classic Car Club of America New England Region magazine and I have been published nationally on multiple occasions. I am now fifteen and on the board of advisors for the Classic Car Club of America NER. From Amelia Island to the Boston Cup I have attended many car shows, tours and events along with helping in the process of planning the Classic New England CARavan for this coming September. I look forward to one day owning my very own classic and I hope to enter my vehicle in one of the various events I have attended throughout my childhood. E-mail - chris@demarey.net