Each year, I get the opportunity to visit a couple of Regional Meets and write about my experiences at each one. This past year, I had the privilege of visiting Dick Rath’s Upper Midwest Regional Meet. It was held in Sioux Falls, ND. Living in Northwest Ohio, it was about a 14-hour drive to get there. The adventures that I faced on the trip there should have been an indicator of the awesome adventures that I would face the rest of the trip.

Thursday, after work, my buddy Roger and I started to make the trip to Sioux Falls. We made it to the east side of Chicago and decided to stay overnight there. Roger woke up early the next morning and decided to go get some coffee. He got lost on the way back up to the room. He forgot which room we were in and wandered the halls trying his key on different doors. He finally went to the front desk and inquired what room we were in. Well, they had my last name spelled wrong, so it took a while for them to find out which room we were in. This gave me some extra time to sleep in. After Roger showed back up, I took the opportunity to laugh at him and offered to hang a sign around his neck with his contact information.

We got around and left the hotel began the trek through Wisconsin and Minnesota. As we were almost through Minnesota, we noticed an exit sign that said that Kiester was just a few miles off I-90. No way could it have been the town from the Preparation H commercial. We crossed into North Dakota and arrived in Sioux Falls just before dinner time. The evening was lovely, and it was good to see those members that I had met at past National Conventions. The many cars were lined up in the lot and made for a very colorful display. I asked around and was told that Kiester, Minnesota was indeed the town that the commercial was filmed in.

Saturday started with a car show at the American Legion. The city’s local car club was invited to join us. Later that night, we returned to the American Legion for an absolutely fantastic buffet dinner. After dinner, friends met in the hotel lot and the conversation flowed. The day was very fun.

As you read in Dick’s Regional Meet Report, Sunday started off with a viewing of a private car collection just outside of Sioux Falls. After the tour, we headed to Falls Park for an amazing boxed lunch. The falls were spectacular! Sunday night, before the evening Awards Dinner, Roger and I started to make our way back to Ohio. We decided to make our way down to Iowa and stay overnight in Davenport, Iowa. Along the way, we detoured to Kiester. The town was very tiny, and we were able to see many of the buildings that were in the commercial. The town was populated with only 500 souls.

We left the town after taking many pictures and after quite a few Kiester jokes. We stopped at the I-80 truck stop and finally made it to Davenport where we stayed the night. Monday, we made the rest of the journey back to Northwest Ohio and left with some very fond memories. Roger kept raving about how much fun he had sharing stories with the members in the lot and at the car show.

Congratulations to Dick and Pat Raths on putting on an awesome meet and a special thank you to them for putting up with Roger and I for the weekend!

Submitted by:
Travis Sheaffer
FoMoCo Times Editor