Friday Evening, June 26 & Saturday Morning, June 27

Those who were looking for Truck Rally pictures probably thought I would never get to these.

I usually post pictures in order by the date I took them, and rarely post pictures just a day or so after they happen. If I do, it is on Facebook.

I purpose to blog for relaxation, and trying to keep up with things as they happen in our lives would not be relaxing. 🙂

Rose Gehman decorating our son Jeff’s 1946 Chevy in West Hall.

Because of the price of helium, the people doing the decorative balloons could not afford to do them anymore, so we looked for something to add some pizazz to the flower area, and this certainly seemed to do the job.

Rose spent a lot of time fine-tuning her decorations. She did a great job.

The flowers are donated by Esbenshade’s Garden Center and Greenhouses, Lititz, PA.

Lydia and Hezekiah (our grandchildren from Maine) set up 100 chairs in East Hall for the children’s activities.

North Hall was a scurry of activity as the food committee and their helpers prepared the cookies and potatoes for Saturday’s evening meal.

Cookies from Weaver’s Market

Plastic gloves are necessary for this job.

Wrapping 800 potatoes in tinfoil

Inge (right – near camera), Executive Assistant to TFC’s President and Editor of Highway News and Good News, enjoyed helping with preparations this year.

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When set up was finished we went home to get a good night’s sleep before the big day, knowing – if weather forecasters were correct – it was going to be a wash-out, as rain, sometimes heavy, was predicted for the entire day.

Cerwin, our son Jere, and I went to the Expo on Thursday evening to check out the two Brightbill buildings – which we never used – as it was becoming obvious that it was going to be necessary to move the children’s activities inside. We were delighted to discover that these buildings were more than adequate.

6:00 AM breakfast for volunteers and key day workers was the first activity of Saturday morning. This waitress helped us surprise Gene Gehman (plaid shirt) for his 60th birthday.

Singing happy birthday before the meal.

A highlight of the morning was when one of the waitresses told us that she had accepted the Lord since our 2014 breakfast. She could hardly wait for us to arrive to give us the news that she was now our sister in Christ!

I do not have a picture of her. She said we may not recognize her, because she always walked with her head down, but now that she holds her head high people ask if she had back surgery. She said, “No, I now have reason to hold my head up high.”

We knew then – despite the predicted rain – we were going to have a good day!

The guys at the table closest to the camera were prepared with raincoats, because they knew they were going to have the toughest job of the day. They were the car parkers.

Shortly after arriving at Lebanon Expo, these rally coordinators met to make a decision on the parade of trucks as there was already a steady rain that was not supposed to stop until later that night. Thunderstorms and heavy rain were also predicted.

It didn’t take them long to agree on cancelling the parade of trucks.

Safety was a big issue, some of the drivers who had already arrived said they would be pleased if they didn’t have to go out on the road, and we would be asking a lot of firemen to stand outside in the breezy, cool, rainy weather for several hours if we held the parade.

So for the first time in Pennsylvania Truck Rally history – 34 years – the parade of trucks was cancelled.

The chapel was moved close to West Hall so people could go inside without getting wet, and bobtails were parked along the front of the building where food vendors usually parked. (The outside food venders were moved inside one of the Brightbill Buildings – along with the children’s activities.)

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More details and activities tomorrow night.