HEARSE & AMBULANCE COLLECTORS HEADING TO OHIO FOR THE PROFESSIONAL CAR SOCIETY’S 2021 INTL. MEET JUNE 28th-JULY 3rd

As Ohio has been home to more hearse and ambulance building specialist firms than any other state, it’s most fitting that the Professional Car Society’s 44th Annual International Meet will be staged in The Buckeye State from Monday, June 28th through Saturday, July 3rd, 2021.

The PCS Ohio Chapter - which notably attracted an all-time club record 131 “pro-cars” to the last International Meet it hosted in 2011 - will headquarter this year’s gathering at the Mohican State Lodge whose GPS address is 4700 Goon Road in Perrysville. Funeral directors and emergency service personnel who have spent their careers working with “pro-cars” will likely book most of the 96 rooms being offered at a special pre-tax group rate of $115 (telephone 419-938-5411). Notable amenities include a private balcony for every room, heated indoor and outdoor pools, paved bike and walking trails, two outdoor tennis courts, a securely lighted parking lot and a breakfast buffet available until 10:30 a.m.

Though the full itinerary posted at https://www.theprofessionalcarsociety.org/2021-meet.html also touts visits to Mansfield’s Fire Museum and downtown Carousel District; Amish Country attractions like the Ages of Steam railway roundhouse; and the fearsome, fortress-like Ohio State Reformatory where 1994’s THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION was famously filmed, the meet’s “Main Events” will surely be the Friday, July 2nd Professional Car Concours in the Mohican State Lodge’s parking lot and the club’s Saturday, July 3rd appearance at the Annual Car Show and Antique Festival in Loudonville, Ohio where The Flxible Company manufactured mostly Buick-based hearses and ambulances from 1925 through 1964. Local residents might never have a better opportunity to properly admire the professional cars built with pride and skill in their community, as well as those of other renowned Ohio coachbuilders like Superior of Lima, Miller-Meteor of Piqua, Sayers & Scovill of Cincinnati and the Shop of Siebert in Toledo.

While the PCS’ Constitution and judging rules expressly prohibit macabre miscellany like coffins, cobwebs, skeletons so the public’s attention stays focused on the aesthetics and fine craftsmanship of the participating pro-cars, they do permit hearses and flower cars containing floral arrangements and ambulances fitting stretchers, resuscitators and other period-authentic rescue gear. Camper conversions retaining their original bodies can also be displayed but won’t be judged, while safety dictates every show entrant must have a fire extinguisher and wheel chocks. COVID-19 social distancing protocols will also see Saturday evening’s awards banquet take place on an outdoor patio at the Mohican State Lodge, after which the meet will conclude in traditional PCS fashion with an awe-inspiring light and siren show by the attendees’ ambulances.

It goes without saying that PCS Ohio Chapter President Ron Devies - whom prospective attendees can e-mail at ron_devies@yahoo.com if they have questions - is excited about hosting “the first meet up with old friends after a nearly two-year hiatus of no pro cars or seeing old friends.” He also points out Sunday, July 4th need not be his guests’ travel day home: “The legal holiday is Monday so go home then. Enjoy the hotel’s amenities at the same great rate you had all week” and perhaps consider the Pleasant Hill Marina’s tremendous rental boat fleet across the lake from the lodge; zip-lining at Tree Top Canopy Tours; the restored 19th Century buildings at Wolf Creek Grist Mill Historic Park; the gabled Gothic architecture of the Oak Hill Cottage built in 1847; or the Bible Walk wax museum where special effects and audio bring The Good Book’s stories to life.