Thanks to the local newspaper, I learned about Bug-a-Palüza. It is an annual event that draws VWs of all types from far and wide. I don’t know how many VWs were in attendance, but they advertised that the first 300 entrants would receive goody bags! It is likely that many entrants came too late for those goodies. It was a fine spring Saturday in East Tennessee, so it was an opportunity to venture to a park I had not yet visited and see how VW enthusiasts expressed themselves through their automobiles.
The fact that the park was named “Camp Jordan” made me wonder about the history of the place. Turns out that it has quite a history, first as an area often used by Creek and Cherokee Indians then, sadly, as a site where the Cherokee were assembled during the “Trail of Tears.” It was used as a training site during the Civil War then, much later, for cavalry maneuvers by the Tennessee National Guard during the 1930s. Eventually, it was named “Camp Jordan” in honor of one of the camps commanders, General Paul H. Jordan. In 1975, the City of East Ridge, Tennessee, bought the property and created a recreation area with sports fields, walking track, nature trail, amphitheater, campground, and a great area for folks to display their special VWs.
Bug-a-Palüza had 39 judged classes for VWs. Class 1 was “Beetle Early – Stock1949-1957.” Class 39 was “Current Production.” Everything was covered – Beetles, Super Beetles, dune buggies, buses, pickups, Golfs, Karmann Ghias, Trikes, Rabbits, even “Beaters.” There was music, there were games, and there were plenty vendors in the swap meet. If you needed a part for your VW, Bug-a-Palüza was the place to be, and hundreds of spectators seemed to agree. The place was packed. It was a fun place to be on a sunny, spring day.
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