2024 Annual Skylark Club Meet

44th Annual ’53-’54 Skylark Club Meet in Fort Worth, TX

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This year’s meet takes us to Fort Worth and the beautiful countryside of the great state of Texas! Fort Worth’s slogan is “Where the West Begins”. That is because in 1840 the Republic of Texas negotiated a territory treaty with chiefs from different tribes marking a dividing line with the Native Americans territory west of the line. On the east side of that dividing line Fort Worth was built by the Company F, 2nd Dragoons. The city became an important trading post for cowboys herding Longhorns on the Chisholm Trail to railheads in Kansas. Cowboys, Longhorns, and whiskey helped the town grow quickly with a reputation! Later when the railroads came the town became noted for its meat packing industry and in 1920 the oil boom made Fort Worth “The pipeline center of Texas”. Today Fort Worth is a modern city with many sites and museums.

It’s no secret that summers in Texas can be extremely hot, but we can expect the late October weekend to be pleasant with cooler evenings. The meet dates are October 23rd thru 27th. Hosts Rob & Tammy McCanon and Lynn, Kelley, & Brody Sharp have planned a great weekend of events with plenty of free time to relax, explore, and enjoy the area. Don’t wait to make your reservations at the Courtyard Marriott Alliance Town Center (817) 753–6100!. Rob has negotiated a great room rate, but you must mention the group code which is “Skylark Club Annual Meet” and make your reservations no later than October 7th. The hotel has a 48-hour cancellation policy.

The preliminary schedule of events are;

Wednesday: Arrival Day. Time to get reacquainted with all your Skylark Club friends and meet new members in the hospitality room where there will be soft drinks, beer, and wine. Dinner that evening will be sponsored by the Club Treasury.

Thursday: In the morning (not too early) we will all board a coach bus for the short trip to the US Mint. The buck doesn’t stop here, it start here! Over half the nation’s currency is produced at the Fort Worth location. We will learn the history of printing money and see billions of real currencies produced as well as some being retired. After the U.S. Mint we head over to the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. Before lunch we will see the daily Longhorn drive through town reenacting the actual cattle drives that occurred during the cowboy years. Lunch is on your own but there are several places to grab a bite especially if you like BBQ. After lunch you can visit Billy Bob’s Texas Honky Tonk, the Bull Riding Hall of Fame, take a historic walking tour, or stop at one of the many authentic saloons. Also, there are plenty of shops where you will have the opportunity to get some real western gear. Back on the bus it’s off to Painless Performance Wiring for a shop tour to learn how over 500 different wiring harnesses and products are manufactured for the automobile market. Afterwards we will head back to the hotel and the friendly confines of our hospitality room for additional beverages and fellowship. Dinner is on your own with many restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.

Friday: On Thursday the daily events were all in the Fort Worth area. On Friday we travel to Dallas for the day. First stop is the Perot Museum of Nature & Science. Here we can visit the many permanent exhibits like the; Rose Hall of Birds, T. Boone Life Then & Now exhibit, the Expanding Universe Hall, Energy Hall, Gens & Minerals, Dynamic Earth Hall, Being Human exhibit hall, Engineering & Innovation Hall, Lamar Hunt Sports Hall, or sit in the theater for some interesting films. We should be done just in time for lunch on your own at a variety of restaurants nearby. After lunch the bus takes us to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. The museum is on the sixth floor of the building formerly called the Texas School Book Depository. The museum chronicles both the assassination and legacy of President John F. Kennedy. The main exhibit is John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation. The museum includes over 90,000 items related to the assassination, local and global aftermath, and the turbulent culture of the 1960s. We will see the corner window, the stairs used by Oswalt, and learn all about the Warren Commission investigation into the assassination. I am sure we will all be moved by the experience. There will be time to relax at the parks near the museum before we head over to the private car collection of Sam Pack. The Sam Pack Car Museum has over 250 cars in a 26,000 sq. ft. building. Most of the cars in the collection are stock and all are beautiful! I suspect we will have the museum curator Don Smith give us the hour long “nickel” tour rather than the eight-hour commentary on each vehicle. Afterwards we will head back to the hotel and the hospitality room for refreshments and conversation.  Dinner is on your own at a restaurant nearby or at the hotel.

Saturday; A welcome day of rest and relaxation. You can spend the day in the hospitality room, attend the tech session, relax by the pool, or visit the two walkable shopping areas close to the hotel. Saturday evening, we will have a Tex Mex buffet dinner in the hotel ballroom (don’t forget to make your main entrée dinner choice of either beef or chicken). After dinner we will have our Annual Club Meeting and Auction followed by more time and refreshments in the hospitality room. Please remember to bring items for the live auction!

Sunday; Time to say goodbye to Fort Worth, our hosts, and our many Skylark friends for the journey home.

Please make your reservations now and send in the Registration Form included in this email with your payment.