Hundreds celebrate the legacy of Packard automobile in Warren

July 6, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

WARREN

WWhen William Doud Packard built his first namesake automobile in Warren in 1899, he could not have imagined that his engineering creations would continue to be celebrated 116 years later in the park that bears his name.

Nearly 130 cars attracted hundreds of admirers to Packard Park as the 26th annual Packard Legacy Weekend drew to a close Sunday. Spectators photographed and clearly appreciated the vintage cars while the Packard Band performed under sunny skies in a leisurely tableau reminiscent of a time when these classics were new.

“These are uniquely special,” said Bryan Joseph of Hermitage, Pa. “I’ve been a car lover all my life and to see this original art and engineering is beyond words.”

Not bad for a company that went out of business in the 1950s, but continues to inspire aficionados, none more than Charles Duffield of Garrettsville. He restored an eye-catching 1937 Packard 120 Convertible Coupe, which drew crowds of car buffs.

“I found it in a barn in my neighborhood, and it had been there for 30 years or more,” Duffield said as he showed photos of the vehicle in its original faded green. Duffield, a retired carpenter, said he spent more than five years restoring the convertible including painting his classic in an original Packard crimson color that the company called “Indian Maroon.”

“I have no idea what I spent on it,” said Duffield who revealed he recently turned down $100,000 for his jewel. “I want to keep it in the family.”

Mike Kochilla of North Royalton caught the attention of the crowd when he drove his 1937 bright powder-blue Packard 12 in the middle of the grounds only to have the heavy car stick in the mud.

“This car listed its shipping weight at 5,300 pounds and when you add 30 gallons of gas, 10 gallons of water, a dozen quarts of oil and two passengers, you’re looking at more than three tons,” said Kochilla, who declined to say what he spent to buy and restore his Packard. A group of seven volunteers using straps were able to successfully free his car from the muck.

Mary Ann Porinchak, executive director of the adjacent National Packard Museum, said she was pleased with the turnout despite competition from a number of July 4th weekend events.

“We scheduled this to coincide with the 100th birthday of Packard Park,” she said, noting that a 1911 blueprint of the park’s design is among the displays. Packard purchased and donated the 55 acres to the city under the condition that the plot be used solely as a park.

In addition to the Packards, the show, hosted by the Mahoning Valley Olde Car Club of Youngstown, drew a number of vehicles of more recent vintage. One was an original 1964 red Chevrolet Corvair, subject of a book by consumer activist Ralph Nader who vilified the Corvair as “unsafe at any speed.” Owner Orval Bragg of Vienna could not care less.

“It drives and handles well, and I’ve turned down offers for it,” Bragg said.

Porinchak said she plans to expand next year’s legacy weekend. In the meantime, the museum is preparing for its next show – a local racing exhibit running from October through December. Its appropriate title – “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines.”