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Created by serious people just for fun . . .

The Legend Lives On–Spring Fever!

By: Frank Starkes
Back in the late seventies a lot of people were beginning to realize that the Thunderbird automobiles of the late fifties and early sixties were cars that were way ahead of there time in both style and creature comforts. The baby Birds of 55, 56, and 57 were already collectable; and the next three generations of the 58 to 60 Square Birds, 61 to 63 Bullet Birds, and the 64 to 66 Big Birds were special as well, and held a place in the hearts of many Americans. They were plentiful, inexpensive to purchase, and parts for restoration was not a problem; so many of these cars were being purchased to drive and restore by people with an interest.

One such person was a man named Eddie Ogden, who lived in the small Village of Philmont, in Upstate New York. He fell in love with these cars, and decided to make the restoration and preservation of them his life’s work. He acquired a large building in the neighboring hamlet of Mellenville, which afforded him a three bay workshop and storage for 15 to 20 cars and loads of parts inside. He bought and sold many cars, parted out some to make one good car out of two, and had a great supply of used parts. Word soon got around from one collector to another that there was a guy that knew these cars inside out, that could fix your car, do the things that you couldn’t do, or probably had the parts you needed to help you along with your project. The networking kept growing, and Eddie soon got to be known as Mr. T-Bird. A friendly guy with a ready joke and a big smile with a long list of unbelievable tales made him your immediate friend when you met him.

Along about 1980 Eddie decided to have a little get together with all these new found friends and customers, and invited them up to his garage for a week-end of “Car Talk, Parts Swapping, and Visiting;” and he decided to call it “Spring Fever.” Birds flew in from near and far, and the event was such a success, that it was decided to do it again the following year. Well, it just kept growing and growing, and became an annual event. They came from Toronto, Canada; Lancaster, Hazelton, and Allentown, Pa; Long Island, New Jersey; Mass; Conn; and all over N.Y. State. Some brought their cars to leave at the garage for some repair work. They arrived on Friday night, checked into a Motel, and went to Eddie’s for a pot luck supper. Saturday it was back to the garage for a day of visiting, parts gathering, small repairs, and just good car stuff. For dinner, a local Firehouse, Church Hall, or Diner was engaged to put on a meal for the gang. On Sunday many stopped at a little restaurant in Philmont called Sadie’s for breakfast, a bit of last minute car talk, some good-byes; and the guests headed for home. The party became an annual Upstate N.Y. Club event, with the agenda on the third week-end of May every year. The numbers grew to well over 100 attendees in the early 80’s.

My first experience with Spring Fever came in 1982. I was showing a piece of property in Philmont, and had to pass thru the hamlet of Mellenville on the way. I saw a small sign saying “Car Show.” When my customers left, I returned to the sign to check it out; and what a surprise I got. Here in the middle of no where, was this lot full of beautiful Thunderbirds and loads of people. As I walked in to start looking at the cars, a guy headed towards me, and at this point I thought I was going to be asked to leave. On the contrary, it was Ed Ogden with an outstretched hand for a handshake, introduction, and invitation to come on in and join in the fun. I politely declined, asking if I could go and get my wife and then return, which he said of course. Upon our return, we were introduced around to all the folks, and to this day many of these same people that we met in 1982 are our close friends and T-Bird buddies. As they showed us their beautiful Birds, we fell in love with T-Birds as well. We were hooked, and Spring Fever became an annual part of our life.

Times change, and things happen, which alter the chain of events. Space for parking this many cars and the facilities for handling the large numbers of people at Ed’s home and garage became a problem. At about the same time, Ed’s wife, Mary Ellen; who shared in the T-Bird interest as well and did much of the planning for Spring Fever became terminally ill. It was decided that the Saturday event should be held away from the home where large numbers of people and cars could be accommodated. Thus, the flavor of Spring Fever changed just a bit, but by now so many new friendships were kindled that everyone was just happy to get together and visit. The following years saw events held at Meadowgreen’s restaurant in Ghent, NY, The Oaken Spruce Resort in Stockbridge, Mass; Windham Mountain Ski Resort in the Catskills; Rhinebeck, Saratoga, and Howe Caverns, NY; just to name a few. The last few were held at Watkins Glenn, Turning Stone Casino, and this year in Rochester, N.Y. The week-end has changed from just a small hometown budget affair to almost like a mini convention with a full agenda of things to do. Looking ahead to 2007, we are planning to bring Spring Fever back home to the area where it all began. The plans are not in place yet as to where it will be held, but it will be the third week-end of May as always, and it will still be called “Spring Fever.”

To attest to the far reaches of Eddie and Spring Fever, we had an enlightening encounter this past March in Ft. Myers, Florida. It was a Saturday night, and we went to Applebee’s for dinner. Waiting outside for our table we struck up a conversation with another guest. He asked where we were from, and I said, “Upstate NY, about 30 miles South of Albany.” He said, “Anywhere near Claverack or Philmont?” My mouth dropped open as I asked him how in the heck he knew these two small towns. He said, ”I have a friend that lives in Philmont.” I asked who it was, and he said, Ed Ogden. I said, “Then you must be a T-Bird man.” He said, “Yes, I have a 62 Hardtop.” I said, “How do you know Ed, and he replied, I used to go to his house to Spring Fever back in the early 80’s before moving to Florida.” He worked on my cars and I used to get parts from him. I promptly got him a book and invited him to join I.T.C. What a co-incidence, meeting a guy in Florida, having a casual conversation, and find out that he had attended Spring Fever years earlier and still remembered it well and remembered Eddie as a friend.

Everything has its day; and Spring Fever as it started is now long gone, but the legend lives on. There are many new faces, but many of the original attendees still make it their annual pilgrimage. With the passing of Ed’s wife, part of the spark of Spring Fever was gone as well for Ed. Jean and I helped Ed with the planning in the following years, as his interest was declining. The car repairs, the parts availability, the decline of available parts cars, reliable help, and just plain burnout took its toll on Ed. He has now sold his garage and moved on to other interests. This is a great loss to the Thunderbird community, as Ed had a head full of knowledge; and his garage was a place where you could take your car to be repaired by someone that knew older Birds, and they would be repaired correctly. Fortunately for us, our 66 yellow Town Landau was about the last Bird that Ed restored, and he did a fantastic job on it.

You can’t put a price tag on good times, wonderful friends, road trips to far off Conventions, exciting places you have visited, and wonderful memories; which have all come to us through belonging to The International Thunderbird Club introduced to us that long ago Saturday afternoon in 1982 by Ed Ogden and his Spring Fever event. I am sure many of you share the same sentiments as we do, and I think it would be a fitting thing to dedicate this story to one “Mr. Ed Ogden and his legacy of Spring Fever.” Thank-you Ed for creating a reason to celebrate, congregate, enjoy driving our chariots after a long winter’s nap, and just have a wonderful week-end each year in May.