Orphan History - How it All Started

The photo below was taken on our very first tour on Sunday, June 17, 1990. The tour, nicknamed "Head for the Hills", began with a buffet meal for 48 at the Cozy Restaurant in Thurmont, MD (the photo was taken in the restaurant's parking lot).

Participants then proceeded in a convoy to the Linganore Winery, only a few miles distance away. Twenty-four antique cars participated.

That year's sponsors were the Potomac Chapter of the Studebaker Driver's Club, Mid-Atlantic Packards, and the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the H-E-T Club. Russ Hensley of the Potomac Chapter did a lot of the legwork. The activity was so successful that the three car clubs decided to do something similar the following year. No one realized then that the Orphan Car Tour (as it would be called the following year) would continue for over 30 years!