– By Andy Lindberg – The InterMarque summer picnic has traditionally been held on the last Sundays of June, July, August and September. This year Covid shut down the June through August events but it came roaring back in September.
September 27 was a doubleheader Sunday. First was a show at the Keg and Case parking lot near the old Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul. After that event wound down, the InterMarque picnic got underway across the river in Cherokee Regional Park. With 100 acres available, social distancing was no problem for attendees. The warm and sunny weather helped also.
Cars attending the picnic included vehicles from the following countries:
- France: A boatload of Citroëns. There were both many 2CVs and DSs.
- France via England: Two Lomaxes. These have Citroen 2CV engines and suspensions, right-hand drive, and bodies resembling pre-WWII Morgans. Although some Lomaxes have four wheels, the two at the picnic were both three wheelers.
- England: This picnic had an all-time low showing of the Anglophiles. A Mini Clubman (the old version not the new BMW MINI), a Jag Mk 2 (with an XKE engine), a Lotus Elan Plus 2, and maybe an MGB GT.
- Sweden: An all-time high for the Svedes. Two cars. A ’68 Volvo 144 and a ’69 Saab 96. Yumpin Yiminny!
Picnic fare was up to the attendees. Some brought selections from restaurants inside the Keg and Case. Mine was a Big Stink grilled cheese sandwich from O’Cheeze.
T’was a grand finale to the season. In 2020 the last picnic was the first in more ways than one.
Andy Lindberg, Andyrlind@gmail.com