It all began prior to April 3, 1999 when Jerry Charbonncau Program Chairman of the VCOA Cactus Chapter  in Scottsdale Arizona called to invite me and Old Betsy to their 1999 ALL VOLVO DAY EVENT and to help celebrate the Volvo S70 triumph in the 1998 British Touring Car Championship Series.

   Old Betsy is also known as a 1956 P1900 Volvo No. 18, one of 68 made and the only 1956 P1900 known to exist in the USA.

   Back to the story: 
   In the early dawn on Friday April 2, Old Betsy was loaded to capacity with ninety-nine pounds of tools, cleaning supplies, extra engine oil and spare parts in preparation for the four hundred mile adventure to Arizona.

   With all of the preparations complete, off we went traveling solo through mountain terrain and three hundred miles of desolate deserts.

   The weather was favorable except for a little rain just outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

   We cruised comfortably at sixty-five rniles-per-hour arriving in Mesa, Arizona six hours later.

   After filling the petrol tank with eleven gallons of 92 octane high test gasoline and adding a lead substitute, the fuel consumption rate was calculated at a surprising 28 miles-per-gallon.

   Old Betsy was unloaded, the dead bugs were scraped off her body and her chrome parts were polished in readiness for her next day debut.

   It is about 8 am Saturday April 3rd, Old Betsy and I are leaving Mesa on our way to Los Olivos Park in Phoenix about thirty miles away.

   Upon arriving at the park, we were greeted by the lovely and gracious event registrar Sonja Charbonneau.

   After registering (the only car from California) paying the entry fee and picking-up the entree packet filled with goodies and a very nicely designed event T-shirt, the P 1900 was assigned a place of prominence next to the raffle tent.

   Soon after, Irv Gordon's amazing 1.7 million mile 1800 was placed next to the P1900.

   By the way, Irv's 1800 is now recorded in the Gunneiss Book of World Records.

   The rest of the eighteen Volvo entrees were line-up in two rows on green grass and under beau1iful shade trees.

   Also on display were the new Volvo S40 and V40, a red and a black hot C70 convertible, a C70 coupe, the S80 and V70XC, and a 500 horse-power Volvo cargo transport truck.

   Refreshments were provided by a local senior citizen group at a reasonable fee.

   The judging and judging categories were organized by the Club's President Randy Pace.

   One unusual item on the judging sheet was the Fire Extinguisher category (worth 10% of the possible 100 pts).

   There were six nice crystal trophies and three Volvo shirt awards handed out.

   Old Betsy (P1900) won the Longest Distance Traveled Award (Anaheim, California to Phoenix, Arizona--over 600 kilometers).

   Another rather unusual unannounced event rule was that only one award/trophy could be awarded per car making the 1956 PI900 ineligible for the Oldest Volvo Award and also was not judged for any other category.

   The Oldest Volvo Award went to a 1963 Volvo.

   Raffles were held throughout the day ending with a silent auction of several model Volvo cars.

   The return trip was almost uneventful.  Sixty miles from home in an uninhabited area, the pungent odor of stagnate old radiator water emerged.

   Glancing at the water temperature gauge confirmed the suspicion that Old Betsy had blown her cork.

   Quickly pulling to the side of the road and raising her bonnet the problem was immediately identified. The fan belt was in pieces.

   Pulling out a bag of tools and a spare fan belt, the designated mechanic (i.e. me) began the repairs.

   Installing the new fun belt and topping the radiator with water completed the repairs in fifteen minutes and we were back on the road.

   Fortunately the rest of the trip was uneventful arriving home just before sunset.

   A special thank you to the club's newsletter editor Ivan Insua who designed the event program pamphlet., event T-shirt, and other event material.

   A very big thank you goes out to Jerry Charbonneau and his wife Sonja for an of their hard work and dedication for a job well done.

   And to Jerry and his staff for a very well organized and fun filled Volvo event.