August 27 through August 29 was a weekend to remember. It was planned as a birthday celebration for two Hazzard County dignitaries, Sonny Shroyer and Ben Jones. But, of course those plans changed.
Earlier in the month, on August 9th, we lost our beloved leader, Ben Jones. The man behind it all, Cooter, passed away. The celebration shifted but would still go on. The weekend became a celebration of Ben's life and everything he gave to the Dukes of Hazzard world as well as a birthday party for Enos. Miss Alma made the celebration special and it was an amazing weekend. Let's take a look at some pictures from the event.
This post is all about friends. I caught up with so many friends and had so much fun with them throughout the weekend. The first being a certain General Lee.
I met John Pithers back in
January at the Pittsburgh World of Wheels car show. He made his way (the only way he knows how) to Cooter's and we met up. He was once again rocking his amazing 01 polo shirt. I hung out with John over the weekend and he sent me a ton of great pics that he let me include in this post. Really appreciate that John. Great hanging with you.
I met Aaron and David Patton and they showed me their awesome General Lee Polaris Slingshot. They drove it from New Hampshire! They drove through hail storm in West Virginia along their trip. That couldn't have been fun. But they had fun at the event. They were planning on getting their General signed by the Dukes.
They honored me by letting me sign it! I signed right below my movie costar Tony Lawson. More on Tony soon. Great meeting you Aaron and David!
I also meet up with Scott and Steve Marthaler from Minnesota. I first met them in
Nashville at the 40th anniversary event we had at Cooter's. It was great catching up with them. It was their first time in Luray and they had a wonderful weekend. They also sent me a bunch of pics that'll be in this post. Thanks guys and great seeing you again.
Along with John, Eric, David, Scott and Steve, I also hung out with Jim Dalhman, Kelsey Mooney, Tony Lawson, Hank Lail, Tom Felice, Dave Bernier, Dave DeWitt, Richie and stayed with Silly Billy Lambing, Jett and new friend Tommy. It was just a great weekend with a bunch of great friends.
Friday night was the birthday party for Sonny. It was a ticketed event with limited tickets sold.
The party was held in the stage/museum area of Cooter's.
It was decorated and set up beautifully.
The party included a great dinner. Look at me, I take pictures of my food. How original.
Tom and Catherine celebrated Sonny's 91st birthday with a few hundred close friends.
Everyone in attendance got a picture with Sonny. He spent some good quality time with each and every Dukes fan there.
You know I was getting a picture with Enos!
Selfie with Tony and our buddy Hank Lail!
Catherine and Tom also spent time with each party goer and took pictures with everyone. Jim got his picture with Daisy and someone photobombed! Don't worry, Jim got a Larry-free picture in addition to the Larryful one. Catherine is amazing.
Jeff Altmam was also in attendance and he took the opportunity to amaze us with some great slight of hand card tricks. The man knows magic. Real magic. He's incredible.
I love taking pictures with Catherine. I love that I consider Catherine a friend and I'm honored she considers me one as well. Friday was a very special evening and a really different Dukes event. I look forward to doing something like this again.
We got an early start on Saturday. And the whole day was action packed. He's the certain General Lee again.
I met
Scott and Camron Kendall, who are collectors from Kentucky. I noticed their trike and pedal car and they knew who I was. They are big time collectors like myself and we talked about different collectibles and it turns out we've been in bidding battles on more than one occasion. I love meeting fellow collectors and talking about the hobby. There's never animosity or hostility in DukesCollecting, just friendly rivalry and great talking shop. Really happy to meet Scott and Cam.
The line for Sonny got long quick. He hasn't done many appearances since covid and everyone really wanted to meet him and get his autograph.
So many beautiful Generals and Hazzard vehicles.
I got to assist Sonny as he signed many of the cars. Tony Lawson, fellow Dukes fan, movie extra and real estate appraiser is Sonny's right hand man and we worked together we get Enos' autograph on a lot of cars Saturday morning. Here's Jim meeting Hazzard County's finest.
It's been great being a part of Jim getting his beautiful General signed by so many Dukes. Jim's car is so special to me. Jim is the best.
Here's Sonny signing Kelsey Mooney's General.
So many friends sent pictures of Sonny, Tony and me during the signing. I really like this one that Tom Felice sent me.
Hey there's Dave Bernier! He's a Hazzard Patrol Car owner and he helped with the signing as well.
Awesome Chickasaw County patrol car!
It's so cool being able to help get people their autographs. Sonny is so great to work with.
Here's the Northeast Ohio Dukes gang getting their stunt car signed.
Here's me showing Tony that he wasn't the only Dukes movie extra that signed Aaron and David's General Lee slingshot.
Great group shot of me, Aaron, Sonny, David, Tony and Dave.
This was a lot of fun helping with these signatures.
Hey it's Hank Lail! Always fun catching up with Hank and seeing his beautiful Gen'ral.
Friends sent me a pictures of me taking pictures of Hank and Sonny from the different angles!
Here's me taking a picture of this wonderful airbrushed trunk and motorcycle fender. And my picture of it. Great job!
Once we were done getting the cars signed, Sonny set up shop in the garage. He spent hours meeting every fan, taking pictures and signing items. It was a long day and he made it special for everyone in line.
I had to take a look at these. This is
Zach Hudson with his dune buggy trunk lids. He has a General Lee and patrol car buggy. So cool!
Check out this custom Dukes Hawaiian shirt.
Then it was time for the pro photo with the stars. The scene was set under a tent beside the stage. I noticed one of the hay bails had broken and the area needed a little upkeep. I grabbed a rake and our buddy Jennifer took a video of me clearing up the area.
I was the director of the pro photo. Before all the stars came to the set, I grabbed some fans from the line to take a practice picture. I wanted to try to keep the 01 visible on each picture, but that just didn't happen. It would have looked nice, but when there's open space and and not a lot of time, people are covering the 01. This helped to set up the picture.
I really loved getting pictures of me in action. I always enjoy doing these pro photos. I feel like I'm good at it and I get people through quickly.
Jett was the photographer and had a few hiccups early one. He got it all straightened out, but he took some verbal abuse doing the downtime. I think I'm saying here, "did you hit the right button?"
During the camera issue pause, Byron took some time to goof around with Sonny. Imagine that, Coy being silly.
Jeff also walked off the set because he "can't work under these conditions!" Hughie is a hilarious guy and I love working with him.
Jett got the camera back in working order and it was smooth sailing. I think this was one of the best multi cast member pro photo shoots we've done. Everyone went away happy when it was all over.
Here's, Byron Cherry, Coy on the Dukes, Lindsey Bloom who played Maybelle on several episodes, Hughie Hogg Jeff Altmam, Bo Duke, Enos Sonny Schroyer, Daisy and Luke Duke. Pretty good cast photo if I do say so myself.
After the pro photo and a few hours of autographs, it was time for the stage show. The fans grabbed their spots by the stage early.
The first portion of the show was all about Sonny turning 91. You have to admit, he looks great for being over 90. I first met Sonny over 25 years ago and he's always been a big, strong guy. He's doing great for his age and we're so happy he still wants to celebrate with us. We love you Sonny!
Daisy Duke and Enos Strate. What a pair!
We all sang happy birthday!
The second part of the show was the celebration of the life of our hero Ben Jones. Alma gave a moving speech about her beloved husband that definitely brought tears to my eyes. I have been very privileged to experience so much joy in the Dukes of Hazzard world and so much of it is because of Ben and Alma. Ben gave me and all the Dukes fans so much. It was sad that he wasn't there to celebrate with us, but he would have demanded the show go on and that's exactly what happened. Ben made the hobby what it is. We owe him everything. I could write several posts about what Ben has meant to me and everyone in the Hazzard Nation, but I feel like I've been doing that since the beginning because he's given me so much. I owe it all to Ben Jones. Thank you for everything you gave me. Ben Jones will always be our hero.
Tom sang a very touching song about Ben. Catherine, Sonny and Jeff spoke about him and Cooter's Garage Band leader Robbie Meadows spoke about the first time he met Ben when he first opened the Sperryville store. It was all very touching and heartfelt.
At the end of the stage show, they announced the winner of the Ben Jones autographed 1/18 Tow Truck. I didn't enter the drawing because it might look a little awkward if I won. I've done that before years ago when I bought tickets to a 50/50 drawing at a car show I was working with Ben and Alma and standing right beside Ben when he picked the winner and it was me. That was weird. I did deliver the prize though. The winner was Josh Lazarus. Here's lucky Josh with this awesome truck. Congratulations Josh!
I got to spend a little time with my good friend Sky Rosenberger at the event. You will remember that we met Sky at l
ast year's Hazzard Run where she won the costume contest for the best Under 18 Category. Sky is so fun to talk to. She loves the Dukes so much and gave me great hand-made pins featuring Cooter and Enos. It's always a pleasure hanging with Sky and I look forward to seeing her at Dukes events for years to come.
Drone time! I didn't get the drone in the air while everyone was sitting outside the stage, so I missed out on some epic crowd shots. But I did get epic garage shots!
So many General Lees and Hazzard cars!
I love seeing how many regular cars there are in addition to the Hazzard cars because it shows just how many Hazzard citizens attend the wonderful Cooter's events.
The lines were long all day, but that didn't stop anyone from getting their autographs.
It's Jim and Kelsey hanging out behind their beautiful General Lees!
Jim is at his happiest sitting next to his prized possession at Cooter's. I would be too. I love Jim and love his Ger'ral!
B.A. Faceman, Murdock and Hannibal were enjoying themselves at the event as well. This stunning A-Team van was definitely a hit at the show.
It was hot and I flew the drone over the line and people enjoyed the breeze it made. I'm always trying to help my fellow Dukes lovers.
We don't just have Hazzard's finest patrolling the streets of Luray, Chickasaw and California Highway Patrol keep us safe too! This awesome replica from CHiPS sure looks great.
General Lees, General Lees, General Lees!
Even more General Lees!
Sonny's line went on until after 7pm. We had to call in the big guns, Jett, to move it along a little faster. I watched the master at work.
Can you find a nicer man in all of Hazzard? I don't think so.
I didn't even get a chance to take a picture with Dorothy Best. This picture, along with a whole bunch of others I used in this post, comes from John Pithers.
Sonny is so great. I haven't seen him since our 40th anniversary events and I'm so glad he started coming back out to Cooter's. I had so much fun working with him all day on Saturday. Happy Birthday Sonny Schroyer, we love you!
I felt like I was getting chased by paparazzi and I loved it!
Richie took Sonny back to his cabin in the General and it sure looked like Sonny was having a blast.
This was such a fun weekend. We all sorely missed Ben, but Alma made us feel so good and we knew Ben was with all us at the event. Cooter's Place will go on thanks to Miss Alma, Richie, the crew at Cooter's, Catherine, Tom, Jeff, Byron and all of Hazzard Nation that will keep Ben Jones with us forever. We miss you Ben and we love you!
I used so many pictures that I didn't take in this post. I'm so thankful that Scott and Steve shared so many with me and let me post them. It was great seeing you guys again and I look forwarding to staying in touch with you and seeing you again at future events. Here's a wonderful picture the brothers took with their cousin Daisy.
And they grabbed a great shot with Enos and the birthday party.
John also sent me so many pictures and gave me permission to post them. Thank you so much John. I've really enjoyed getting to know John and definitely love having another local Dukes buddy. Here he is with his fellow Duke Boy Luke.
The shirt and hat work so well. Great pic with Enos!
John, if you have online accounts, this should one hundred percent be your profile pic. It's just so perfect!
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