Bat City Fieros bring Roundup event back to Gonzales

If you thought you were in a time warp back to the 1980s while in Gonzales on Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27, well, “stranger things” than that could have happened, especially with numerous Pontiac Fieros of various colors driving the streets of the First Shot city.

However, it was the “Bat City Fieros” car club from Austin hosting one of their biennial meetings, the Fiero Roundup, in Gonzales — an event which attracted a number of Texas area clubs to town for fellowship.

Every year, there are two Pontiac Fiero club events that are held in the Lone Star state. The Fiero Roundup takes place in April and is hosted by either the Bat City Fieros or the Alamo Area Fieros from San Antonio. A second event, the Fiero Ruckus, is typically hosted by the North Texas Fieros from Dallas in October.

“The events both follow the same general formula,” said Bat City Fieros club member Trey Koger. “A small town is usually selected that either has or is near some kind of tourist locations that would be fun to take a family day trip to. We last came to Gonzales for a Roundup event 10 years ago and decided it would be fun to come back.”

Koger said the Roundup started Friday night when everyone met in town and either checked into the Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham or the Holiday Inn Express, with members coming in from as far as Dallas, Brownwood, Elgin, Austin and San Antonio.

“This is where we met the Days Inn manager, Manny (Patel), who graciously helped us with reservations for dinner at GG's restaurant. There we all had dinner and had a good time catching up before turning in for the night for our cruise event the next day,” Koger said.

On Saturday, April 26, members left Gonzales to check out the Pioneer Flight Museum in Kingsbury.

“We had a great time touring the facility and talking with the staff there,” Koger said. “They took a couple hours of their time to show us all of the aircraft on sight and talk to us about their history. Then they also showed us a large collection of Model T automobiles and educated us on them before giving all of our members rides around the property in the vintage cars.

“We also got to watch a lot of radio control model air plane enthusiasts having a flight day at the property. If any one ever has time to go out and meet the people there and tour the facility it is absolutely worth the time.”

Lunch was at the Power Plant Texas Bar & Grill in Seguin. The restaurant is located in a former hydroelectric plant located on the south side of Saffold Dam. The dam was built up by Henry Troell in the late 1890s when he expanded the water and hydroelectric generation capabilities at his cotton gin and grist mill operation. It provided the city with its first water and electric utility systems. The city eventually bought his property in 1907 to establish its own hydroelectric plant.

Following lunch, the group drove to the Sebastapol House historic site in Seguin, where “we were given another phenomenal tour and lesson about historic Seguin and the home.”
“The gentleman who accommodated us, Robert, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about telling us all about the house and the town,” Koger said. “After that we turned around and made our way back to Gonzales to visit the Gonzales Memorial Museum to round out the day. Everyone enjoyed the museum and walking the grounds. The wide range of relics and historical artifacts within its walls were a treat to see.”

Roundup visitors had dinner reservations at La Bella Tavola in downtown Gonzales and then retired to hang out poolside at Holiday Inn Express, where they exchanged stories, had drinks and simply relaxed after a long day.

Koger said the group visited the First Shot monument in Cost on Sunday morning.

“There, one of our members, who is a history buff, gave a brief telling of the story of the Gonzales cannon and the skirmish that happened there before we all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways,” Koger said. “It is hard to say when we will return again to the Gonzales area, but it will likely happen again some day.”

Koger said the Gonzales Classic Cruisers have invited Fiero owners to return to take part in the Come and Take It Car Show that will be held during the Come and Take It Celebration in October and a number of the Bat City Fiero members are planning to attend.