On Thursday night, the Comfort Inn parking lot on Berryman Road was transformed into a museum of automotive history as members of a Model T tour group pulled into Vicksburg for one night, filling the parking lot with some of the 100 year old cars.

The Model T Ford was built from 1908 to 1927 and was known for its low price and simplicity. He also acquired nicknames such as “Tin Lizzie” and “flivver”.

The cars were painted black, and the classic image of the Model T is the black two-door convertible. But cars parked at the Comfort Inn on Thursday featured a mix of two- and four-door cars, a pickup truck, and a Model T painted red and blue with gold accents. A few Ford Model A’s, which were built from 1927 to 1931, were scattered around the parking lot.

“This is the Colorado High Peaks Model T Club,” said Missouri resident and member Jerry Fish, sitting on the front bumper of one of the flivvers. “We meet once a year for about two weeks on the road. “

“The group here is literally from all over the United States,” said Bill Carlburg, a dairy farmer in the Peoria, Illinois area. “We love old cars. There are people here who are mechanics, engineers, doctors; we all have them.

“He’s got a Model A,” Fish said. “We allow the As model. That’s okay; I have a Model A and am looking for a V-8. I just haven’t found the right one yet.

He pointed to another member.

“This man here from Alabama has set up the drive and we’re running the (Natchez) Trace and other little places off the Trace,” he said. “We started in Tupelo and went down to Natchez and we spent the night across the river (Mississippi) and we spent the day in Vicksburg. We will go to Jackson and spend the night there tomorrow night after spending some more time in Vicksburg.

The group will return to Tupelo, travel to Nashville, Tenn., And then to Alabama.

“We just want to enjoy the campaign,” Fish said. “What you do on these things (trips) in old cars – at least we do – is drive into someone’s backyard and see what real people look like. We stay out of there. highway.

While the Model T can go 70 mph, Fish said, “We can’t run 90 and we only have two-wheel brakes… you can’t stop very quickly.”

“If you drive on the Interstate, you can’t see the countryside,” Carlburg said. “These are road cars. Do not show the cars.

“We’re just people who like to go out and have a good time,” Fish said.