The Early Birds of Southern California began as a club in 1962 with about ten (10) little birds and meetings at John
E. Noyes Ford in San Gabriel. Bill Lowrey served as President in the early years and was Service Manager at the dealership.
Being a small group, we were able to hold meetings at the dealership. As membership grew, however, we had to move our meetings,
held every third Saturday, to restaurants.
Our members live all over Southern California: from Ventura/Simi Valley to Long Beach/Palos Verdes to Riverside/Inland
Empire to Dana Point.
The Early Birds are active in our international parent club, Classic Thunderbird Club International (CTCI) by
attending many of the International and Regional Conventions. CTCI holds International Conventions on even years; the first
was in Estes Park, Colorado. CTCI holds Regional Conventions on odd years; the first was in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973.
The
Early Birds hosted the 1972 International Convention in Palm Springs and several Western Regional Conventions: 1977 in Long
Beach, 1982 in Newport Beach, 2003 in Ventura, and 2007 in Ontario, California.
Several of our members have served on the CTCI Board of Directors, as officers, office managers, and the EarlyBird
publication Editor.
Once a month, we have a dinner meeting. We also have a monthly activity; the activities cover a wide range from car
shows to picnics to museum tours.
We
have two long-standing annual events. The Pageant of the Thunderbird takes place in late September or early October; the Pageant
now includes all year Thunderbirds. The other is a weekend trip to the Falling Waters resort in Kernville the last weekend
of October.
If
you would like to learn more about the Early Birds of Southern California, join us at one of our activities or monthly meetings.
