Club Roannais des Amateurs d'Automobiles de Collection

30 YEARS... ALREADY (In June 1994)

It's traditional to mark the Decades with a milestone.

A sign of youth or maturity, depending on your perspective, and in the case of the CRAAC, it's proof of a fine legacy.

It was in 1974, on October 25th to be precise, that a handful of enthusiasts came together to found the Roanne club.

These collectors, who felt the need to come together, were, for the most part, already members of an outside club, such as Mulot, Sanlaville, Crétien, and Vallansant, who belonged to the Corail d'Amplepuis stable, or Cabotse, who contributed to the AAA Lyon club.

A few weeks earlier, they had met at a vintage car parade organized by the Saint Germain-Laval festival committee, and it was at the counter of the local café (the omens were unmistakable) that the idea was born. Philippe Chrétien, then director of the Pigier school, offered his premises on Rue des Minimes, and it was there that famous Friday in October that eighteen people, representing almost all of Roanne's collectors at the time, gathered.

The event proceeded smoothly, with the election of a board composed of Jean Cabotse as president, Philippe Chrétien as vice-president, Roger Sanlaville as secretary, Jean Pierre Rey as assistant secretary, Pierre Mulot as treasurer, Noel Montegu as assistant treasurer, plus three directors: Messrs. Mas, Peyrard, and Vallansant.

Choosing a name was more laborious, and after discussion, the acronym CRAAC was chosen. JP Rey immediately scribbled the emblem of the new association on a piece of paper, the design of which remains unchanged to this day.

The number of running cars was small. There were those who, by the happy privilege of owning one, those who had a car under restoration and were eager to continue their work, and those who, not yet owning one, dreamed of the day they would find that rare creature (which, in fact, wasn't all that rare, as it was a happy time when many vehicles could still be found in barns and garages in the countryside).

Activity was immediately intense: meetings, outings, and participation in major regional rallies: L'Aigle d'Or, Les Sapins, Les Chiens Verts, and also Les Pétroleuses Beaujolaises, where it was said that more Beaujolais was consumed than gasoline.

Today, our club is a major player, with only about forty members, because we have maintained the original philosophy that the CRAAC was, above all, a group of friends who enjoyed getting together to discuss their shared passion.

While some have left Roanne or, sadly, left us permanently, the original core remains in place; this is proof of a beautiful continuity. It is also proof of a deep friendship that goes far beyond the simple desire to collect cars.

Jean CABOTSE, First President of the CRAAC

(Editorial of the CRAAC's Cri in June 1994)