The annual Pluma PILUMA Edsel gathering at the "Circle E Ranch" was recently hosted by Mike and Cathy Brogan, in West Falls. This is year twenty-seven for the meeting where twenty-one Edsels were in attendance.

The Edsel Car Company was a separate division of the Ford Motor Company; the cars were built in 1958, 1959, and 1960, and then discontinued. Henry Ford ll wanted to honor his father, Edsel Ford, with a new, innovative car, but there was a recession in 1957, so the timing was bad. At that time, auto companies were bringing the first regular-scaled compact cars to America, and the Edsel was one of the biggest cars ever built. It came in convertibles, two-door hard tops, four-door sedans, and station wagons. In 1958, 64,000 cars were sold; in 1959, 54,000 cars were sold; and, in 1960, the year production was stopped, 2,700 cars were sold.

According to local Edsel enthusiast Joseph Galvin, "For decades, the Edsel was the butt of many a cruel joke. If you wanted to make a derogatory remark about someone or something—all you would have to do was insert the Edsel name into the sentence and it was sure to get a big laugh. Turns out, Edsels were really well made vehicles and even though the negative comments swayed the public, a small minority knew different. Among the people who appreciate these cars, most who own them have more than one. I, myself, have four: one of each year and an extra 1959."