Where were you in ’62?
One of my earliest memories is sitting on my dad’s lap as we
drove down a summer road in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, steering
our family car in and out of trouble.
That’s about as cool as it gets for a four year old kid with a
crew cut and vivid imagination. Now, with even less hair some
forty-seven years later, I can still go to that special place
whenever I see a 1958 Ford Fairlane.
It was all about cruising with your buddies, or if you were
among the lucky ones – your girlfriend – when the 1973 George Lucas
movie American Graffiti reintroduced teenagers to the fine art on
Friday and Saturday nights. So much has changed since those high
school days, but America’s love affair for vintage automobiles has
never wavered.
“I think it’s a way for people to get away from the stresses of
everyday life and connect with the way things used to be,” said
Peggy Sue Williams, who with husband Rich are the founders of Peggy
Sue’s All American Cruise in Santa Rosa. “It’s part of something
that we all want to hold on to, reminding us of family and good
times.”
Today, classic car shows in America have never been more
popular, with thousands taking place across the country all year
long. The number of participants and visitors are staggering,
attracting nearly as many people as attend Major League baseball
games each season.
In the Bay Area, the major shows begin in Pleasanton in March
with the huge Goodguys Muscle Car Show at the fairgrounds, a show
that includes over 3,000 cars. In May, Petaluma holds its 250-car
Salute to American Graffiti, which features appearances from
original movie cast members and includes a cruise down Petaluma
Boulevard.
The local crown jewel happens the second week in June with Peggy
Sue’s All American Cruise in Santa Rosa.
The Peggy Sue car show, which features American- made classics
from 1976 and older, is an indicator of the renewed popularity of
the phenomenon. Since its inception in Windsor in 2003, the show
has grown from about 200 cars to nearly 800 this year.
It attracts thousands of participants from all over the country,
with much of the proceeds going to help schools and local
charities.
The weekend event begins with a cruise-in on Thursday, a chili
cook-off, wine and beer tasting on Friday night, and a show and
shine on Saturday and Sunday. All weekend activities include live
music, setting just the right atmosphere for a uniquely nostalgic
experience.
On Saturday night, thousands of spectators line the streets in
downtown Santa Rosa to watch the cars cruise in a scene right out
of the Eisenhower administration.
“The great thing about the cruise route is that it includes a
lot of the same streets that people used to cruise in the 1950’s,”
Williams said. “Kids come up to me and say ‘thanks for doing this.’
They tell me they were born at the wrong time.”
Local auto enthusiasts can wet their appetites for classic cars
between shows with a cruise-in that’s held about twice a month at
Foster’s Freeze Drive-in on Highway 116 in Sebastopol. Sonoma
County is also the home to the North Bay Cruisin’ Car Club, a group
that holds several shows in Petaluma throughout the year.
In August, thousands of car aficionados flock to Reno-Sparks,
Nevada for Hot August Nights, a week-long annual happening that
includes over 5,000 pre-1972 American cars.
Whether you’re a child of the ‘50s or a teenager who loves the
sound of a rumbling V-8 engine, attending a car show is an
experience that is not to be missed.
