In 1964, Chuck Berry sang, “Riding along in my automobile/My baby beside me at the wheel/Cruisin’ and playin’ the radio/With no particular place to go.”
Car enthusiasts had a very particular place to go on Aug. 11, as The Stroll took over downtown Ligonier.
Hosted by Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce, the annual 1950s-themed car cruise draws every kind of internal combustion-engine beast imaginable, from spoke-wheeled Model Ts to souped-up Mustangs and Corvettes.
Jim Smith of Jennerstown stood by his 2022 Shelby GT 500, telling admirers that the 760-horsepower engine will do the quarter-mile in 11 seconds — “And I’ve done it.”
Lee Hoffer of Windber said he bought his pristine 1936 Chevrolet pickup at auction for $160. Nothing but a rust bucket at the time, he said, it was barely worth what he paid.
“There was a string through the doors when he got it,” said his wife, Karen. “When he took it off, the doors fell off.”
The seven-year restoration project was completed in 1996. Now it sports a sea coral paint job, green wool interior, tilt steering wheel, air conditioning and other modern accoutrements.
Rick and Mary Lou Smith of Clarksburg, Indiana County, sat with the Plymouth Business Coupe that Rick’s father bought new in 1948, passing it on to his son in 1954.
It was Rick’s daily driver until he finished college in 1961, but he never could part with it.
DJ Pete Highlands provided a steady stream of oldies tunes from the bandstand in Diamond Park.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a more beautiful night for this show,” he said.
Seen: Art and Cheryl McMullen, Dan and Bev McMaster, Matt Hedman and Toni Kuncher, Jamie and April Cintron, John and Ellen Eichleay, Becky and Rich Answine, Larry and Mary Esther DeTesta, Ron and Bridget O’Neil, Rick and Mary Wazso and Cathy Highlands.
