Graffiti Saturday: Show-n-Shine and cruise draw classic crowds

The lawn of River Forks Park may have looked like an outdoor car museum Saturday morning if anyone peeked in on the 25th annual Show-n-Shine from space.

All of the 500 registered spots for cars built in 1975 or earlier had been filled by 11 a.m., and the line to drive into the park still stretched around the shaded bend and past several houses.

A wide variety of Mercury, Plymouth and Chevrolet sedans from the 1950s and 1930s were prominent, interspersed with the occasional Mercedes or early-model Chevrolet Corvette.

Dallas McCalvy, a longtime organizer of the Graffiti Weekend event, said it was probably the quickest that spots had filled up, with cars beginning to arrive a couple hours before the 8 a.m. official start time. There was no fee to register cars for class contests, he said, and the only requirement was that cars had to be driven into the park under their own power.

Still, he was surprised at the early turnout of the classic and muscle car aficionados.

“It depends a lot on the weather,” he said, adding that in lieu of no fee, donations for charities are accepted and that figure has averaged $1,200 in past years.

Cars were organized into 31 different classes arranged by year and type, McCalvy said.

An area near the pavilion quickly became Mustang Alley, populated by Mustang Mach 1’s, convertibles and the classic Mustang model that has seen a resurgence in the newer cars.

In another area of the park, a line of Chevy Super Sports were parked and seemed to reflect the colors of the rainbow.

Some cars seemed impressive because of their nearly immaculate conditions, despite the fact they are driven almost regularly.

Steve Magnolia, a music shop owner in Albany, drove a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass that has predominantly original parts, but not the original color. The raspberry body, with a pearl-white hardtop, is lined with blue and lavender pinstripes. The white leather interior is original and is in superb condition with only a few cracks.

Magnolia said he drives his car on an almost regular basis during the summer, then stores it in a shop during the winter.

“To me it’s just a cruiser, even though it has a 310-horse, 330 in it. But to me, it’s just a nice sweet cruising car that sounds good and it’s just nice to drive it,” Magnolia said.

Other cars attracted onlookers who were practically drooling because the cars were, essentially, museum pieces.

Denise Wurner and her husband, John, happened on their 1954 Mercedes 220A Cabrio convertible by accident less than a year ago when they were moving to Roseburg from Olympia, Wash.

Parked next to a beige 1934 Jaguar, the black Mercedes seemed to soak up both heat and compliments in its Show-n-Shine debut. The red interior was superb, and tucked away in the trunk was a set of the original luggage customized by Karl Baisch.

Part of the reason the Mercedes was in such condition, Wurner said while she lounged in the nearby shade, was because it was stored in the garage for much of the year.

“Once in a while, my husband will take it around the block or something,” she said.

Many of the cars at the Show-n-Shine that were built in 1960 or earlier also appeared in the Umpqua Flatheads Graffiti Night Cruise in downtown Roseburg later Saturday.

Sitting on the sidelines, along with hundreds of other spectators, were brothers Jon and Miles Long, who have enjoyed the cruise for 25 years. Both are mechanics with a discerning eye.

The two of them sat at the corner of Jackson Street and Washington Street in their sports chairs, and compared notes on what they look for in a car.

“We just like the street rods basically the best,” said Jon Long, the elder brother and a mechanic at Clint Newell Motors in Roseburg.

It’s also a question of quality versus quantity of workmanship, said Miles Long, a heavy machinery mechanic.

“Most important is the attention to detail. It’s not the big things, but more the little things that people try to fudge on and get away with,” Miles Long said.

Earlier at the Show-n-Shine, they were both impressed with the craftmanship and effort put into one car, except for its license plate holder.

“It looked like a 5-minute job,” Jon Long said.

When the cars began cruising by, both could barely be heard above the thunder that emanated from the exhaust, or the revving of the engines. Still, the pair pointed out what they felt worked and didn’t work. Some cars received little more than a nod of the head from the brothers.

A yellow Ford pickup gained their appreciation because it had “just the right amount of chrome.” A two-tone paint job on another pickup featured raspberry and lavender flames along the sides. The Longs nodded their approval.

A rusted and beaten “rat rod,” or a car that’s built to drive and doesn’t look pretty, elicited laughter.

A pearl-white and dark gold color scheme on a 1940s Chevrolet sedan worked well, but the look of a yellow 1960s Chevrolet was spoiled because of purple wheels.

“A yellow car with purple wheels? Now that’s just not right,” both brothers said, almost in unison.

Not everyone who attended the cruise necessarily paid attention to the cars.

Several areas of downtown smelled like the sugar that wafts through the air when the carnival comes to town. Two bands, the Eddy Ross Band and The Tourists, played music and attracted dancers to the streets, and there were enough food vendors on the sidewalks to remind people the Douglas County Fair is just around the corner.

But for many people who looked toward the streets with the Long brothers, the 26-year-old cruise was about the cars and the craftsmanship of 47 years ago or more, retouched and restored with tender loving care.



• You can reach reporter Erik Skoog at 957-4202 or by e-mail at eskoog@newsreview.info.

Reedsport, Eugene couples are winners at Show-n-Shine

Mark Osborne said he was beaming nearly an hour and a half after the Graffiti Week Show-n-Shine officially ended at 4 p.m. Saturday.

“I truly believe this was the best show ever,” the show director said.

The car show at River Forks Park had attracted roughly 750 cars, a little more than 500 of which were registered for the 31 class contests. Although the final tallies are still being counted, two winners were announced as the People’s Choice.

Gary and Karin Waggoner of Reedsport won the People’s Choice Stock or Restored Classes category with their 1928 Buick, while Craig and Michelle Hash of Eugene won the modified or custom classes with their 1969 Chevrolet El Camino.

Both winners will appear on t-shirts that will be available for the 2008 Show-n-Shine, and will have their cars featured near the pavilion.

Next year can’t come soon enough, Osborne said.