Cruisin' By the Bay cars come to Polson

When vintage cars and pickups with amazing paint jobs begin livening up Polson streets and motels, everybody knows it's time for the Cruisin' by the Bay Car Show.

Officially the car show began at 9 a.m on Aug. 10 and ended at 4 p.m., but cars arrived earlier so owners could find their spot and make sure their autos were pristine and dust free. Then they could set up lawn chairs 

Organizer Shelly Cordis said there were 165 cars in the show plus 20 Mission Valley Cruiser club cars. 

Tim Bagnell's shiny red and black 1967 Chevy El Camino pulling an equally shiny one-horse trailer was parked across the street from the VFW. What fun to pull into a rodeo back in the day driving that rig. 

Directly in front of the VFW was a 1936 Ford Darley Pumper fire truck, Polson's first pumper truck. The city bought it new in 1936. The pumper was manufactured in Chicago, and somebody drove it home. 

"It drives good," a city employee said, adding that it's original except for the ladder that was replaced after a 1948 fire. 

John Campbell, former city commissioner, did lots of repair work to the pumper. The past year the city crew fixed the flashing lights and the siren so when the stately antique truck can spin its lights and blare its warning with the rest of the fire truck fleet. 

Two young ladies, Jaylynn and Jaylene Barker, asked this reporter to take their photo. The deal was made, and they stood by Bryan Balcerzak's amazing blue '66 Chevy Corvette, which made the top 10 at the show. 

The girls are veteran car show fans since their dad has taken them to car shows for 10 years, and they love vintage cars. Their dad brought his champagne and pink champagne rat rod pickup to the show. Their grandfather is Virgil Barker of Fat Rat Kustom. 

Down the street, Michael Matt was examining the engine of his friend Mike Keeley's turquoise '51 Dodge pickup. 

Matt, who owns and operates Crash and Burn Auto in Moiese, buys and sells antique car parts. Matt was a teacher and is a historian and a philosopher. 

He sees parallels between George Orwell's "1984," and today's world - Big Brother wanting "yes" people or "sheeple" as he likes to call them, and apathy affecting the nation. Addiction to cell phones troubles Matt, too.. 

Matt noted that everything he grew up with is disappearing. For instance, it's getting harder to find old cars. 

"It used to be fix and repair for cheaper than replacement," he said. 

Now with hourly rates for mechanics at $300 to $400 an hour (of which the actual mechanic gets way less than half) and a new engine costing 8 to 10 grand, Matt said that's not applicable any more. 

He's at home with the streets full of vintage and antique cars, though. And that includes the Mustangs. Since this year is the 60th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, a special trophy was presented to the People's Choice Mustang at the Cruisin' by the Bay. 

One-of-a-kind custom trophies from the Mission Valley Cruisers were given to Top Ten and Best of Show. Cruisin' By the Bay results were: 

Top 10 

Bryan Balcerzak, Helena, 1966 Chevy Corvette Mark Sanders, Polson, 1959 Chevy Apache 

Ron Couture, Arlee, 1936 Pontiac Coupe 

Chris Rossmiller, Kalispell, 1971 Plymouth Cuda 340 Lonnie & Deb Keller, Kalispell, 1964 Chevy Pickup 

Mike Coates, Wise River, 1934 Chevy Sedan 

Byron Whitehead, Kalispell, 1946 Chevy Pickup 

Candy Johnson & Paul Krueger, Columbia Falls, 1928 Dodge 5-Window Coupe 

Cole Younger, Arlee, 1952 GMC 3100 

Chad Wenger, Helena. 1932 Ford Roadster 

Club's Choice 

Sam Allred, Polson, 1923 Ford Model T 

Year of The Mustang People's Choice Winner Dan Gustafson, Bigfork, 1968 Ford Mustang 

Best Of Show 

Craig Eaton, Rollins, 1955 Chevy 3100 

    "These are my grandkids," Greg Greene said. "They had to have their shovel heads on here." Greene and wife Tam's '39 Chevy Rat Rod had a copper top and pennies in clear acrylic on the floor mats. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Michael Matt takes a look under the hood of his friend Mike Keeley's 1951 turquoise Dodge pickup. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    The 1936 Ford Darley Pumper's steering wheel and gear shift are ready to go. The antique truck was Polson's first pumper truck and came from chicago. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)