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10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 Wheels: ‘The crowds just swarm to come and see it’ Continued from Page 1A sort of a combination car and truck, used to deliver every- thing from lowers to bread, Boseck said. “It’s held up really, really well,” he said. “Everything here is original, other than the tires and the upholstery.” He’s owned it 17 years and “it doesn’t get out too often.” All the more than 400 cars at Wheels and Waves are show-quality from 1965 or older. Some are much, much older. Car enthusiasts seen reflected in a 1934 Chevy two-door sedan. Ford Model A Carl and Melva Atkins, from Gresham, sunned across from their 1929 Ford Model A. They say the car, which sat in dis- repair in a California barn for 30 years and in a garage for another 25, brings out their per- sonality. They’ve been winning prizes at shows throughout the Northwest. “The crowds just swarm to come and see it,” Carl Atkins said. “That’s what we enjoy most: sharing the car with peo- ple. We get a lot of waves, a lot of thumbs up. We like to take people for a ride-along if the weather’s right. “Every car’s different,” he added. “We enjoy all the differ- ent kinds of cars here I may not do it their way, but they’re all great because they have the per- sonality of the people who did the build.” The bright orange 1961 Nash Metropolitan of Jan and Jeff Rich of Lakewood, Wash- ington, was inspired by a fam- ily car, a yellow-and-white car driven by Jan’s dad. “He had a heart attack while driv- ing home from work,” Jan Rich said. “The Metropoli- tan hit a house and got totaled. When we got married, Jeff said, ‘What kind of car we are buy- ing?’ We found one in just a few months.” Rich is the club president of the Paciic Northwest Metropol- itan Builders Club. Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Phil Burkart looks at a vehicle in the Wheels and Waves car show. Jamie and Kathy Hjielm’s 1936 Ford sits on display during the Wheels and Waves car show. Bob and Jody Patterson’s 1953 Chevy 210 Sedan sits on display. Nathan Armenta, right, shows Perry Elson the engine of his 1956 Chevrolet pickup truck. The Riches like to take their show car on the road, and they have a map on the windshield detailing their many routes. They upgraded the car with a Toyota four-speed transmission to give it “zip, speed and reli- ability,” Jeff Rich said. Even then, he added, the car could get up to 30 miles per gal- lon, but with fuel at 19 cents a gallon, “that didn’t impress people.” ‘Rat rod’ Bill Bennett from Tilla- mook deined the phrase “rat rod” as follows: “In the early days when a guy couldn’t afford to buy a new car he’d buy an old one and hop it up and make all the adjustments himself,” Ben- nett said. “They called ‘em a rat rod. They’re real big on the East Coast, Midwest, California.” Bennett’s is a contraption ingeniously devised from a 1936 Dodge truck sitting on air bags, with twin-turbo die- sel engine, Chevy S-10 front and rear ends. The vehicle sits on air bags and “just loats along, because it’s on air,” Bennett said. “I found it behind a guy’s barn,” he said. “A tree had fallen over it, the cab was all mashed in.” “What kind of reaction are you getting?” we asked. “The usual,” Bennett replied with a smile. “What’s that?” “Awe!” Dune grading: ‘We’re seeking to do what’s right for the public’ Continued from Page 1A New revegetation plan The City Council and Plan- ning Commission approved the association’s conditional use permit last year. How- ever, the state denied the asso- ciation’s permit request in May, partly due to its unique revegetation plan using native dune prairie plants. The native planting plan was “experimen- tal,” according to the state, and might not minimize potential ocean erosion and looding. Representatives of the Breakers Point Homeowners Association said they accepted the state’s decision and sought approval to move forward with a European beach grass revegetation plan, though the grass has contributed to dune growth. Breakers Point planning consultant Mike Morgan had the idea to use native plants. “Breakers Point is happy to go along with whatever rec- ommendations come out of the sand management study when it is completed,” Morgan said. “But we recognize that imple- menting policy changes for the sand management program could take a couple of years. Since we got our initial use application prior to the mora- torium, we feel it is appropri- ate for us to go ahead.” “We’re seeking to do what’s right for the public,” Patrick said. “For some reason, these have become holy dunes.” Breakers Point property manager Bruce Francis said that Breakers Point opposes “aggressive grading.” “The problem is, the lon- ger you wait to move the sand, the more sand that has to be moved and the more aggres- sive you have to be,” he said. “We don’t want to be removing large amounts but we have not shifted any sand since 2010.” Sand study to come While the appeal’s propo- nents discussed the dunes’ size and safety hazards, opponents asked the association to wait to grade until the city’s new sand management plan is in place. Cannon Beach homeowner Jeff Harrison asked the council to uphold the Planning Com- mission’s denial. “We continue to believe that there can be compromise here, if the Breakers Point Homeowners Association will recognize other points of view and be willing to collaborate with groups like Friends of the Dunes and Oregon Coast Alli- ance to create a solution we can all live with,” Harrison said. “Please consider the greater good of all Cannon Beach cit- izens and Oregonians here and don’t allow a few condo own- ers with a view problem to dic- tate how our state-owned land is managed and enjoyed.” Harrison expressed con- cerns about increased lood damage, the proposal to grade sand into an “unnatural-look- ing ramp” and potential further grading requests. In 2014, the city denied the association’s request to grade about 74,000 cubic yards of sand, in phases, from dunes in front of the complex. Letters to the city from Friends of the Dunes and Ore- gon Coast Alliance empha- sized that the dunes are state- owned public lands, and denounced the size of the request and the association’s failure to provide post-grading reports. Resident Jan Siebert-Wahr- mund also asked that the asso- ciation wait until after the sand management plan is inished. The scientiic component of the sand management study is in its inal phases and could be ready by the end of the year, though the study’s policy com- ponent is still getting started. “We’re still six or eight months out before you have that plan in front of you,” City Planner Mark Barnes said. COMING September th INTER W / L F AL 16 ! Randy: Ranger plans to return next summer Continued from Page 1A “When visitors leave, they have a deeper appreciation,” he said. Francom, who stud- ied sociology and history at Brigham Young University, has always been fascinated with the history of the American West. Working as a park ranger always seemed like a fun second career for Francom, who retired in 2003 from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. His irst job as an interpretive ranger came in 2004 with Mount St. Helens. For three seasons, he was tasked with explaining the geology of the park. Even when talking about science, Francom would mix in history. “I would weave in what hap- pened with the eruption with its effect on the people who were nearby it,” he said. “I certainly had history as a part of it.” He joined Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in 2008. Most days, he is in cos- tume at the fort giving demon- strations. He shows visitors the types of guns, furs and food Lewis and Clark had at the time. “One of the things I love The Daily Astorian Francom, who lives in Lacey, Wash., recently finished his ninth summer at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. about the park is we have hands-on exhibits,” he said. “It brings it more alive for people.” Francom is back at his home in Lacey, enjoying the offsea- son with his family. He plans to return next summer for his 10th year as “Ranger Randy.” “My plan is to come back here as long as I can,” he said. “It’s a great place to spend a summer.” — Kyle Spurr To advertise contact: LISA CADONAU at 503-325-3211 or lcadonau@dailyastorian.com BRANDY STEWART at 503-738-7561 or bstewart@dailyastorian.com Publishes: Sept. 16, 2016 Publication is online at all of our websites via e-edition Inserted in: The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer