TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
COMMUNITY
Reflections in chrome
■ Enthusiasts from Northeastern Oregon explain why they love to own, and drive, classic cars
By Alex Wittwer
The (La Grande) Observer
LA GRANDE — “Remem-
ber the wind blowing through
your hair? Remember hair?”
Chevrolet emblazoned those
words on billboards throughout
Detroit in 2007 to celebrate
classic cars. It featured the
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convert-
ible, bright red on a turquoise
blue background. A small rep-
lica of the billboard hangs in Ed
Lund’s garage in La Grande.
“You look back on a simpler
time, just the nostalgia and
the memories, and that’s what
it’s all about,” said Lund, one
classic car collector in Eastern
Oregon.
As summer arrives, so do the
classic car shows throughout
the region, which offer opportu-
nities for locals and tourists to
check out some of the best-kept
cars from yesteryear, complete
with the gleam of polished
chrome, mirror finishes and
iconic hood ornaments.
Car shows offer a way to
give back to the community as
well, according to Hermiston
Classics Car Club President
Juan Lopez. The shows, run
by nonprofit organizations,
generate money that allow the
clubs to hand out gift cards to
residents, buy school supplies
for struggling students or
donate to women’s shelters and
warming stations. He noted
that shows, such as the Herm-
iston Cool Rides Car Show, at-
tract car owners from as far as
Seattle or Portland to display
their chrome-accented rides for
thousands of visitors.
Lopez said the pandemic last
year shut down the events, but
this year, with new guidance
from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, they
can resume again as the shows
themselves take place outside,
with minimal risk of spreading
the virus. That’s good news for
classic car collectors who call
Eastern Oregon home.
“We have a lot of fun with
these cars,” Lund said. “It’s
almost as if we’re in our right
mind. People say, ‘Look at those
guys, they’re still living like
they’re in the ’50s and’ 60s’ —
and they’re right.”
Lund, who owns a modest
collection of cars he’s acquired
and restored over 40 years,
keeps dice on every rearview
mirror. But the cars he owns
aren’t just for showing off.
Rather, they hold personal
stories of a time when drive-ins
were king, a few dollars would
buy a burger and a full tank of
gas, and cruising “the gut” was
Friday night fun.
“My wife says I never get rid
of anything,” he said. “I kept her
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer
Fellow classic car enthusiast Donald Warren waves from
his Model A coupe while Ed Lund passes him along
Hunter Road in Island City on Friday, May 28, 2021.
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer
Ed Lund’s 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air sits Friday, May 28, 2021, in the garage he built in La
Grande to house the collection of classic cars that he has accrued over 40 years.
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer
Ed Lund drives down McAlister Road in Island City on Friday, May 28, 2021, in his
classic Chevrolet Chevelle. Lund has a number of classic cars he has collected over a
lifetime, but the Chevelle is special to him because it was the car he and his wife Dixie
Lund were married in.
“You can’t go down the
street without putting
a smile on people’s
faces, and that’s what
it’s all about.”
— Ed Lund, classic car
collector from La Grande
“You can’t go down the street
without putting a smile on
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer people’s faces, and that’s what
Ed Lund drives down Mount Glen Road in La Grande,
it’s all about,” Lund said as he
while a pair of fuzzy dice hang from the mirror of his
drove down Adams Avenue
Chevrolet Chevelle on Friday, May 28, 2021.
in La Grande. “The whole
idea, for me, is bringing joy to
for 51 years. She’s a keeper.”
upgraded with newer mechan- other people, and helping them
Of Lund’s collection, most
ics and brakes. And the pair
remember a much simpler, less
notable is the deep mahogany of fuzzy dice hanging from the stressful time.”
1951 Chevrolet Bel Air —
rearview mirror.
Lund stepped on the gas as
round and sleek with plenty
“You gotta have dice,” he said. he exited town and turned onto
of chrome. It’s his wife Dixie’s
Lund gets a kick out of the
Mount Glenn Road. The gentle
favorite car. It’s also the second reactions people have to seeing hum of the 1951 Chevrolet Bel
car he ever owned, though
a classic roll along.
Air turned to a thunderous
roar as he shifted into second,
then third gear. He smiled and
cruised down the road.
“Yeah,” Lund said, “it’s got
some power.”
Lund drove to meet fellow
car enthusiast Ken Leavitt, of
Island City. Leavitt, who long
since has sold off most of his
collection of cars — nearly 30,
at one point — and now only
has a Chevrolet Corvair. It was
through Leavitt that Lund was
able to restore some of the cars
he owns.
“We’ve been friends since
1986. He’s been helpful to me
over the years, whenever I run
into problems fixing things,”
Lund said.
“And get you into deeper
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer problems,” Leavitt replied.
Ken Schuh of Baker City, wearing a Hawaiian shirt displaying classic coupes, sits with
a group of other classic car enthusiasts at Baker City Truck Corral on Sunday, June 7,
2021. The group of nearly a dozen classic car collectors meets every Sunday.
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Car lovers
Love for classic cars, as it
turns out, is rather common
among Lund’s generation.
Around 40 members belong
to the Timber Cruisers Car
Club — and those are just the
dues-paying members. Many
more exist in La Grande alone
who have one or two classic
cars sitting in a garage or barn
or even in front of their house
collecting rust.
It’s the latter that interests
local classic car restorers, such
as Ken Bruce and Leavitt.
Bruce is the type of collector
for whom a car rusting in a
field is a personal challenge, the
silent voice of a frozen engine
like a siren song of yesteryear.
He only needs to probe his
memory to recall what the
engine should sound like.
Along with restoring classic
cars, Bruce is an especially
skilled mechanic in another
way — his ability to procure
obscure parts for classic auto-
mobiles throughout the country
is remarkable. He searched as
far as Shelburne, Massachu-
setts, where he got parts for a
1966 Chevrolet Corvair he was
working on. Little did he know,
a car collector in California was
working on the same car, only
three serial numbers apart.
“I was working on that ’66
one time and I called up for
something,” Bruce recalled,
“and the girl answered — her
name was Cheyenne, I’ll never
forget it — and she answered
and she said, ‘What can I get
you today?’ and I gave her the
list and she said, ‘Y’know, would
it be alright if I put that on your
friend’s account?’ ”
Bruce became cautious.
“I said, ‘Well, let’s be careful,
I don’t have too many friends,
and I don’t want to wear out
the friends I have,’” he recalled.
“‘Do you know who it is?’ And
she replied, ‘Yeah, you know
him really well — it’s Jay
Leno.’”
Leno, American comedian
and TV host, is an avid car
collector, with some sources
pegging his sprawling collection
at more than 150 cars and 160
motorcycles, from a 427 Shelby
Cobra to McLaren P1 super-
cars. Leno and Bruce had long
since shared correspondence,
relishing over new project cars
they had been working on, and
how much labor goes into re-
storing the classic cars to their
former glory.
“They represent the ability
to appreciate what we did in an
earlier time,” Bruce said. “This
is how we got to where we are
today.”
Bruce said Leno once relayed
that his restorations would cost
tens of thousands to finish, only
to turn around and sell the car
to a neighbor for a fraction of
the cost.
“If you go into this sort of
craft or this sort of profession,
don’t ever go into it with the
intention of making any money
because you probably won’t,”
Bruce said. “If you do, it’s going
to be an exception.”
‘So much chrome’
Maintenance comes with the
territory.
In the past, cars came
with instructions in the user
manuals on how to adjust valve
timings and other involved
procedures, a far cry from the
types of guidance you receive
with a newer car. Older cars
also had a certain panache, ac-
cording to the collectors — the
kind of style that you don’t see
on newer models.
“The stylings (on new cars),
really, are not good,” said Leon-
ard Wolf, a classic car collector
from Baker City, during a meet-
up at the Baker Truck Corral.
“There’s a few of them out there
that look pretty nice,” Wolf said.
“Others you can’t even tell the
brand because they all look the
same.”
A few of the collectors who
met for the Sunday gather-
ing nodded in agreement. The
group, which was formerly
known as the Charley’s Angels
due to meeting up at Charley’s
Deli & Ice Cream in Baker City,
has nearly a dozen members.
The collectors gave varying
responses to what they find
appealing about yesteryear’s
rides, from form to quality, but
they all agreed on one point:
“Chrome,” said Ken Schuh,
an avid collector and long-time
car enthusiast.
“So much chrome,” contin-
ued Sandy Payton, another
collector.
Lee Swiger, sitting across
from Wolf, flicked through his
phone while waiting for his
breakfast to arrive.
“I have lots of pictures of cars
on my phone,” Swiger said,
looking for a photo of a DeSoto
he owns. “I don’t have any
pictures of grandkids, but I’ve
got pictures of cars.”
Who comes next?
Classic cars and their own-
ers shared eras. As an older
generation leaves, a question
remains.
“What will kids restore as
they get older? What will they
like?” Lund said.
A fair few will, of course, find
an interest in the cars, espe-
cially those for whom classic
cars run in the family. Others,
the collectors contemplated,
will move on to start their own
classic car clubs with now-
modern vehicles.
“When they hit 50 years old,
they’ll be trying to find a Dat-
sun or a Nissan,” Swiger said.
“We’re caretakers of the
cars,” Lund said. “We’re just
caretakers for this time in our
lives, and we’ll pass it on to
somebody else. Hopefully they’ll
appreciate the hobby, and hope-
fully make people smile just as
much as we do today.”
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