September 23, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A
O B I T UA R I E S
A wheelin’ weekend
Roger Millard Evansen
June 10, 1922 — Aug. 25, 2016
Roger Millard Evansen
passed peacefully with his
family near at the age of 94,
on Aug. 25, 2016, while liv-
ing at his treasured home on
the Oregon Coast. He was
born to Odin and June Evan-
sen in Portland, Oregon, on
June 10, 1922.
As a young boy, Rog-
er’s grandparents nurtured
his love of the coast with
frequent visits to the fam-
ily cabin in Tolovana Park
(Cannon Beach). In the early
years, travel to the beach re-
quired at least a day of trav-
el, with adventurous road
conditions.
Raised in Northeast Port-
land by his parents, Roger’s
family often celebrated their
Norwegian and Swedish
heritage through their love
of cooking. Many of Rog-
er’s own delectable meals
were favorites from genera-
tions past.
In 1942, Roger enlisted
with the Army Air Force and
served in the World War II
efforts. Often private about
his time served, he was sta-
tioned in Guam. His passion
for air light grew while he
served overseas. Upon his
return, he studied engineer-
ing at the University of Port-
land.
After college, a nearby
neighbor caught his eye;
smitten for life, Florence
Bowes and Roger were mar-
ried for 53 years. Together,
they raised three children,
Gary, Scott and Joan. Shar-
ing their love for the coast,
the family would spend each
summer at the beach and in
1983, after working 36 years
for Paciic Northwest Bell,
Roger and Florence retired
to Tolovana Park.
In addition to his passion
for planes, Roger was a me-
ticulous model builder. Well
respected for his attention to
detail, he created extensive
designs and layouts, from
elaborate Christmas dis-
plays, to his HO gauge mod-
el railroad collection.
Wheels and Waves and Rod Run
show of classic cars, attitude
By R.J. Marx
Cannon Beach Gazette
Roger Evansen
Roger was active with
the local American Legion
and the Cannon Beach His-
torical Society. He also vol-
unteered as a docent for the
Tillamook Air Museum. He
was a regular in providing
pastries for all, and enjoyed
his drives to the museum in
his little blue T-bird.
The unconditional love
Roger and Florence be-
stowed upon their children,
and for those near and far,
will forever bring a moment
of pride to the family. Rog-
er left a wonderful legacy
for his three children and
beloved grandchildren, Ira,
Erica and Cooper.
The family will deeply
miss Roger as he gave so
much, to so many. A service
will be held at Calvary Epis-
copal Church in Seaside,
Sept. 24, 2016, at 11 a.m.
Following, all are welcome
to join the family at Rog-
er and Florence’s home in
Tolovana.
In lieu of lowers, the
family requests memorial
donations be made to your
own favorite charity, in Rog-
er’s honor.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary & Crematory in Sea-
side is in charge of the ar-
rangements. Visit www.
hughes-ransom.com to share
memories and sign the guest
book.
You gotta have … person-
ality.
That was the message at
Wheels and Waves. Crowds
swarmed downtown early the
weekend of Sept. 8-11. Clas-
sic cars lined both sides of
the street, owners camped in
lawn chairs nearby and visitors
gawked at shiny pistons and
chrome. Vendor alley was busy
with representatives from the
Seaside Downtown Develop-
ment Association, which orga-
nizes and presents the annual
Seaside event with the help of
“Rod Squad” volunteers from
throughout the Northwest.
For Douglas Boseck of
Stanwood, Washington, who
was at Wheels and Waves, a
1941 Plymouth was only one
year younger than himself.
The car was originally sort of
a combination car and truck,
used to deliver everything 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.
Ford Model A
Carl and Melva Atkins,
from Gresham, sunned across
from their 1929 Ford Model A.
They say the car, which sat in
disrepair in a California barn
for 30 years and in a garage
for another 25, brings out their
personality. They’ve been win-
ning prizes at shows through-
out 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
DANNY MILLER/EO MEDIA GROUP
Hundreds of car enthusiasts walk up and down Broadway Street looking at vehicles during
the Wheels and Waves car show on Saturday.
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 dif-
ferent kinds of cars here I may
not do it their way, but they’re
all great because they have the
personality of the people who
did the build.”
The bright orange 1961
Nash Metropolitan of Jan
and Jeff Rich of Lakewood,
Washington, was inspired by
a family car, a yellow-and-
white car driven by Jan’s dad.
“He had a heart attack while
driving home from work,” Jan
Rich said. “The Metropolitan
hit a house and got totaled.
When we got married, Jeff
said, ‘What kind of car we are
buying?’ We found one in just
a few months.”
Rich is the club president of
the Paciic Northwest Metro-
politan Builders Club.
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 transmis-
sion to give it “zip, speed and
reliability,” Jeff Rich said.
Even then, he added, the car
DANNY MILLER/EO MEDIA GROUP
Car enthusiasts seen relected in a 1934 Chevy two-door
sedan.
could get up to 30 miles per
gallon, 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,” Bennett
said. “They called ‘em a rat
rod. They’re real big on the
East Coast, Midwest, Califor-
nia.”
Bennett’s is a contraption in-
geniously devised from a 1936
Dodge truck sitting on air bags,
with twin-turbo diesel 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 re-
plied with a smile.
“What’s that?”
“Awe!”