Sixty-seven vehicles pulled into the parking lot beside the Agrena Saturday, Sept. 7, but these were no ordinary cars and trucks.
The second annual Barrhead Chariots Car Club’s Show and Shine showcased many vehicles that were more a work of art than anything. From Brian Romaniuk’s vibrant blue 1929 Essex, to Al Wheeler’s 1952 canary yellow Chevrolet truck, the Barrhead community was in for a trip down memory lane.
Barrhead county residents John and Orriel Vobeyda stood proudly beside their shining 1928 Ford Model A. The two have owned the car for about 15 years, but the beautiful classic wasn’t always in such spectacular condition. And the couple had the pictures to prove it.
“If you look really close, the engine is heading one way and the body is heading the other,” said Orriel, pointing to a photograph of the unrecognizable car.
John had restored one vehicle before, and was looking for another project. He discovered exactly what he was looking for, the rundown, rusted Ford, in Vega.
It took about a year and a half for John to completely restore and transform the 1928 vehicle into what it is today, putting in a few hours every day after retiring from farming.
“You get wondering whether you’re ever going to get it finished, because there’s so many things to do,” he said. “But anyway, it did come together.”
Now the Vobeydas enjoy driving into Barrhead from their acreage just outside of town quite often. Orriel said her husband likes to give the comical-sounding horn a honk every so often.
They also have to use hand signals when making a turn, because the car has no signal lights.
This particular year and model keeps find memories of Orriel’s childhood alive, as this was the same vehicle her father once owned.
“We had mom and dad and eight kids, and we could pack them all in that car,” laughed Orriel. “This is what I learned to drive in, on my dad’s knee. Same year, same everything.”
Some cars at the Show and Shine brought onlookers far down memory lane into the past. One, on the other hand, brought the crowd back to the future.
There it sat, just like the impressive time-traveling car in the movies: a 1981 Delorean. The original Back to the Future movie film was exactly where Edmonton resident Daryl Ressler first saw the car, and where his desire to own one was born.
“Ever since I saw the movie I thought to myself, one day I’ll have one of these,” he said. “Except for the flux capacitor, I cheaped out on that.”
Ressler discovered the vehicle on the Internet. Still to this day there are five Delorean dealerships in the United States, he said, and he discovered his dream car just outside of Chicago.
After flying to the dealership and taking the Delorean for a test drive, Ressler was hooked. He returned six months later to purchase the newly-tuned-up car, and drove it all the way home.
Every day it isn’t raining or snowing, Ressler is driving his Delorean around like a regular car. It’s no surprise he gets a lot of attention when he takes his car out for a drive through the populated streets of Edmonton.
“I’ve actually seen people almost get hit by cars running across the street to take a picture or to ask to sit in it,” he said. “Lots of attention. Pictures all the time.”
With 42 cars attending the event last year, club chair Charles Clow said holding the event again was a no-brainer. The club has plans to do it next year as well, and many years after that.
Clow, who has been interested and passionate about older vehicles since age 10, had two cars in the show himself: a 1971 Ford F150 and a 22-foot-long 1958 Imperial.
“My imperial there, it needs a lot of work. But it feels so good when you get part of it done,” he said. “It’s a good feeling to know you’re getting closer and closer to what it could be.”
The antique car-lover was overwhelmed with being surrounded by so many beautiful vehicles, and had a difficult time putting the feeling into words. Clow was particularly taken with several vehicles that had once been rusty pieces of junk, and were now “beautiful pieces of art.”
“It’s things like that that just keep you coming back. I don’t know how to describe it,” said Clow. “When you look at the people walking down the rows going, ‘oh look! I remember this!’ It’s so much fun to see that. It’s just great.”
