Rodfathers 22nd show draws cars, car lovers
Jim Stickney remembers the first time he went to the Cruise-A-Palooza, when the inaugural event was held in downtown Butler 21 years ago.
“My son was about as big as him,” he said, motioning to his 1-year-old grandson, Jack Stickney.
Twenty-one years later, the Stickneys are perennial attendees of the Cruise-A-Palooza, a classic car show put on by the Rodfathers group, and were on hand at the 22nd annual event at the Butler County Farm Show on Saturday with their 1973 green Dodge Charger.
It's a car Jim Stickney built as a college graduation gift for his daughter. He has several more cars at home.
“I always liked cars from the time I was little,” he said.
Jim Stickney was there with his wife, Roxann, and grandson, Jack, all of Fenelton. Everyone in the family owns a car, even Jack, who was gifted a restored 1965 Tee Bird, a pedal car, for his first birthday.
Alan Bell and Dee Bell were with the Stickneys, proudly displaying their 1966 Mustang fastback. Like the Stickneys, they are loyal to the Cruise-A-Palooza.
Alan Bell appreciates the uniqueness of classic cars.
“When you look at these (cars) they all look different, and with us growing up with them, we can go down the line and tell you what every car is,” he said. “The new cars today, they don't have the personality that these cars have.”
Another yearly attendee, Butler's David Gold, was glad to display his 1970 Nova Yenko, from Las Vegas, and his 1968 powder-blue Pontiac overhead cam six.
“There's a lot of people here, and both of these cars, a lot of people look at them,” Gold said. “They don't go without people seeing them.”
Bob and Don Stewart, two brothers who dubbed themselves “The Hud Sons,” showed off a navy blue 1941 Hudson coupe and a red 1939 Hudson convertible Country Club Brougham.
The former was bought by the Stewarts' father, David Stewart, for $35. The latter was the honeymoon car of David and his wife, Garnet, when they were married in Slate Lick, Armstrong County, in 1947.Bob said the display was a tribute to his parents.“This is awesome,” he said. “We just wanted to get them running for my mom and dad.”Don reminisced of times spent in the car, when his father would pile as many as 12 kids into the Hudson Convertible for trips to get ice cream.Classic songs like “Gypsy Woman” and “Runaround Sue” filled the air from a DJ booth while automobile enthusiasts and families walked around and perused the cars.One such family, the Rupanis of Ellwood City, hadn't been to the event since it moved from downtown Butler to the fairgrounds.Patricia Rupani was glad to have the grass for her two sons to play on, while Charlie Rupani was glad to have the shade of a pavilion under which to cool down.
Bob Bober, also of Ellwood City, shared their sentiment.“It's more open, it's cool here,” he said.Tom Watson, a Butler native and car show enthusiast, noted what set apart the event.“They get a wider group of cars than some of the other car shows,” he said.Rodfathers publicist Dan Cunningham was happy with how the event turned out, both in terms of attendance and the nice weather.“Quite honestly this looks like more cars than we've had in a lot of years,” he said. “There's a lot of people here for the first time that like it. They think it's a good venue.”
