Big Car Show Event Weekend!

Published on March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 by corvettes

Greetings Cruisers! First, sorry for the seemingly last-minute announcement, but it was just brought to my attention that this Friday and Saturday there are a lot of car show activities in the Sebring area! So, let’s get straight to it!

2023 Sebring 12 Hours of BBQ, presented by Sebring Firemen Inc.

This is a 2-day event beginning Friday, March 31, 2023, that runs from 11 am to 11 pm and continues Saturday, April, 102023 from 10 am to 6 pm. The event will include;

CAR SHOW Saturday 10am-1pm.
CORN HOLE TOURNAMENT Saturday 9:30 am-2 pm.

THIS YEAR THE FEATURED MUSIC TALENTS:

Friday 3/31
* WWOJ Live Remote 11 am 4, Harry Havery (lead singer from California Toe Jam Band) and 12 pm-3 The Outta Hand Band 4 pm-7 pmo Rye Road 7:30- Midnight

Saturday 4/1
* Keith Bass & Florida Blue Grass Express 10:00 am-12:00 pm* The Lee Alcorn Band 1:00 pm-4:00 pm* Harry Havery 4:00 pm-6:00 pm

* This is a Florida BBQ Association-sanctioned event:

For more info, visit; https://visitsebring.com/mec-events/2023-sebring-12-hours-of-bbq-presented-by-sebring-firemen-inc/

Pin Wheels 4 Kids, Downtown Sebring on the Circle. Saturday, April, 1,2023: Promoting Happy, Safe Happy Childhoods for all

We were informed of this late Wednesday afternoon when one of the organizers from the Tampa area contacted Ron to let us know that they will be bringing at least ONE HUNDRED Corvettes with a police escort from Tampa to the Sebring Circle this Saturday! For our Cruiser Corvette lovers, you’ll have an opportunity to see, and meet’n greet lots of new Corvette people!

This is a children’s event sponsored by www.ChampionForChildren.org. All FREE

10:00 am Corvette Parade

10:30 Opening Ceremony

10:45- 1:00 Enjoy the Festivities

The event will include – cookies, Hot Dogs, Popcorn, Snow Cones, Games & Prizes, Scavenger Hunt, Face Paint, Balloons, Clowns, Easter Bunny, Cookie Monster, Genie, Pinwheels, Music, and Hats!

Want to Caravan into the Show with your Corvette and a police escort??? Here’s how!
Continue reading “Big Car Show Event Weekend!” →

Veterans Honored At Hendricks Field Memorial Park

Published on March 18, 2023March 18, 2023 by corvettes

Greeting Cruisers! It was an honor for Lake Country Cruisers to be part of this very special event. At 6 pm on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, the flag pole in the circle in what was Hendricks Field during WWII was re-dedicated in a ceremony that could not have been more touching.

Hendricks Field — **The VFW Honor Guard was on hand.**

The event had two WW-II Vets in attendance. Lake Country Cruisers co-founder, Ross Longo, and Lake Placid resident, 100-year-old Chester Barber were front and center! Dick and Marilyn Roddie were there with their 1931 V-12 Cadillac Phaeton. Military Preservation Society member Bob Neeley was there with his 1942 Ford-built Willys combat jeep was there. Retired Navy Commander Frank Jones was there with his 1930s vintage survivor Chevy. And special thanks to James “Pappy” Wright for connecting with Lake Country Cruisers to be part of the event.

Highlands News-Sum staff writer, Kim Moody, her assistant, and staff photographer John Lawson were on hand to cover the event. Then yesterday, Friday, March 17, 2023, the re-dedication event was on the front cover of the Highlands News-Sun newspaper.

The story was on pages 1A and 10A. I scanned both pages and put them together as one image. To see and read a much larger version, CLICK HERE.

After you click the link, the images will come up on a separate page and your cursor will change to a magnifying glass. Click the image and it will expand to full size.

It was a beautiful Florida spring evening and a beautiful event. I took a lot of photos and will be making another post on Sunday. More to come! – Scott

Last Minute Car & Bike Show at the Devane Park Circle in Lake Placid

Published on February 3, 2023February 5, 2023 by corvettes

THIS JUST IN!!!

Greetings Cruisers! Please pardon this last-minute announcement, but we just learned about this late today (Friday) around 4:45. Saturday and Sunday there the Lake Placid Arts & Crafts Show Country Fair in Devane Park, the roundabout where we have the Caladium Festival Car & Bike Show.

For “whatever” reason the turnout of crafters was light this year, meaning that there will be a lot of open, unused space in the park. The Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce asked board member, Pete Richie if we could put together an informal Car & Bike Show.

So, here’s the deal.

We will set up our tent and music in the park early Saturday morning. We’re not sure “where”, as this has not been planned for. You’ll have to look for our Lake Country Cruisers tent and banner. There will be no entry fee, no door prizes, and no Cruiser of the Month.

But, there will be a food truck at the event.

This is just a Cars & Coffee event.

The weather will be in the 60s and partly cloudy Saturday morning. So, bring a jacket, your chairs, a breakfast sandwich, and coffee. We’ll hang out for a few hours and bench race! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – Our next Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show will be next Saturday, February 11 at the American Legion, on Rt. 27 in Lake Placid.

This will also be our FIRST EVER Swap Meet, so we’ll be starting the show at 9 am and running until 2 pm. If you would like to clear the car clutter in your garage and unload some old car stuff, the 10′ x 10′ space is $15 and the 10′ x 15′ space is $20. You can pay at the entrance.

Meet’n Eat at Jaxson’s Feb 16, 2-to-4 PM

Published on January 29, 2023 by corvettes

You Get’n Hungry or What?

Greetings Cruisers! For our next Meet’n Eat Luncheon, we’ll be tying on the old feedbag at Jaxson’s On the Lake, in Lake Placid. Jaxson’s is a great little local watering hole with a vintage down-home bar flavor that offers indoor dining, as well as outdoor dining in their screened-in back porch that looks out over Lake Henry.

If you have never been to Jaxson’s, it’s easy to get there. If you are driving south on Rt. 27 (as if you were coming to a Cruisers Show at the American Legion, drive another mile or so, past the Advent Hospital on the right, and turn RIGHT onto Lake June Road, just past the CITCO gas station on the Right.

The road winds and twists, and you’ll drive about one mile. Jaxson’s is on the RIGHT, there’s a sign, you can’t miss it! Continue reading “Meet’n Eat at Jaxson’s Feb 16, 2-to-4 PM” →

The AMAZING Harold LeMay Car Collection VIDEO

Published on January 2, 2023January 2, 2023 by corvettes

A “Trash Man” Makes Good!

Greetings Cruisers and Happy 2023! We hope that everyone had a happy and safe New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

It’s no secret that “there’s BIG money in trash!” Harold LeMay was an amazing car guy. Born in 1919 in Yakima, Washington, Harold was into cars as a kid. As soon as he graduated from high school he went into the auto business. This was just Harold’s first enterprise.

After WW-II, Harold launched Lucky Towing, HELM Trucking Company, and Lucky Sales & Service. Eventually, Harold started his refuse company, Harold LeMay Enterprises, in Tacoma Washington.

Lots and LOTS of Cars!

Along the way, Harold bought cars, trucks, and motorcycles. LOTS of them! At one time, Harold’s collection numbered over 3,000! In 1997, three years before his death in 2000, the Guinness Book of World Records listed the LeMay Collection as the largest privately-owned car collection in the world.

Typically, car collections are sold-off after the owner passes. In 1996, Harold came up with the idea of starting a non-profit museum so that his collection would not be broken up and sold off. But as they say, “Life got in the way”. Harold didn’t live to see his museum idea work out. However, later, his wife Nancy and son Doug made his dream a reality.Of course, the entire collection was left to his wife, Nancy. Talk about a strange inheritance!

80 Acres of Cars!

In 1991 the “LeMay Family Collection Foundation at Marymount” in Tacoma, Washington opened an 80-acre estate that was once a military academy-style school for boys. Marymount was founded by Dominican nuns in 1923. In 2012 the establishment was renamed, “The LeMay America’s Car Museum.”

With 80 acres and thousands of vehicles, it must be a marathon to take in or an all-weekend experience. Clearly, Harold’s family also has gasoline in their veins too. You’d have to, in order to make such a thing come together. Of course, Mecum or Barrett Jackson would have loved selling off all those vehicles! Continue reading “The AMAZING Harold LeMay Car Collection VIDEO” →

Lake Country Cruisers Christmas Cruise-In… HOORAH!!!

Published on December 17, 2022December 17, 2022 by corvettes

Our Christmas Cruise-In Was A HUGE Success! SLIDE SHOW!

Greeting Cruisers! What a PERFECT day we had for a car show. Things started out a wee bit foggy, but by 10 am it was perfect. Although the location was a tad small, by noon we had 57 cars registered. Park Avenue slopes down and we had cars lining both sides of the street, the parking areas to the left of the Historical Society Depot were filled with cars, the grassy lot to the right of the building was stuffed with cars, and cars were parked on the hill and side yards!

Click the above graphic to launch the Slide Show.

Cars were everywhere and at different levels. It was not your typical “parking lot” car show.

Our Feature Cars were very special vehicles. Dick and Marilyn Roddie brought BOTH of their 1931 V-12 Cadillacs. Marilyn was beautiful and looked like a 1930s Hollywood movie star. For many, it was the first time they’d ever seen anything like that in-person. Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers Christmas Cruise-In… HOORAH!!!” →

The SVRA Sebring SpeedTour is Coming to Town!

Published on December 6, 2022 by corvettes

Clear your calendar for February 23-26, 2023!

Greetings Cruisers! The winter months here in south-central Florida are the best time of year. That’s why we have so many snowbirds fly south to escape the cold nasty stuff up north. It’s also a great time for racing and car shows!

The SVRA SpeedTour will be coming to Sebring International Raceway on February 23-26, 2023. Tickets are $50, and available ONLY by phone. Call Toni Strollo at 863-698-8620 to buy your tickets. The ticket price is $50 for ONE car and TWO people.

ATTENTION CRUISERS!!! You can get $20 off the price of your ticket by mentioning Lake Country Cruisers when you call Toni Strollo.

The discount offer is good till the end of December, ONLY.

SVRA events are awesome for two big reasons. Continue reading “The SVRA Sebring SpeedTour is Coming to Town!” →

Drone Video Tour of Rick Hendrick’s Car Collection and Racing Facility!!!

Published on December 5, 2022 by corvettes

A “Fly’s Eye” tour of an AMAZING place for car lovers.

Greetings Cruisers! It seems that whenever Car Guys & Gals get together at shows, the name “Rick Hendrick” always pops up. Hendrick has not just an extraordinary collection of cars, but his racing facility is world-class.

This video is cool because it’s a flying drone tour. I’m sure it was as much fun to record as it is to watch, although it is rather speedy.

That’s why I’m including another video that is more of a walk-and-talk.

And just a reminder that our December Car & Bike Show (for this month only) will NOT be at the Lake Placid American Legion. We will be at the Lake Placid Historical Society Train Depot in downtown Lake Placid. We will be back at the American Legion on January 14.

The Car & Bike Show will run from 10 am to 2 pm. The $5.00 entry fee will be donated to the Lake Placid Historical Society Train Depot.

This will be quite a day, as the U.S. Sugar Express Santa Train will be coming to town, the Farmer’s Market will be open for business, and that evening the Annual Lake Placid Christmas Parade will deliver miles and miles of smiles and good cheer! The parade starts at 7:00 pm.

Lake Country Cruisers will be IN THE PARADE again! If you’d like to be in the parade with up, it’s not too late to sign up! E-mail Scott at… lightoak@comcast.net. For details and maps, CLICK HERE!

As of Monday, we have nine Cruisers that have signed on to be in the parade. Continue reading “Drone Video Tour of Rick Hendrick’s Car Collection and Racing Facility!!!” →

Lake Country Cruisers Shirt Shop is OPEN for Business!

Published on December 2, 2022December 2, 2022 by corvettes

Lake Country Cruisers Shirt Shop is OPEN for Business! CLICK HERE!!!

Greetings Cruisers! Our “Shirt Shop” has been in the works for over a year and is finally live! CLICK HERE to enter!

The Shirt Shop has 15 different designs in various styles.

All shirts start at $19.99, plus shipping. We have dark-color shirts and light-color shirts.

Sizes run from Small-to-5XL.

CLICK HERE to enter!

In 2023 we will be adding coffee mugs using the same graphics used on the shirts.

We will also be adding long sleeve t-shirts and sweatshirts.

Motorcycle shirts will be coming soon! CLICK HERE to enter!

ABOUT THE LAKE PLACID CHRISTMAS PARADE. Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers Shirt Shop is OPEN for Business!” →

A Beautiful Day For Our Vets! – SLIDE SHOW

Published on November 17, 2022November 19, 2022 by corvettes

Greetings Cruisers! Our November Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show was a delight! A BIG THANKS to everyone that attended. We had 85 cars and bikes registered, which means we had around 120 in attendance and a few doggies, too!

Lake Country Cruisers bought 48 lunches for our great Vets! Thank you ALL for your service!

The Legion’s Mess Hall Kitchen had a great day too, serving up just short of 250 hamburgers, plus the hot dog count! You folks were HUNGRY! Between Lake Country Cruisers and Highlands County Corvettes, we bring in a lot of business for the Lake Placid American Legion.

And speaking of our wonderful Lake Placid America Legion, Post 25, a few weeks ago Commander Fred Pierce told me that at a recent Florida Commanders Meeting, many of the Post Commanders said, “We want to be like Post 25!” Many told Fred that they had sent recon teams to Post 25 to see why they are doing so good!

So, it is an honor and a pleasure to support and help Post 25! Continue reading “A Beautiful Day For Our Vets! – SLIDE SHOW” →

Happy Veterans Day!!!

Published on November 11, 2022November 11, 2022 by corvettes

Greetings Cruisers and a salute to our great Vets!

Since today is the day our nation stops and says “Thanks!” to all that served and all those serving, we thought it would be fun to dish up a few videos about the history of America’s special day.

Tomorrow, November 12, 2022, will be our Veterans Day Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show. Every Cruiser that is a Veteran that enters a car will get a ticket for a FREE LUNCH at the Legion’s Mess Hall kitchen. It’s our way of saying, “Thank you for your service!”

Also, our special Feature Vehicle for the show will be Bob Neely’s 1942 Ford-built Willys Combat Jeep with a replica .50 caliber anti-aircraft gun! Bob is part of the Convoy Advance Unit with the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, 2021 Yellowstone Trail Section Convoy.

We met Bob at last month’s show. Bob and Bill Hoppner from the American Legion Department of Disaster Preparedness were leading the Lake Placid leg of Hurricane Ian relief for Arcadia, Florida. Bob has recently relocated to Sebring. Lake Country Cruisers welcomes you Bob, and appreciates all that you and your team have done!

This is “America” folks, and we know that you know that. When disaster strikes, we set aside our differences and help our fellow Americans. Continue reading “Happy Veterans Day!!!” →

Long Live the RAT FINK!

Published on October 30, 2022October 30, 2022 by corvettes

A Fun Documentary about Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and His RAT FINK

Greetings Cruisers! We’re all gear-heads and grew up in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. It was IMPOSSIBLE back then to attend a car event without seeing Ed “Big Daddy” Ed Roth‘s classic ANTI-MICKEY MOUSE, the Rat Fink.

While Mickey was all about cute, wholesome, family-safe fun, the Rat Fink was ugly, stinky, had pointy bad teeth, was obnoxious green, had blood-shot bulging eyes, drove recklessly, burned rubber all the time, and had flies buzzing around him that he would sometimes eat!

The video is funny, irreverent, and has charming animations. Actor John Goodman does the voice-over of Ed telling his story. A handful of famous actors add their voices to the story.

See if your ear can spot Ann Margret!

When Ed was a pioneer in the Hot rod culture, there were t-shirts, decals, model kits, posters, and more; with Roth’s vision of the Anti-Mickey Mouse and anti-hero characters and car-toons If you do searches on Amazon and eBay, you’ll find all kinds of Ed Roth and Rat Fink vintage products. Some of the old Rat Fink comic books are surprisingly expensive. Continue reading “Long Live the RAT FINK!” →

11-12-22 “Veterans Day” Car & Bike Show Announcement

Published on October 29, 2022 by corvettes

Lunch is on US!

Greetings, Cruisers! Our next Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show will be on Saturday, November 12, from 10 am. to 2 pm. at the Lake Placid American Legion. Since Veterans Day is the day before, Friday, November 11, we decided the give a special “thanks” to our Great Cruiser Vets.

Every Veteran that registers a car will get a ticket for a FREE LUNCH inside the Legion’s “Mess Hall” dining room!

Also, our Kettle Corn vendor friend, and Dave the Divine Ice Cream man will also be at the show.

Since Veterans Day falls just before our show, we thought, why not help to make it, “Veterans Day Weekend”? Continue reading “11-12-22 “Veterans Day” Car & Bike Show Announcement” →

Vintage V-12 Race Cars – Fire and Fury

Published on October 25, 2022 by corvettes

This is why we LOVE machines!

Hey Cruisers! We all love “machines”. I just found this fascinating YouTube video featuring old race cars from the teens-to-the 1940s that were powered by V-12 aircraft engines! A few are newly-built, but they all have HUGE engines.

I found the oldest cars to be the most interesting because these beasts were built and raced not too long after Henry Ford’s Model T came out in 1908. In 1901 Henry won his first and only “race” in a car of his own construction at the Grosse Pointe race track, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan with a top speed of 72 mph and an average World Record breaking average speed of 65.79-mph!

It’s amazing how these cars, some of which are over 100 years old are still around and functioning!

They’re all about FIRE and FURY! This is serious, BIG FUN!

As I was watching this I thought, “No one is going to have this much fun with electric race cars!

Just a reminder, we are still on for our visit to George Haddad’s Fabulous Restorations Hot Rod shop, in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, November 6, 2022.

It’s a fairly long ride, so we are suggesting that we carpool for the trip. If your machine is up for the trip, I know that George would love to see your car.

We will be meeting at Tabby’s parking lot on the south end of Lake Placid, on the right side of Rt. 27 as you are driving south, Sunday, November 6, 2022, at 8 am so that we can leave at 8:30. We’ll be making a rest stop in Moorhaven. Continue reading “Vintage V-12 Race Cars – Fire and Fury” →

New License Plate “Cruiser Of The Month” Awards!

Published on October 6, 2022October 15, 2022 by corvettes

Introducing our NEW “Cruiser Of The Month” Custom License Plates!

Dateline: 10-6-22 – Greetings Cruisers! Every year before we launch the upcoming Car & Bike Show season we typically buy new trophies. This year we decided to dispense with the formal “trophies” and do something totally different.

Consistent with our Lake Country Cruisers objective of supporting local businesses, we decided to tap into Kimberly Welsh’s Heartland Crafted “Hand Crafter & Lasercut Gifts” shop on 247 East Interlake Blvd, in downtown Lake Placid to custom-make license plates for us. Continue reading “New License Plate “Cruiser Of The Month” Awards!” →