Dec Cruisers Show & Lake Placid Christmas Parade

Greetings Cruisers! We have two new things to share with you today.

CORRECTION: To be in the Christmas Parade on Dec. 9, 2023, it is not necessary to fill out a form from the Chamber of Commerce.

First, our next Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show will be a week from this Saturday, December 9, 2023, at the American Legion Post 25, in Lake Placid, Florida. The show starts at 11 am and wraps up around 1:30 pm.

Second, the Town of Lake Placid always has its Annual Christmas Parade on the 2nd Saturday of December, the same day we are having our Car Show. We have been invited to put out to the  Cruisers to be part of the Christmas Parade!

If you would like to “Cruise with the Cruisers” in the Lake Placid Christmas Parade, email Scott at… lightoak@comcast.net . There is NO CHARGE.

We have heard some chatter about the 2024 SVRA Hagerty Cars & Caffeine Show on February 24, 2024. DON’T BUY YOUR TICKETS, YET!

After January 1, 2024, Toni Strollo will issue a generous Discount Code. We’ll let you know when the code is available.

Hope everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving and weekend. See you December 9 at Legion Post 25! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

 

Dock 633’s New “Sand Bar” Tiki Bar Grand Opening This Saturday Afternoon

Busy Saturday?  Hang out with us and enjoy Dock 633’s new outside Tiki Bar, the “Sand Bar”

Greetings Cruisers! Dock 633 has been a very generous sponsor to us with $50 Gift Certificates that we use for our 50/50 Runner-Up prizes. (NICE!) Recently, owners Bill and Hillary asked us to stage a Car Show as part of the Grand Opening of their new “Sand Bar” outside Tiki bar.

The Show’n Shine Car & Bike show will begin at 11 am and run until around 2 pm.

The new tiki bar area is under a big shade tree with tent coverings, and there will be Live music. Drinks will be served outside, and lunch can be ordered from inside and then enjoyed outside.

As this is a Show’n Shine event, with no registration fee, but, we’ll have a 50/50!

Hope you can join us! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – Our next Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show will be on June 10, 2023, at the Lake Placid American Legion, Post 25, on Rt. 27 in Lake Placid.

Check out the rest of our Coming Events! Continue reading “Dock 633’s New “Sand Bar” Tiki Bar Grand Opening This Saturday Afternoon”

Hungry? “Meet’n Eat” at GC Grillhouse, Thursday May 18, 2023, 2:30 to 4:30

Back by popular demand!

Greetings Cruisers! Pete, Ron, and I were talking recently and one of us said, “Hey, we haven’t done a Meet’n Eat in a while!” So, we called our friends at the GC Grillhouse on Rt. 27 in Lake Placid (formerly “Golden Corral) and made the arrangements.

If you can break away from normal life (whatever that is!) , meet us at GC Grillhouse from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm for lunch. GC Grillhouse has excellent Lunch Specials and their salad bar is terrific.

So, you are invited to join us, tie on the old feed bag, bench race, tell jokes, laugh, and solve the world’s problems! See you for lunch!Scott, Pete, and Ron

PS – Our next event will be Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Dock 633 from 11 am to 2 pm-ish.

Dock 633 has been a very generous sponsor to us. Recently, owners Bill and Hillary asked us to stage a Car Show as part of the Grand Opening of their new “Sand Bar” outside tiki bar.

The new tiki bar area is under a big shade tree with tent coverings. Drinks will be served outside and lunch can be ordered from inside.

This is a Show’n Shine event, with no registration fee, but we’ll have a 50/50. Hope you can join us!

Lake Placid Florida 2023 X-mas Parade, Best Ever

Lake Placid Christmas Parade Slide Show Below

Greeting Cruisers! We hope that everyone had a delightful Christmas and is planning a fun New Year’s Eve.

December 10, 2022 was a BIG DAY for Lake Placid. We had our Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Cruise-In at the Lake Placid Historical Society Depot; Santa came to Lake Placid on the U.S. Sugar “Santa Express” (yes, Santa has his own train!); and Lake Placid hosted their annual Christmas Parade.

Also, the Santa Express had been parked at the depot overnight and departed promptly at 12 noon; WHAT’A SIGHT! If you’ve never stood next to a steam locomotive as it is departing, you have been missing a unique experience!

Oh, What Fun!

I have been attending the Lake Placid Christmas Parade since 2017 and we have to say, it doesn’t get more “Small Town Americana” than this, folks! “Oh, what fun!” In 2021 Lake Country Cruisers had eight vehicles in the parade, this year we had 15 street machines in the parade! (let’s make it 30 next year, guys and gals!)

And the Weather Was Perfect!

That is more, the weather was perfect “jacket weather” somewhere around 60-degrees, the sidewalks were packed, and the curbs in the street were lined with happy residents. After the parade, a small group of Cruisers met at the GC Grillhouse for eats.

In closing, the Lake Placid Christmas Parade was the perfect ending to a happy day! Lake Country Cruisers will definitely be back for the 2023 Lake Placid Christmas Parade. For all of the Cruisers that participated in the parade, a BIG THANKS! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – We want to let you in on something, we are already making plans for the 2023 Christmas Cruise-In and it’s going to be big! Details to come.

Click any of the images to launch the slide show.
Then just click the arrows to the right or left!

 

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

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!!!”

Dick & Marilyn Roddie’s Fully-Restored 1931 V-12 Cadillacs

Roddie’s Classic 1931 V-12 Cadillacs: One Phaeton, One Roadster

NOTE: This article was first published in the December 7, 2022 issue of the Highlands News-Sun’s Lake Placid Section. Congratulations to owners Dick & Marilyn Roddie for the completion of the restoration of their two 1931 V-12 Cadillacs! The two 82-year-old classic luxury cars will be the feature cars at the December 10. 2022 Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show, held at the Lake Placid Historical Society Museum Depot from 10 am to 2 pm.

It will be a nostalgic day in Lake Placid on Saturday, December 10, 2022. Not only will the U.S. Sugar Express “Santa Train” 1920 steam locomotive be coming into town, but at the Historical Society Depot, the Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show will have two special feature cars from the same era.

The Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show’s “Feature Cars” will be Placid Lake residents Dick and Marilyn Roddie’s two 1931 V-12 Cadillacs. The Roddies have resided in Lake Placid for over twenty years and still have a working farm in Ohio. Dick is a “farm boy” at heart, having grown up in rural Ohio where farm machines are a part of everyday life. Along the way, Dick developed a deep appreciation for classic cars. Dick and Marilyn also own a black 1958 Corvette.

1930s-Style Top Shelf Auto Luxury

Both Cadillacs have recently been fully restored by Dick, with help from local friends and specialty shops. Restorations are a labor of love and can take years to complete. Dick acquired the 1931 Cadillac Phaeton in 2011 and the 1931 Cadillac Roadster in 2015. The restoration to the point of being roadworthy took around six years.

The two Cadillacs are essentially the same, the Phaeton is a four-door and is number 81-of-120 Phaetons built in 1931. The Roadster, with a rumble seat in the back and no roll-up side windows, is number 27-of-81 such models built in 1931. The Phaeton and the Roadster both ride on the same 140-inch wheelbase chassis.

 

Cadillac, the Standard of Luxury

The Cadillac Automobile Company was started in 1902 and was bought by General Motors in 1909. Always a high-end luxury car, Cadillac brought out their V-16 452 cubic-inch, 175-horsepower engine in 1930 and their 368 cubic-inch V-12 engine with 135-horsepower in 1931. The V-12 engine is an overhead-valve design, has two carburetors, two ignition coils, one ignition distributor, and a vacuum fuel tank. Cadillac V-16, V-12, and V-8 engines made the Cadillac brand the “Standard of the World”. Continue reading “Dick & Marilyn Roddie’s Fully-Restored 1931 V-12 Cadillacs”

The SVRA Sebring SpeedTour is Coming to Town!

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!!!

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!

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!”

Calling All Cruisers for the Lake Placid Christmas Parade!

You’re ALL invited to be in the Lake Placid 2022 Annual Christmas Parade

Greeting Cruisers! The annual Lake Placid Christmas Parade is Saturday evening 7:00 pm, December 10, 2022. Yes, the same day that we will be having our Car & Bike Show at the Lake Placid Historical Society Train Depot.

It’s going to be a big day for Lake Placid. The U.S. Sugar Express is scheduled to pull into the depot at 12 noon, right in the middle of our Car & Bike Show, and while the Farmer’s Market will be taking place at the Journal Plaza.

For the Car & Bike Show, we will also have two very special Feature Cars for the Car & Bike Show, to be announced!

Last year we had a handful of cars and trucks at the Christmas Parade and we were invited back this year. The Lake Placid Christmas Parade is as Small Town Americana as it gets! If you have never been “in” a parade, it’s a hoot! Kids cheer, you’ll get lots of “Thumbs Up’s”, and probably be asked to “Light’m up!”. (no burnouts, please, but you already knew that) Continue reading “Calling All Cruisers for the Lake Placid Christmas Parade!”

R.I.P. Lake Country Cruiser, Larry Dudgeon…

Our Cruisers friend Larry Dudgeon has gone on ahead for his Eternal Cruise…

Greeting Cruisers! Note: Before I get into Larry Dudgeon’s passing, a quick mention about our posts. The “date” you see published just below the subtitle of each post does not correspond with any of our events. It is just the date I posted the article. – Scott

Last week, John Meyerhoff from Highlands County Corvettes e-mail me to let me know that on November 17, 2022, Larry Dudgeon passed on. Larry was 88 years old.

Larry was Lake Country Cruisers February 2022 Cruiser of the Month.

Last February I had a chance to talk at length with Larry. Here’s what I learned.

Larry resided in Spring Lake, close to the Sebring, Florida airport, but was from Blufton, Ohio. Larry spent six years in the United States Military and served fifteen months in Korea. While in the military, Larry worked in ordnance repair and was an electrical and fuel technician. Larry was first introduced to fuel injection and supercharging while working on military V-12 engines. Continue reading “R.I.P. Lake Country Cruiser, Larry Dudgeon…”

All Aboard! The U.S. Sugar Express Train No. 148 is Coming to Town!

Here’s the Story of the Restored U.S. Sugar Express Train!

Greetings Cruisers and Happy Thanksgiving!

Last Sunday we told you about our December 10 Car & Bike Show that will take place, only for December, at the Lake Placid Historical Society Depot, located at 12 Park, Avenue in downtown Lake Placid, Florida.

Our Special Guest Star for the show isn’t an automobile, but it does have wheels (14 of them) and can move people and big things from here to there. U.S. Sugar Express Train No. 148 is a local historical artifact. Instead of the 102-year-old “static” display piece, this slice of history still works and sells rides!

Here’s some interesting info about the U.S. Sugar Express Train No. 148 from the Wikipedia page for the locomotive…

No. 148 was the eighth member of ten 4-6-2 Light Pacific class 141 steam locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Richmond, Virginia in April 1920 for the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC).

It was assigned to haul passenger and freight trains on the FEC’s Overseas Railroad between Miami and Key West, Florida until 1935 when the Labor Day Hurricane destroyed many of the route’s long bridges and the FEC permanently closed it down due to the Great Depression.

During that time, the FEC began to retire most of their older 4-6-2 locomotives for scrap or selling them to other railroads in order to recoup their financial losses.[4][5] No. 148 remained in service with the FEC until June 1952, when it was sold to U.S. Sugar Corporation (USSC) in Clewiston, Florida, where it worked alongside its sister locomotives Nos. 98, 113, and 153 to haul sugarcane trains from the harvest field to USSC’s sugarcane mills.”

So, what that means is that our “Guest of Honor” is 102 years old! Continue reading “All Aboard! The U.S. Sugar Express Train No. 148 is Coming to Town!”

Lake Country Cruisers Christmas Cruise-In

December 10, 2022, at the Lake Placid Historical Society & Depot Museum

Greetings Cruisers! This might seem a little early, but we want to get ahead of this special event!

Our next scheduled Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show is on December 10, 2022. It just so happens that there’s A LOT going on that day in downtown Lake Placid!

To be part of the day’s festivities, the Lake Placid Historical Society & Depot Museum invited the Cruisers to have our December Car & Bike Show at the museum. Here’s what’s going on in downtown Lake Placid that day.

The fully restored U.S. “Santa” Sugar Express will be arriving at 12:00 Noon and departing for the south later in the day. If you have never seen a steam locomotive before, this will be a treat! These giant machines “breath” and sound like beasts “resting”.

Our December show will be in the Historical Society’s parking lot and side yard. And while you are at the show, the U.S. “Santa” Sugar Express will be coming into the Lake Placid Train Depot/Historical Society Museum!

The Toys For Tots folks will be there, so bring a toy if you like. Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers Christmas Cruise-In”

A Beautiful Day For Our Vets! – SLIDE SHOW

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!!!

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!!!”