Our April Show Was Perfect!

Published on April 14, 2024 by corvettesLeave a comment

It was a PERFECT day for a Car & Bike Show!

Greetings Cruisers!

Ahh, if we could only can last Saturday’s beautiful Florida weather so we could open it up for every show. We want to thank everyone who came out to the show. We had around 75 cars and well over 100 people in attendance.

Our next Cat & Bike Show will be Saturday, May 11, 2024, 11 am to 1:30 pm at the Lake Placid American Legion Post 25 on Rt. 27 in Lake Placid.

We took a lot of pictures, so enjoy the below slide show!

See you at the next show! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – ATTENTION Corvette fans! The next Highlands County Corvettes show will be on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at the Lake Placid American Legion Post 25.

Lake Country Cruisers Car Show This Saturday, April 13, 2024!

Published on April 10, 2024 by corvettesLeave a comment

Greetings Cruisers,
The warm, but not “hot” Florida weather is with us, so let’s have a Car & Bike Show!

Our next Show is THIS Saturday at the Lake Placid American Legion Post 25, starting at 11 AM and wrapping up at 1:30 PM.

Registration is just $5 and we will have neat Door Prizes, a 50/50 raffle with a restaurant gift certificate for the 50/50 runner-up.

The Legion’s backyard grill will be serving up burgers, cheeseburgers, and hot dogs. If you are a Legion member, you can go into the Legion Bar for an adult beverage. They also have soda pop and bottled water.

We are family-friendly, so bring the kids, the grand-kiddos, and we like dogs too, just keep them on a leash and clean up after them.

The Ladies Auxiliary will also be inside selling deserts!

See you all this Saturday! – Scott, Pete, and Ron

PS – If you have a motorcycle, bring it!

Lake Placid Florida 2023 X-mas Parade, Best Ever

Published on December 27, 2022 by corvettes

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!!!

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!!!” →

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

Published on November 27, 2022November 27, 2022 by corvettes

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!

Published on November 24, 2022November 25, 2022 by corvettes

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!” →

Got Car Clutter in Your Garage? We Can Help!

Published on November 23, 2022November 23, 2022 by corvettes

Lake Country Cruisers First-Ever Car Parts Swap Meet!

Greetings Cruisers and Happy Thanksgiving!

Our February 2023 Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show will have an added feature… a Swap Meet! We all have car stuff stashed in our garages, so what better way of cleaning out the garage than a classic Swap Meet?

So, while we are having our regular Car & Bike Show, the Lake Placid American Legion has given permission for us to host a swap meet on the grassy area to the immediate south side of the Legion’s parking lot and in the grassy area behind the parking lot.

Space sizes for rent for the day will be a 10′ x 10” area for just $15 and a 10′ x 15′ area for $20 for the day.

To reserve a space at the Swap Meet, call Scott at… 863-699-6355, or e-mail him at… lightoak@comcast.net .

The time for the Car & Bike Show / Swap Meet will be from 9 am to 2 pm Continue reading “Got Car Clutter in Your Garage? We Can Help!” →

Lake Country Cruisers Christmas Cruise-In

Published on November 20, 2022November 20, 2022 by corvettes

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

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!!!” →

Tiz the Season For Toys For Tots!

Published on November 9, 2022November 10, 2022 by corvettes

Bring a toy to this Saturday’s Veterans Day Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show

Greetings Cruisers! I just learned that our Lake Placid American Legion, Post 25 will have a Toys For Tots donation box that will be located by the Legion’s Mess Hall kitchen counter where you order your lunch.

Toys For Tots is in its 75^th year and is a U.S. Marine Corps charity. According to their website, to date Toys For Tots has distributed 627,000,000 toys since 1947! For more information about their program, CLICK HERE.

And for some background history about Toys For Tots, CLICK HERE.

For our Veterans Day Car & Bike Show this Saturday, every Veteran that enters a car or bike will get a ticket for a FREE LUNCH at the Legion’s Mess Hall kitchen. It’s our way of saluting our great Vets and thanking them for their service.

And to add to our Veterans Day theme, Bob Neely from the Military Vehicle Preservation Association will be with us and his fully-restored 1942 Ford-built Willys Combat Jeep will be our Feature Car of the Month!

Here’s an interesting article about how the Willys Jeep became an American World War II icon! CLICK HERE.

Showtime this Saturday is 10 am to 2 pm. Norm, the Kettle Man, and Divine Ice Cream Dave will be on hand dishing up sweet treats! Continue reading “Tiz the Season For Toys For Tots!” →

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” →

Cruisers Donates $200 to DeSoto County Veterans Service Office Relief Fund

Published on October 14, 2022October 15, 2022 by corvettes

THANKS, EVERYONE!!!

Dateline: 10.14.22 – Greetings Cruisers! If you were at our Car & Bike Show last Saturday you saw that we had some company in the parking lot. American Legion Department of Florida, Department Disaster Preparedness Chair, Bill Hoppner, and Convoy Advance Unit leader, Bob Neely with The Military Vehicle Preservation Association 2021 Yellowstone Trail Section Convoy were there. A full team of volunteers was on hand to offload supply trucks and place supplies into pickups with trailers for the Gulf Coast relief effort. Continue reading “Cruisers Donates $200 to DeSoto County Veterans Service Office Relief Fund” →

Lake Country Cruisers October Car & Bike Show

Published on October 10, 2022October 15, 2022 by corvettes

The official start of the 2022/2023 Season (Slide Show Below!)

Dateline: 10.10.22 – Greetings Cruisers! Our October Car & Bike Show was a blast! With post-Ian cooler and dry weather hanging on, it was a great day for a car show.

Before I get into specifics, we shared the American Legion parking lot with some fine citizens. American Legion Department of Florida, Department Disaster Preparedness Chair, Bill Hoppner, and Convoy Advance Unit leader, Bob Neely with The Military Vehicle Preservation Association 2021 Yellowstone Trail Section Convoy were on hand.

The Legion and the MVPA used a portion of the Legion parking lot as a staging area for the relief effort for Fort Meyers, Punta Gorda, Arcadia, and other areas of western Florida that were savaged by Hurricane Ian. Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers October Car & Bike Show” →