Cruisers Veterans Day Car & Bike Show – Nov 11, 2023

Greetings Cruisers! We are entering Florida’s PERFECT weather for Car Shows! This is why people from all over America flock to Florida for winter vacations.

The next Lake Country Cruisers Veterans Day Car & Bike Show is Saturday, November 11, 2023. The show starts at 10 am and wraps up at 1:30 pm. Legion Grill-Master, Larry will be cooking up American food for lunch; hot dogs, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers.

Veterans Day falls on the same day as our regular 2nd Saturday of the month scheduled show at the American Legion Post 25 on Rt. 27, in Lake Placid. “Vets and Cars” go together like “peas and carrots”. As the Car Culture was created here in America in the 1920s and 1930s, fun cars and car events are as Americana as it gets!

For our Veterans Day show, we’re offering…

No charge for Vets
Everyone gets an American flag
Coffee & Donuts
Rock’n Roll Music
Grilled Burgers, Cheeseburgers, and Hot Dogs
Door Prizes
50/50
Cruiser of the Month

Lake Country Cruisers and American Legion Post 25 are associated with the Veterans Council of Highlands County. As the Car & Bike Show falls on Veterans Day, we are asking our attendees to bring non-perishable items that will be given to the Veteran’s Council of Highlands County’s Pantry.

Many Vets in Highlands County need help. We are asking everyone to bring non-perishable personal care items, non-perishable foods, and gas cards, grocery store cards are perfect. There will be a donation box at the Sign-In table.

If you are planning to come to the show, bring a friend to our car party. And if you have the grandchildren for the weekend, bring them along too. We are dog-friendly, so bring Fido, just keep him on the leash, and clean up after him.

Children can walk about freely!

Hope to see everyone soon! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

BRING YOUR FLAGS!!!

Next Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show October 14, 2023

The heat is off, let’s have a car show!

Greetings, Cruisers! Now that the oppressive, hot weather is behind us, it’s time to rev-up a Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show! The next Cruisers Car & Bike Show will be Saturday, October 14, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Lake Placid American Legion Post 25, on Rt. 27, in Lake Placid. Post 25 is at the north end of the Lake Placid city limits.

Look for their big, new “Honoring Veterans” mural on the front of the building!

The Cruisers always put on a “car party” with Rock’n Roll music, great Door Prizes, a generous 50/50, and a Cruiser of the Month award. Registration is only $5 at the sign-in tent. The American Legion backyard grill master, Larry will be serving up hot dogs, burgers, and cheeseburgers for lunch. The inside bar will be open to Legion members for everything from soft drinks, bottled water, beer, and hard drinks. Legion members are allowed to purchase drinks for non-members.

Highlands County has an amazing car culture. At a typical Cruisers Show, you’ll see classic cars, muscle cars, muscle trucks, hot rods, rat rods, drag racing cars, custom cars, custom trucks, sports cars, European cars, and just sweet old drivers.

Remember, our Car & Bike shows are family-friendly, so bring the kids and grandkids. Dogs are allowed too, just keep them on a leash and clean up after them. Do you have friends with motorcycles, or do you have a motorcycle, bikes are invited too! We just love machines of all kinds; two, three, and four-wheel machines.

We’ll see you on October 14!Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – When you come in, you can’t miss Legion Post 25’s beautiful new mural!!!

Visit… http://legionpost25.com/

Meet’n Eat – Tacos & Beer Tuesday

$1 Draft Beers?!?!? SUDDENLY, IT’S 1970 AGAIN!

Greetings Cruisers! Our next Meet’n will be Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at the Lake Placid American Legion Post 25 (you know the place) from 4:30 pm to 6 pm-ish.

Every Monday and Tuesday at the Lake Placid American Legion is $1 Draft Beer Day”, AND every Tuesday is “Taco Tuesday”!

So, come with us and enjoy some tacos, a big beef burrito, or taco salad and draft beer in the cool Legion Dining Hall.

Three tacos with refried beans & rice for $12.
A big burrito with refried beans & rice for $10.
A big Taco Salad for $10.

We’ll hoist a few drafts, stuff ourselves, lie about our lives, tell a few spicy jokes, laugh, and solve the World’s problems! (at least in our heads!)

Please RSVP Scott at; lightoak@comcast.net

See ya’s there! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – Be sure to check our Coming Events page.

July 2, 2023 Evening Cruisers Show

Our July 4th Weekend Car Party!

Greetings Cruisers! Thanks to everyone that came out for our first Lake Country Cruisers evening show in a long, long time. We had around 45 cars and officially 36 registered. All total, we had approximately 60 car friends come to the Lake Placid American Legion to enjoy the car show as part of their Independence Day weekend festivities.

A Few Words About the Weather

Fortunately, we had no rain, although dark clouds were forming about 25 miles to the east towards the end of the show. Now, about the heat.

When Pete, Ron, and I arrived at the Legion at 4 pm, it was beyond “warm”, IT WAS HOT! As we were setting up, we were looking at one another with the same silent expression, “This might have been a BAD idea!” But, we were committed, and “the show must go on”, right?

Then, almost “by plan”, by 6 pm the temps began to drop, and some cloud cover took the edge off the heat. By 6:30 it was a pleasant, warm early summer evening.

Cruisers Closed the Kitchen!

The Post 25 Legion had their backyard grill fired up and Larry Morrison and Commander Fred Pierce were cooking hot dogs and flipping burgers. Not only did you Cruisers bring your cars, but you also brought your appetites! By 7 pm we had to announce that the Legion was SOLD OUT of everything! All the dogs and burgers got gobbled up! GOOD JOB, everyone! Commander Fred said that next month he’ll make sure they have more burgers and dogs.

Door Prizes were won by Justin Donohue, Jon Platt, Jim Maze, and “Lucky” Jack Murphy. Our 50/50 winner took home $175! (could the 50/50 winner please contact us, as we didn’t get a chance to record their name)

And our Cruiser of the Month was Ronald Davis and his big-time fun 1927 Ford Rat Rod. Rat Rods are actually tributes to the earliest Hot Rods made from cobbled-together parts from old car junkyards. Their purpose was speed and performance. Hot Rods didn’t begin to get “pretty” until the 1950s era of Show Cars. Continue reading “July 2, 2023 Evening Cruisers Show”

A Last Minute Reminder about Our July Show!

Greetings Cruisers! Just a last-minute reminder that our July Car & Bike Show at the Lake Placid American Legion Post 25, located on Rt. 27 in Lake Placid will be tomorrow EVENING, Sunday, July 2nd from 5 pm in the afternoon to 8 pm in the early evening.

Sunset Sunday evening is 8:24, so there’ll be plenty of time for everyone to get home before dark.

We’ll be doing all of our usual fun things; Rock’n Roll music, Door Prizes, a generous 50/50, a 50/50 Runner-Up prize, Cruiser of the Month, and Bike of the Month awards. The Legion’s outside grill will be cooking American food; burgers, hot dogs, and cheeseburgers.

If it is warm to hot, you can enjoy the Legion’s cool banquet room and entertainer Rob Stotz will be “Rock’n the Oldies” Live on stage. The Legion’s outstanding bar will be open. If you are not a Legion member, a Cruiser Legion member will be able to get you served at the bar! If you are not a Legion member, we can get you an application form to join the great American institution!

According to the hour-by-hour report on Weather.com, there is NO RAIN in the Sunday forecast!

So, come on out and celibate America’s 247th Independence Day weekend with a great Car & Bike Show! We are family-centered, so bring the kids, the grand kiddos, and the dog too! We love dogs and dogs love car shows! Just keep Fido on a leash and clean up after him/her. Continue reading “A Last Minute Reminder about Our July Show!”

Next Show, SUNDAY, July 2, 2023 5 pm to 8 pm!

Greetings Cruisers! The July 4th Independence Day Weekend is coming right up. Typically, we have our Car & Bike shows on the 2nd Saturday of the month. But this year we decided to be part of the long holiday weekend by having our show in the first weekend of the month to be part of the July 4th celebration.

The Lake Placid American Legion is having its July 4th Picnic on Saturday, July 1st, so we will be having our Car & Bike show on SUNDAY, and it will be an EARLY EVENING show. Our show will start at 5 pm and go to 8 pm.

We’ll be doing our usual thing; Door Prizes, 50/50, 50/50 Runner-Up prize, Cruiser of the Month, Rock’n Roll music, and Larry will be cooking burgers, dogs, and cheeseburgers on the outside grill.

Inside the Legion, Rob Stotz will be “Rock’n the Oldies” Live, on stage! And the Legion bar will be open to Legion members. If you’re not a Legion member and would like something from the bar, one of the Cruiser Legion members can help get you a drink.

If all goes according to our plan, and it doesn’t rain (NO RAIN! NO RAIN!), as the show progress it will get cooler, instead of hotter! At least, that’s the plan.

RAIN DATE: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 5 PM to 8 PM

Bring the family, bring the dog too! (dogs LOVE car shows, you know) Hope to see you Sunday evening! Scott, Pete, & Ron

Lake Country Cruisers June 2023 Car & Bike Show

Cruisers Debut the NEW Summer Schedule

Greeting Cruisers! The snowbirds have mostly flown north for the summer, leaving Highlands County to us year-round diehards! To take the edge off the heat we will be starting our shows at 9 am and wrapping up at 12 noon from now until November. If you are new to this area, yes, it can still be hot in November.

We had around forty cars in attendance and at least 60 to 70 car & bike guys and gals, and a few doggies, too! (dogs love car shows!) A BIG THANKS to our sponsors, the Lake Placid Dunkin Donuts for supplying four boxes of donuts and two cartons of hot coffee.

Our oldest car was Roy Supple’s 1940 Dodge Coupe. Door prizes were scooped up by; Lou Von Gome, Rich Schriver, Roy Supple, Marvin Garwood, and Bob Neeley.

And our Cruiser of the Month (for the second time this year) was Ron Bonburder for his super-sano-clean 1962 Grand Turismo Studebaker. Congrats, Ron!

Our 50/50 winner was Mark Toboda took home $150 cold, hard cash! And our 50/50 runner-up was Scott Storch. Scott went home with two Red Lobster gift cards.

 

 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers June 2023 Car & Bike Show”

DOCK 633’s “Tiki Bar Grand Opening & a Thirsty Thursday Announcement!

A Perfect Florida Car Show

Greetings Cruisers!

DOCK 633 has been very generous to Lake Country Cruises since Ron, Pete, and I took over the management of the car shows in October 2021. Those $50 Gift Certificates are mighty sweet!

Dock 633 owners, Bill & Hillary recently added an outside Tiki Bar they call, “The Sand Bar” to the side of their restaurant and asked if we could stage a Car Show for their Grand Opening. Everyone lucked out because it was a picture-perfect spring Florida day.

Thirty cars and at least fifty Cruisers showed up. We stuffed the front parking lot with Hot Rods and cool cars. Everyone that registered got a blue star ticket for a FREE drink, plus 20% off their food tab. Bill & Hillary also booked live music!

Best In Show went to Bruce Clough for his beautiful blue 1970 SS-454 Chevelle. Bruce took home a trophy, plus a $100 DOCK 633 Gift Certificate. Best In Show Runner-Up was first-time attendee, Dave Lawrence for his gorgeous 1970 Chevy C10 Retromod Pickup. Dave took home a $50 Dock 633 Gift Certificate.

For a small car show we did great with the 50/50. Our 50/50 winner was Phil & Cheryl Link. They pocked $150!

SLIDE SHOW BELOW… Continue reading “DOCK 633’s “Tiki Bar Grand Opening & a Thirsty Thursday Announcement!”

The Lake Placid, Fl. American Legion and Lake Country Cruisers Honors the Return of 2nd Lieutenant Pharis Weekley’s Remains

Cruisers, American Legion Members, and Patriots Salute the Return of 2nd Lieutenant Pharis Weekley’s Remains

Greetings Cruisers!

Our May 2023 Car & Bike Show coincided with a special occasion. Through diligence and modern DNA science, the remains of 2nd Lieutenant Pharis Weekley were identified, and returned to his home in Avon Park, Florida, EIGHTY years after he was killed in Operation Tidal Wave, over Romania. By all accounts, it was known by the soldiers to be a “suicide mission”. His plane was shot down and he, along with his fellow soldiers, was buried in a mass grave.

Coincidentally, the procession with 2nd Lt. Weekley’s remains, lead by the Avon Park American Legion Riders, road by the Lake Placid American Legion, Post 25. Commander Fred Pierce arranged for two hook-and-latter fire trucks to suspend a “Welcome Home” banner for the procession. They also decorated the side of Rt. 27 with 200 American flags. Everyone that registered a car for the show received a small American flag to hold as the procession thundered by.

It was a solemn occasion. Thanks to everyone that planned this event. Also to those that stopped what they were doing for a few minutes to pay their respects.

The LaBelle, Florida Dana-Howard-Weekley American Legion, Post 130 is named after 2nd Lt. Weekley.

We honor our fallen. Without them and those that serve, we would not be able to enjoy car shows and the car culture.

We had 39 cars and 2 motorcycles registered. Our Cruiser of the Month was Marcus and Joy Johnson. Their period-correct, red SS-396 Chevelle is a beauty. Our Bike of the Month winner was Bob Wolf for his 2002 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle.

Special note; Butch Thompson brought what is likely the OLDEST car to ever attend one of our Cruiser shows. Butch trailered his 1914 Reo truck!

Butch left Granny Clampet back home to cook up some viddles!

Door Prizes were won by; Bob Forrester, Marcus & Joy Johnson’ Roy Supple, Alan Greiger, Marty Striegel, and Keith Lang.

Alan Greiger was our 50/50 Winner and pocketed $150!

Thanks to everyone that came to the show! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – Our next Show will be June 10, 2023 at the Lake Placid American Legion on Rt. 27 in Lake Placid, Florida. The Show starts at 9 am and goes until 12 Noon. Burgers and dogs will be on the outside grill and the Legion’s bar will be open! See ya there!

New Show Hours Start This Saturday

We’re Starting One Hour Early This Saturday!

Greetings Cruisers! Just a short post to cover what’s shaping up to be a busy month!

This Saturday, May 13, 2023, we will start our daytime summer hours. Since it tends to get HOT around noon, we are starting and ending our show one hour earlier.

The new show time is 9 am to 12 noon.

This Saturday’s show will coincide with the procession of the remains of Second Lieutenant Pharis Weekley along Rt. 27 South while our Car & Bike show is in progress. Everyone that registers their car will get a 4” x 6” American flag.

Please take notice of the commemorative patch to the right. These patches will be available inside the Legion during the show for just $5! –>>

We also encourage everyone to bring their American flags. It’s the least we can do.

And lastly, the Lake Placid Dunkin Donuts store will be supplying four boxes of donuts and two cartons of coffee! Everyone LOVES Dunkin!

Ready to Tie On the Old Feed Bag With Us?

GC Grillhouse has been a very generous sponsor of Lake Country Cruisers. So, let’s return their generosity by having a big Meet’n Eat on Thursday, May 18 from 2:30 to 4:30. GC Grillhouse is 1/4-mile south of the second traffic light at the intersection of Rt. 27 and Interlake Blvd. In Lake Placid. We’ll be in time for their daily Lunch Specials!

Please RSVP by May 16, 2023. You can email me at... lightoak@comcast.net Continue reading “New Show Hours Start This Saturday”

Summer Schedule Announcements!

Greetings Cruisers! We have a lot going on as we move into the warmer months. Here’s the rundown of shows through to Labor Day weekend.

May Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show at the Lake Placid American Legion, May 13, 9 am to 12 noon

Our next American Legion show will be this Saturday, May 13, 2023. Our beautiful winter weather is now behind us, so to knock off some of the heat, starting this Saturday, our summer “day” shows will start at 9 am and run until 12 noon. Entry fee is just $5.00 and there will be Door Prizes, 50/50, Rock’n Roll music, Cruiser of the month, Bike of the Month, plus burgers, cheeseburgers, and dogs on the Legion’s outside grill for lunch!

Second Lieutenant Pharis Weekley is Coming Home

Also, this Saturday there will be a special and solemn event that will take place during our show. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), on July 12, 2022, the remains of 21-year-old, WW-II Second Lieutenant Veteran Pharis Weekley were identified. His remains will be returned to the Dana-Howard-Weekley Post 130 in Labelle, Florida this Saturday.

The police escort procession will travel south on Rt. 27 and will drive by the Lake Placid American Legion Post 25 between 9:30 and 10:30. When the procession gets close to the Legion, we encourage everyone to gather along Rt. 27 to salute Second Lieutenant Pharis Weekley coming home to rest.

We will be giving 4” x 6” flags on wooden stick-poles (“Made In The USA”) to everyone who signs in for the show!

Meet’n Eat” at GC Grillhouse, Thursday, May 18, from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

GC Grillhouse has generous Lunch Specials for $9.99 and they have a full bar for adult beverages. So come on out and hang with us. We’ll do some serious bench racing, tell jokes, laugh, eat, and solve all the world’s problems!

 

Show’n Shine Car & Bike Show at Dock 633, May 27, 2023 from 9 am to 12 noon Continue reading “Summer Schedule Announcements!”

Lake Country Cruisers April Car & Bike Show

Slide Show Below!

Greetings Cruisers! The beautiful weather continues. It was another perfect day for a Car & Bike Show. We had sixty cars and bikes, and well over one hundred in attendance. The Legion had the outside grill fired up and served hungry Cruisers hot dogs, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

To take the edge off the heat, our May 13, 2023, American Legion Show will start and end one hour earlier. The May show will start at 9 am and run until 12 noon. We are also working on shows in June, July, August, and September in various locations and some early evening shows! We’ll keep you informed.

Our first Feature Car, Ron Bomburger’s 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk

Last month’s Cruiser of the Month, Ron Bomburger’s beautiful 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk was on hand. Ron’s classic Studebaker has had a frame-off restoration in the last few years and won 1st Place in the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Winternations and has qualified for the coveted AACA Zenith Award!

Our second Feature Car was Dan Barr’s 1989 Corvette Challenge race car

From 1985 to 1987 Corvettes totally dominated the SCCA Showroom Stock Series. By the end of the 1987 season, SCCA kicked the Corvettes out of the series for being too fast! Then in 1988, and 1989 Chevrolet offered identical race-prepared L98 Corvettes to race in the Corvette Challenge Series. These were factory-built race cars and only eighty-five Corvette Challenge race cars were built, making them rare in the world of collectible Corvettes.

Dan Barr purchased his #9 Bosch 1989 Corvette Challenge race car at the end of the ’89 season. Since then, Dan has raced his Corvette extensively. Between 2022 and 2023 the car was refreshed and restored at George Haddad’s Fabulous Restorations Hot Rod Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Even though the Corvette is a real race car, it is street-legal! I covered Dan’s Corvette in the April 2023 issue of Vette Vues Magazine.

Coming up Next Month! Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers April Car & Bike Show”

Happy 95th B-Day to Ross Longo!

Ross Longo B-Day Party Slide Show Below!

Greeting Cruisers! It was twenty years ago that Ross Longo, Mary Carol Plott, and Edde King thought it would be fun to start a car club! Since Highlands County is peppered with lakes, large and small, they decided to call themselves, “Lake Country Cruisers”.

They put the word out that they would all be gathering in the parking lot behind the Lake Placid Train Depot in downtown Lake Placid. A dozen or so friends got together, enjoyed oldies music from someone’s boom box (remember those?), did a little dancing, and had a lot of fun! So much so, the Lake Country Car Show became a regular monthly happening! You can read the full story HERE.

The rest is history and Lake Country Cruisers is still going strong!

On Tuesday, April 4, 2023, around two dozen members of Lake Country Cruisers got together at the Lake Placid American Legion to celebrate Cruisers’ founding member, Ross Longo’s 95th Birthday! Birthday cupcakes, cards, old stories, and good wishes were the order of the day.

Cruisers co-founders Mary Carol and Edde ganged up on Ross to deliver double smooches!

So, on behalf of Pete, Ron, and all of the Cruisers, a big THANK YOU to Ross and Mary Carol, and Edde, too for launching Lake Country Cruisers! – Scott

PS – Just a brief reminder. This Saturday, April 8, 2023, will be a Car & Bike Show AND Swap Meet. The Swap Meet starts one hour earlier than usual, at 9 am.
For complete details, CLICK HERE!

Meet March 2023 Cruiser of the Month

Meet “Studebaker Man”, Ron Bomberger and his Stunning 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk

NOTE: This Saturday’s Car & Bike Show will also be a Swap Meet!

When Ron Bomberger and his 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk rolled into the Lake Country Cruisers Show on March 11, 2023, I turned to Ron Ellerman and said, “Look at that beautiful Studebaker! I don’t remember the last time I saw one!” Studebakers are hardly ever seen and this one was dazzling! We forget, but in 1956 the Golden Golden Hawk, with its big Packard engine was the quickest, fastest car on the road.

Here’s “Studebaker Man” Ron Bomberger’s Story

“My first car was a Studebaker and I bought them until the company went bankrupt in 1967. I just always loved the Golden Hawk. Around 2012 when we were living in Pennsylvania, I found this car on eBay and got really excited. It was nice, mechanically sound, and complete, but tired. It was too good to pass up.

We were snowbirds then and would winter in Lake Placid. Then in 2016 we moved to Lake Placid permanently and brought the Golden Hawk with us. But when we lived in Pennsylvania I was very impressed with the workmanship of restoration experts at Cornerstone Automotive, in Lititz.

I kept thinking how amazing the Golden Hawk would be if it had a frame-off restoration. Continue reading “Meet March 2023 Cruiser of the Month”

Lake Country Cruisers March 2023 Car & Bike Show – YES!

A Perfect Day For A Car Show! (Slide Show Below!)

Greetings Cruisers! What a beautiful day we had for a Car & Bike Show. It was a little cool at 9 am when we started to set up and a little warm when we wrapped up tthe show at 1:30 pm.

A big “Thanks!” to our friends at the Lake Placid Dunkin Donuts for the coffee and donuts. They sure did go fast!

We had fifty cars and around eighty in attendance at the show. The American Legion was having a regional meeting in the banquet room, so the inside kitchen was closed. But Commander Fred Pierce made sure that our Cruiser friends could get lunch, so the outside grill was fired up and by 11:30 am you could smell the burgers and hot dogs!

Our 50/50 winner was Sebring resident BethLinn Mackes and her take home was $150 CASH!

Our 50/50 Runner-Up winner was Sebring resident Pat Klynstra, and she received a FREE oil change from our friends at Highlands Complete Auto, on Rt. 27 in Sebring.

 

 

And our Curiser of the Month was Ron Bomberger and his stunningly beautiful 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk. In 1956 this was one of the quickest, fastest cars of its day. The Golden Hawk’s styling was influenced by French industrial designer, Raymond Loewy‘s design studio. Loewy went on to design the body for the 1963 Studebaker Avante.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

Our next Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show on April 8, 2023, will also be a Swap Meet! So, the same as we did for our February Swap Meet, we will start at 9:00 am, one hour earlier than usual.

If you are looking for parts or 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 Sign-In tent.

Thanks to everyone that came to the show. Remember, our shows are car AND bike shows. So, if you have a motorcycle, bring it. If you have motorcycle friends, invite them! It’s a Car & Bike Party!

See ya next month!Scott, Pete, & Ron


PS – We will be doing Car & Bike Shows throughout the year, and sometimes in different places. We’ll always let you know where and when, but be sure to check out Coming Events page.