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…” →

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” →

Upcoming Schedule of Events from October 2022 into January 2023

Published on September 25, 2022October 3, 2022 by corvettes

Lots of NEW STUFF to share!

Dateline: 9.25.22 – Greetings Cruisers! A lot has come together and we wanted to bring you up to speed.

We typically have a Car & Bike Show and a Meet’n Eat Cruisers Luncheon every month, but there are a few new developments.

Destination Event to Fabulous Restorations

First, Lake Country Cruisers have been invited to George Haddad’s “Fabulous Restorations” hot rod shop, in Fort Lauderdale, on Sunday, November 6, 2022. George’s hot rod shop is a car guy’s palace! Fabulous Restorations has been in business for over 40 years and is a full-service shop; Restorations, Engine Building, Paint, Fabrication, Full Restomod builds, and more. Continue reading “Upcoming Schedule of Events from October 2022 into January 2023” →

Cruisers Gather at Mr. Sammy’s For Our September Meet’n Eat!

Published on September 24, 2022November 8, 2022 by corvettes

Great Food! Good Company! Good Time!

Dateline: 9.24.22 – Greetings, Cruisers! We did it again. We racked up another happy Meet’n Eat Event, this time at Mr. Sammy’s (on the roundabout) in downtown Lake Placid, Florida. Mr. Sammy has been very generous in his support for Lake Country Cruisers with a 50/50 Gift Certificate that we gave away as a runner-up prize at our Labor Day Cruisers Show on September 3, 2022. That’s a nice’a, nice “Dinner For Two”!

**Former President, Donald Trump and Florida’s GREAT Governor, Ron DeSantis happened to be in town and stopped by for a slice of Sammy’s pizza! (JUST KIDDING!)**

Seven Cruisers tied on the Italian Feed Bag. We had Chicken Parmesan, Cauliflower Pizza, Stromboli (Jack Murphy’s first!), and Pepperoni Pizza. Everything was more than delicious!

In attendance were; Mary Carol Plott, John Meyerhoff, Scott & Karen Teeters, Jack Murphy, Ron Ellerman, and Pete Richie.

A BIG Congrats to our Pete Richie for being inducted into the Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame for his leadership in running the biggest Caladium Festival Car & Bike Show last July. Continue reading “Cruisers Gather at Mr. Sammy’s For Our September Meet’n Eat!” →

Lake Country Cruisers Pizza Party at Mr. Sammy’s!

Published on September 15, 2022 by corvettes

Next Cruisers Meet’n Eat at Mr. Sammy’s, September 22, 2022, 2 PM to 4 PM

Dateline: 9.15.22 – Greetings Cruisers! You smell that? Yea! Pizza!

Yes, we’re going to tie on the Old Feed Bag at Mr. Sammy’s again, next week, September 22, 2022, from 2 pm to 4 pm.

Actually, Mr. Sammy has all kinds of Italian food; pasta dishes including Chicken, Veal, and Eggplant Parm, Salads, Strombolis, Calzones, cold subs, and hot subs that you can choose from.

And it’s ALL GOOD!

And, you can wash it all down with a beer, if you want! Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers Pizza Party at Mr. Sammy’s!” →

Lake Country Cruisers Labor Day 2022 Car & Bike Show – SLIDE SHOW

Published on September 9, 2022October 15, 2022 by corvettes

A VERY good time was had by all!

Dateline: 9.8.22 Check out the Slide Show at the bottom – Last month Pete, Ron, and I decided to break tradition with our Car & Bike Show schedule and have a Labor Day show. Why? Because we just love doing them! (so does the American Legion!) And why not have some car show fun?

Considering that it was a holiday weekend and it was hot, not “warm”, it was HOT; we were happy with our turnout. We had 45 Cruisers come out for our Car Party. Yes, we were “Sweating To The Oldies”!

Click the above panoramic photo to see the BIG version!

Our Cruiser of the Month was Angel & Trish Mason. They brought one of their rides, a 1966 Plymouth Barracuda Fastback. I can’t remember the last time I saw a ’66 Barracuda with that BIG glass fastback rear window. So cool!

Our lucky 50/50 Winner was Dan Ryan and he went home with $135! Continue reading “Lake Country Cruisers Labor Day 2022 Car & Bike Show – SLIDE SHOW” →

What is Labor Day?

Published on September 1, 2022October 15, 2022 by corvettes

Labor Day is more than a day for appliance sales

Dateline: 9-1-22: Greetings Cruisers! We are just about to roll into Labor Day Weekend, which for many Americans signals to official “end of summer”. Summer-like weather will be the daily norm for us Floridians for several more months, so our “summer” continues pretty much “as is”.

But, as we were getting ready for this weekend’s Lake Country Cruisers Labour Day Car Show, it gave me cause to ask myself about the history of Labor Day. The start of the holiday is as rough and tumble as any industrial and construction project from the 1880s, as you might expect. Continue reading “What is Labor Day?” →

Lake Country Cruisers YouTube Channel is Live!

Published on August 29, 2022August 29, 2022 by corvettes

Soon we will be posting YouTube videos of our Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Shows

Dateline: 8.29.22 – Greetings Cruisers! Starting a YouTube Channel is something that’s been on my Cruisers Wish List since the beginning of the year. But, you know what happens when a project doesn’t have a Due Date, it doesn’t get done!

So, I just had to kick myself in the butt and say, “Get’r done, Son!” Last weekend the Lake Country Cruisers YouTube Channel went Live! Since we managed the Caladium Festival Car & Bike Show last July, I started the YouTube Channel off with a slide show, with rock’n music of the Caladium event.

To go to the Channel, CLICK HERE!

And, as all YouTube Channels say, be sure to smash that Thumbs Up button, hit the Subscribe link, and check the “bell” graphic so you’ll be notified when new videos are posted.

Also, a small group of Cruisers got together Monday morning for breakfast at Morty & Edna’s eatery in downtown Lake Placid. The food and service were excellent.

And lastly, don’t forget that we have a Labor Day Weekend Car & Bike Show at the American Legion, on Rt. 27 in Lake Placid, 10 am to 2 pm. This will be a full-out “Lake Country Cruisers Car & Bike Show” with great door prizes, a juicy 50/50, lunch at the Legion’s Mess Hall, and a Cruiser of the Month award. Just $5 at the entrance.

Make some car show fun part of your Labor Day weekend! See you all there! – Scott, Pete, & Ron

PS – Bring your flags! Let’s festoon the Legion’s parking lot with America’s Red, White, and Blue!

Cruisers Party-Hardy At DOCK 633… Again!

Published on August 23, 2022 by corvettes

Back again to DOCK for another great Meet’n Eat

Dateline 8.23.22 – Cruisers did it again! We tied on the Ol’ Feed Bag at Dock 633 in Lake Placid for the second time this year! It was hot outside (what else would it be in August in Lake Placid?) but perfectly cool in Dock’s back room.

We had fourteen Cruisers attend. Cruisers included; Jack Murphy,Pete Richie, Ron Ellerman, Paul Fry and his friend Angela, Jim Maze, Bob and Caroline Rapp, Martin and Wendy Striegel, Jim Schindlbeck, and Karl Hoskinson.