Old Schoolhouse Rock Car Show visits Superior

SUPERIOR – Perfect weather drew hundreds of people from all over Mineral County and beyond for the annual Old Schoolhouse Rock Car Show.

At least 95 vintage car owners brought their vehicles and parked them outside the Old Schoolhouse on River Street at the popular June 7 event.

If the cars weren’t enough reason to come out, the intoxicating aromas from the vendors attracted long lines of hungry guests.

Besides tacos being served from the PEAK group from Alberton, the Mineral County Relay for Life was serving burgers to collect money for their cancer fund.

AAA held a car fitting station in the Superior Firehouse, and Buckle-up Montana provided a booth dedicated to seat belt usage and safe driving tactics.

Enthusiasts mingled with car owners and relived memories from the past while joyfully inspecting cars, running their fingers along the smooth paint jobs. Old music was blasted from the crackling speakers to set the mood.  

A handful of the cars on hand were still owned by their original owners. There were even new tricked out Dodge Challengers from the year 2000 era.

Ed and Dianne Enkerud from Tumwater, WA. Brought their 1947 Ford HT, which was one of the oldest on site. This completely restored classic featured a flamethrower exhaust, and a modern upgrade of keyless entry and power windows.

If that wasn’t enough, Jim Keller of Kalispell drove in his 1969 Boss 302. Keller said his car has competed in road rallies, slaloms and road racing events all over the west coast.

At 3 p.m. everyone gathered in the middle of the lawn for the awards ceremony. People voted on the vehicles in attendance. Several cars were awarded for being in the top ten, only one actually made the top spot.

Paul Kruger from Whitefish has been coming to the event for eight years. Kruger and his wife Candy own several vintage cars and try to bring a different one each year. The Krugers won first place for their 1950s maroon Chevy truck. The award was constructed from old car parts.

Kruger said he likes to come to the event every year to mingle with all the people from around Mineral County.

“The people we meet here is why we come,” Kruger said. “ These are fun folks to visit with.”

After the ceremony, the crowd started to disperse. Banners were immediately taken down, and the music died out. Tables were folded up, and stereo equipment wires were rounded up.

The event officially ended at 4 p.m. Afterward, the cars revved up their engines. The stragglers jumped in to close out the event, pulling out of the lawn and back on River Street simultaneously. After doing one last lap around Superior, drivers made their way to the highway where they headed back to their original destinations.

Another year was officially in the books, and the committee no doubt will go back to the planning stages of what to bring to next year’s event.