Old Schoolhouse Rock car show set for June 5
Whether you’ve got a vintage, a classic, a hoopty, or a hot rod, crank those motors and come join in on the 22nd annual Old Schoolhouse Rock Car Show in Superior Saturday, June 5.
Or if you’re mode of transportation isn’t car show worthy utilize your own two feet to peruse what’s sure to be dozens of cars spread across the schoolhouse lawn.
Chairman of the board for the Old School Rockers car club and the car show itself Mike Curtin anticipates a promising turnout this year.
He noted, “We have about 25 pre-registered. I'm looking to hit around 90-100 cars. Three years ago, was our best year ever with 127 cars, including the classic camper combo category.”
It’s hard to say however how many people will end up making the trip to display their wheels.
“Most people come last minute to register; they’ll wait until the day of to decide. If it’s raining on Saturday morning, people will just roll over and go back to bed. But if there is sunshine, they'll go fire up their cars and head on over to Superior,” Curtin remarked.
Last year due to the pandemic attendance was down understandably but they still had a really great show. Curtin said “We went through the health department and jumped through all of the hoops. Despite the lower turnout we were still able to provide three scholarships, each $600 to the local schools from the funds that we raised.”
Along with the car show, guests will have the chance to take part in a poker walk like years prior. Curtin explained, “The poker walk is back this year with about a dozen businesses involved. As people visit each location, they’ll draw a card. The library wanted to be a part of it, with their book sale and everything going on over there. So just go around at your own leisure and end up back down at the school house to turn in your poker hand. Best hand wins, we’ve got several great prizes donated.”
Part of the traditional car show atmosphere includes food vendors, music, and other merchants. Curtin stated, “We are picking up more and more people, like Puffy’s Po Boys, Hoolihan’s kettle corn, the We Care Foundation is selling bratwursts, the historical society will have a booth, the knife sharpening guy will be there, as well as automotive parts salesmen.”
In the final days of preparation, the car club and the Old Schoolhouse Rock Car Show can use as many volunteers as possible. Curtin said, “Everything is going really good, I think we just now have enough people to help with parking, we have some really knowledgeable people who do all the registrations.”
Every year guests vote on their favorite cars, in addition to that there are over twenty different awards given out to participants in the car show. Each award is generally sponsored by a local business or donor. Four very special awards this June will be presented in honor of local community members who passed away in the last year.
Curtin shared, “One trophy will be dedicated to each one of them. Richard Gibson, was a car club member, he passed away just weeks after last year’s show. Emily Ornelas was on the Superior town council; she was a big supporter of this event. Jerry Fredrickson, from Jerry’s Custom Engines in Missoula always took part in this. And Dennis Kurpius a Superior local who loved working on his old car.”
A moment of silence will be held to honor each of them.
The show officially starts at 8 a.m. on June 5, but early birds start to roll in around 7:30. Cars typically stay until late afternoon winding down once raffles and trophies have been awarded.
Curtin mentioned, “It’s supposed to be great weather, lots of fun and we hope everyone can come down and enjoy the camaraderie. We get people from all over, as far as Hamilton, Kalispell, Bozeman, and Spokane.” And if you’re grabbing a bit to eat and admiring the sweet rides, keep an eye out for Curtin who has two old clunkers in the show himself, a 74’ Pontiac Ventura, and a 78’ Plymouth Station Wagon.