Richard “Dick” Davies stood by his British sports car, a 1953 red MG parked just off the Crown Point downtown square ready to share a tale with anyone who wanted to chat.
Davies and his wife, Marilynn, are regular fixtures at Crown Point’s Thursday night Car Cruise along with the car Davies painstakingly restored after purchasing it used in 1955 for just $1,495.
He still has the bill of sale, along with more than half a century’s worth of photographs of the car, his family and the places they have all been together in a photo album he takes with him to the different car cruises he attends.
“I brought my daughter home in this car,” said Davies, of Crown Point. The couple laughed, saying they placed the infant neatly in the small back-seat area of the coupe.
“When the top is up, the back made a perfect little well for my girl,” Marilynn said.
The couple say they enjoy the chance to get out, meet new people and connect with friends who also enjoy the car cruise circuit. Dick Davies said he likes to hear the different stories people have to tell. His sister, Pam Wesley, and her husband, Jeff, also of Crown Point, tagged along to enjoy the nice weather and see some of the cars.
“It’s nice just to hang out,” Jeff Wesley said.
Thursday was Crown Point’s first cruise night of the season. Davies also takes his car, and his wife, to Lowell for the monthly Mill Street Car Cruise hosted by the Lowell Lions Club. This year he also plans to travel a little further south and hit a car cruise planned June 4 at Field House Ford in DeMotte. In their younger days, the couple drove the car as far as New York, Elkhart Lake, Wis., and Indianapolis to show it off.
The Davies are not alone in their enjoyment of the car cruise circuit that draws car enthusiasts from around the area.
Norb Dudzik, Whiting’s events coordinator, started the city’s monthly car show 12 years ago while he was a member at the Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce, and it has grown each year.
“I didn’t even know what cruise nights were at the time,” Dudzik said, recalling when he first began noticing cars gathering outside a local business on a regular basis. Those drivers encouraged him to start something in the city.
Since that time, the car cruise has become a monthly event that draws enthusiasts from places like Valparaiso, Portage, Chicago, Lansing, Ill., and throughout Lake County to show their cars or just visit and view the cars.
“We’ve got a nice variety of cars we put together,” Dudzik said. The city also attempts to bring in an attraction vehicle each month. On Wednesday, the season’s first Cruisin’ Whiting night will feature the Formula One race car built by Purdue University Calumet students.
He said the event brings people into the community, so the city’s restaurants and bars all do well.
“I don’t own a car. I just enjoy doing this. It is a lot of fun,” Dudzik said.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Area cruises
Monday
Dairy Queen Cruise-In, 341 Halleck St., DeMotte, 6-9 p.m., through September
109 Diner Cruise Night, 8251 E. 109th Ave., Winfield, 4-8 p.m.
Tuesday
Pav’s Summer Car Night, 642 N. Main St., Hebron, 5-9 p.m., though August
Cruise-in at Al’s Supermarket, 3535 Franklin St., Michigan City, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Family Cruise Night at Southlake Auto Mall, 4191 E. Lincoln Highway, Merrillville, 4-8 p.m., first and third Tuesday through September
Portage Cruise-In, Woodland Park, 2100 Willowcreek Road, 5:30 p.m., through August
Wednesday
White’s Pit Stop Car Cruise at Buddy & Pal’s, 340 U.S. 30, Schererville (starting June1)
Whiting Cruise Night, downtown Whiting, 5-9 p.m., third Wednesday of the month through October
Suzy’s Diner Cruise-in, 407 S. Main St., Hebron, 4-8 p.m., through October
Thursday
Crown Point Car Cruise, West Street between Joliet and Walnut streets, 5-8 p.m., through September.
Friday
South Point Cruise-In, Harley Davidson of Valparaiso, 1151 U.S. 30, Valparaiso, 6-9 p.m., through August
Blue Top Drive-In Car Cruise, 8801 Indianapolis Blvd., Highland, 6-11 p.m.
Saturday
Chesterton Cruise Night, Thomas Centennial Park, 220 Broadway, Chesterton, 5-9 p.m., last Saturday of the month through September
Lion’s Club Mill Street Car Cruise, Mill Street at Commercial Avenue, first Saturday of the month through October
Highland Downtown Car Cruise, downtown Highland, 4-8 p.m., June 4
Quaker Steak and Lube, 6245 Ameriplex Drive, Portage, last Saturday of the month through September
Call establishments to confirm scheduled events
— Carrie Napoleon
