SHARE — The walls of the first floor hallway of the Shade Community Center in Shade display old black and white class photos of 1950s and 1960s graduates of what was first a school building, accommodating grades 1-12 for Lodi Township as well as Bedford Township in Meigs County.
Later, this same school building, constructed in 1936, became home to junior high school students of Alexander Local Schools. Today and since 2005, the building remains well loved and well used for the Shade Community Center Association (SCCA) and its many rentals and events.
What better place to host a vintage concept such as a cruise-in than a vintage school building turned community center. SCCA treasurer and cruise-in organizer Gail Jordan hopes for a large turn out with car owner participants as well as attendees for this year’s cruise-in, taking place on July 20th. “I keep hoping for at least 40 (exhibitors).”
Burgers ‘n’ Fries (‘n’ Pies) Cruise-In will be held from noon-3 p.m. July 20 at Shade Community Center, 2380 Old US 33, Shade, Ohio. The event runs from noon-3 p.m., but car exhibitor registration begins at 11 a.m. and food sales will begin at 11 a.m. Judge presentations will begin at 2:30 p.m.
The cruise-in has been an event organized by SCCA since the idea was first inspired by member Fran Moxley in 2016. From there, fellow members Jerry Foster, Gail Jordan, etc., helped bring the event to life with four consecutive years of success until the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on the event until 2022. They skipped last year and are having their sixth one this year.
Jordan says the biggest obstacle for planning the event has been getting the word out to registrants. The turn out in previous years hasn’t been too bad for as small a venue as it is but the goal is to increase each year. He says their first cruise-in only brought about a dozen participants but years following averaged around 30 participants. He has an interest in any old vehicle; cars, trucks, motorcycles and even tractors but would like to see any type of vehicle, old or new, participate.
In previous cruise-ins, “mostly cars and trucks (participate) and an occasional motorcycle. Some are vintage, over 70 years old. Some are quite recent models. Once in a while we get what I would call a hot rod.”
The cost to enter a vehicle into the cruise-in is $10 and judges select three vehicles who receive photo plaques. Anyone is eligible to enter. The three participants who travel the farthest to participate are given gas gift cards, “we usually get a few who come from over 50 miles away,” and most participants receive t-shirts and dash plates.
Part of the preparation for the cruise-in is designing and printing the t-shirts, dash plates, and the photo plaques. The SCCA committee meets a few times and divides these tasks which also include: set up, registering cars, baking the pies, assigning workers for the kitchen, finding judges and planning for ‘50s and ‘60s classic music.
SCCA is a nonprofit, therefore, everyone who works the preparation for this event and during the event are all volunteers.
While participants of the car show pay a $10 registration fee, admission into the cruise-in as a bystander is free. Donations are welcome. This event, along with other events held at Shade Community Center are partly funded by donations.
Food sales also help fund the event as the ⅓ pound burgers and homemade pies are the other appeal to this cruise-in. Tickets will also be available to purchase for a quilt that will be raffled off in September and tickets for a 50/50 split-the-pot drawing.
The main goal for this event and any other events organized by SCCA is to bring the community together, bring other communities together and strengthen relationships within and around the community and promote the community center itself, “as a side benefit, it is also an opportunity for us to bring in some funds to help support the center.”
Jordan says a successful cruise-in event for him would be people, local residents but also residents from other communities near and far, having a good time and weather cooperating so exhibitors bring their vehicles and people attend the car show, eat great food while the sound of 50s and 60s music adds a feel of “old school” to this old school.
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