Smoke veiled the Missions, but it didn’t discourage car buffs from bringing their prized autos to Cruisin’ by the Bay, the Mission Mountain Cruisers’ annual show. Car lovers didn’t stay home either; they gathered and discussed their favorites, peeked at the engines, sometimes even looked at the suspension.

For a certain age group, ’57 Chevies brought back memories of college and high school. 

“I had one just like it,” one man told his friend, “And I drove the wheels off it.”

They laughed and poked their heads in the window to look at the upholstery.

Across the street, LeRoy Morin from Arlee had his burgundy and white ’55 BelAir parked. 

“I don’t think I could afford to fill that trunk with groceries,” he said. 

When asked if he’d had the car originally, Morin said, “No, but we had a black one just like it when we got started.”

Then, when he and his wife, Alvaretta, became the proud parents of triplets, they needed a bigger vehicle, so he had to sell that car.    Fred Smith takes a close look at a Westfalia camper van displayed at Cruisin' by the Bay Car Show on Saturday. He prefers cars from the '30s and 40s. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)

“I sold it for $500,” he said, shaking his head. But they never forgot that car.

 In 1996, Morin traded a motorcycle for “this basket case ’55” in Tacoma and brought the car home in boxes. It took 25 years “to get my dream car on the road,” Morin said, but it is a gleaming beauty now.

Down the block from Morin was Dave Gingras, who brought his ’71 Lincoln Continental Mark III to the show. It’s a mile long and black. Gingras has been working on it for 13 years, and it’s coming along. This reporter told him all it needed was a trailer hitch, and Gingras said the Lincoln had one when he bought it.

Dallas Gray from Bigfork had a mostly green ’48 Ford pickup. He recovered the pickup out of one of his grandad’s brother’s shops. His name was Arnie Marsh and his shop was in Lakeside. Gray has done a lot of work on the pickup and found that someone had painted the vintage pickup red over its original green paint. 

Though there was a nice sprinkling of ’50-era Chevys and Fords, there were cars and pickups from many decades, totaling 105 cars registered at the show.

For instance, Mike Lee brought his wife’s car to the show. It’s a Master Deluxe ’38 painted an aqua shade, which he said was a ’94 Corvette color. 

“She picked the color; she got everything she wanted in it,” he said, smiling.

Lee made it for her 25 years ago. He and his wife, Sharon, have been together for 60 years. 

As just a Ronan boy, he dated Sharon, who was a Polsonite, in high school. Lee went into the military for 22 years, and “we traveled the world,” he said. 

Then he started his business, Mike’s Transmission, in Pablo. He also got the Mission Valley Cruisers Car Club started and later, the Raven Wood Motorcycle Club.

Now, Lee said with a grin, he’s retired.

Not far from Sharon’s car is Toni Wock’s cherry red pickup, Freddie, a 1953 1/2 ton. 

A sneaky sideways smile peeks out of the pickup window gripped by two furry paws; it’s Wiley E. Coyote. “Every pickup needs a dog,” Wock told her mom when she bought Freddie in 1983, so Wock got Wiley for her mom. “He’s been in Freddie ever since.”

    Wiley is a permanent passenger in Toni Wock's pickup, Freddie. "Every pickup needs a dog," Wock said. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)

Wock was working at the registration and judging tabulation table with Stephanie Nather, whose husband Norman is president of the Mission Valley Cruisers Car Club. Nather, Wock, and the rest of the crew figured out the winners. Car club members aren’t allowed to vote for their own ride, according to Lee.

Winners at Cruisin’ By the Bay are:

First place: Shane and Donna Gravely, Avon, ’70 Buick GSX Stage 1, yellow 

Second place: Tim Arneson, Polson, ’69 C10, blue and white 

Third place: Collins, Polson, ’66 Chevelle SS, blue

Fourth place: Robin Ellenwood, Polson, ’32 Plymouth PB Coupe, purple

Fifth place: Mark Sanders, Polson, ’59 Chevy 3100 Fleetside, blue and white

Sixth place: Joe Baumgardner, Polson, ’55 orange and white Belair

Seventh place: Roger Hall, Missoula, ’63 black Corvette

Eighth place: Robert Spinnuzi, Trego, ’76 black Firebird TA

Ninth place: Janet Redmond, Somers, ’72 Grabber Blue Mach 1

10th place: Rob Delozier, Charlo, ’30 Tudor Ford, black with flames

Other winners are: 

Club Choice: Nola Catlett, Kalispell, ’50, red Overland Willys Jeep 

Best of Show:  Rich and Sandy Sale, Polson, ’60 red Chevy Impala

    A lipstick red El Camino pulls out of the car show on Saturday, ready for a smoky drive home. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)