Woodridge Car Show sees record attendance

In its fourth year, the Woodridge Car Show has demonstrated it’s a draw for the community bringing in people from all over Manitoba. This year the show brought in a record number of entries and visitors as they came to support the Woodridge fire department.

“It was amazing. It was a tremendous success. We drew in a record-breaking crowd. I think in large part due to what had all happened in our area recently,” said Cheryl Wilson-Janz, board director and media relations spokesperson for the event.

Recently, the RM of Piney was hit with a wildfire that is currently still burning at 8,900 hectares. Woodridge was one of five townsites evacuated during the blaze.

Wilson-Janz reported the car show brought in 1,100 visitors and 166 registered participants showing their vehicles. She said 700 meals were served throughout the day. The majority of the funds raised are going to the Woodridge Fire Department to buy wildland fire equipment, such as Mark 3 water pumps that are compact enough to haul into the bush, more hose lines, and sprinkler systems.

“I’m very excited to see that the community can rally. We were evacuated last week and to see everyone come out and support (us) is fantastic to see,” said fire chief Joel Grenier.

For the first time the fire department held a demonstration of its use of vehicle extrication equipment, where six of the 15 firefighters in the department cut a car in half.

“This is a time to showcase our equipment. To show the community what these fundraisers help with and some of the equipment we do have on board.”

La Broquerie couple Mark and Melissa Thiessen, who specifically came to the show to support the fire department, brought their 1923 model T modified in 1975 to be a T Bucket.

“We lived in Marchand for years, so the fires did get close to us a couple of times. You always try to support things like this. We’re part of the Steinbach Car Club and I know a lot of (members) from the Steinbach Car Club came to support this,” said Mark.

The Thiessen’s car has the body of a 1923 Ford Model T with the engine of a 1975 Corvette. Mark said the car only weighs 1,700 pounds which makes it bounce when driving down the road.

Another entry in the car show was 1956 Chevy 210 owned by Brent and Carol Myers, who’ve owned their vehicle for 14 years. They came to support the fire department and they said to see the community come together after the wildfires was heartening.

“The firefighters are heroes in every community and (we) admire everything that they do,” said Carol. “Even in East St. Paul, in our community, all the volunteer firefighters are taking care of the community making everybody safe and special. It takes a hero.”

Driving a 1973 MGB Sportster with a chrome bumper was Ben Friesen from Moose Lake. What makes his car unique is that the year it was built was the last year that the MGB Sportster came with a chrome bumper. He drove 122 miles to Woodridge for the show and said it was a good idea that money was going to the fire department.

“I think it’s a good idea that they did this because where would they be without the fire department?”

One of the other interesting vehicles at the car show was a repurposed 1957 Carpenter school bus owned by Sandy and Randy Klym. They bought it about 17 years ago after finding it in Vermillion Bay, Ont. Randy, a welder by trade, changed the bus from its former use as a garden shed into a 1950s eatery thanks to a booth and table from Lockport’s Half-Moon restaurant.

“I’m a retired school teacher and I used to get teased about driving around in the Loser Cruiser,” said Sandy with a laugh noting the name on the side of the bus.

It took Randy about two-and-a-half years to make the bus what it is today. He was retired and looking for a unique vehicle to work on and the school bus fit the bill.

“It’s been a lot of fun. We put a lot of miles on it and if you’re going to build something drive it. Everybody can relate to a school bus, so this has been extra fun for us,” said Sandy.