Relishing the rare: Classic cars gather for Baker City’s Memory Cruise

Published 2:44 pm Monday, August 19, 2024

Geiser-Pollman Park was filled with cars for the annual Baker City Memory Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 17, and every one of the 186 entries had a unique story.

One was traded for a bottle of whiskey.

Another has been in the same family for more than half a century.

The show, which featured live music and food vendors as well as cars representing more than a century of automotive ingenuity, attracted visitors to the park during the day and to Main Street downtown Saturday evening for the Memory Cruise.

Russ Rubertt brought his 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo tall the way from Spokane, Washington.

The car originally belonged to his grandmother. It was parked in a garage for many years after she died in 1997.

“It’s been in the family its whole life,” Rubertt said.

Rubertt put in 15 years of work on the car, totaling $35,000-$40,000, with more modifications to go. He plans to change the rear end, get the headlights redone and add a turbocharger to the engine.

“It’s nice,” Rubertt said. “You get stretched out, lay back in that thing, and it’s down the road.”

Rubertt has been going to car shows for the past 15 years and arrived at the Memory Cruise with his car club, Rods of Idaho and Oregon. The club brought 30 of their cars to the show.

The club has 78 members throughout Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Idaho. They try to get together as often as they can to go to events, as well as having their own cruise every year. Last year they drove through Montana. This year’s route is through northern Idaho.

Rubertt has been to car shows in Washington and Idaho, and tries to attend one in Oregon every year.

What he loves the most about going to car shows are the ideas that he gets from looking at how other people built and modified their cars. His favorite car at this year’s car show was a 1934 Ford Roadster.

Rubertt has two kids and plans to keep the Monte Carlo in the family to pass down to his kids eventually.

‘One of the rarest’

Drew Dunn also plans to keep his classic car in the family.

Dunn, from Meridian, Idaho, brought his 1931 Ford Model A Phaeton to the Memory Cruise.

The car was originally traded in Meacham in 1955 for a bottle of whiskey, he said. It was restored in 1958.

Dunn and his partner, Susan Newman, bought the car at a Portland swap meet three years ago.

“It’s not the rarest, but it’s one of the rarest,” Dunn said.

Only around 4,000 1931 Phaetons were produced, Dunn said.

The relatively small production run from Ford, a company that turned out millions of Model T’s, was likely due to the Great Depression and that the Phaeton, with no side windows, wasn’t the most practical model.

Dunn and Newman installed new tires and did regular maintenance, but the Phaeton’s paint and interior are from the 1958 restoration.

The couple have been traveling to car shows around Idaho, Oregon and Nevada for the past 15 to 20 years. Last year, they went to 60 events, winning many awards along the way.

“It’s not so much (about) the awards as it is coming out, seeing our friends and meeting new people,” Dunn said. “Introducing folks to these cars and (their) history.”

They belong to multiple different car clubs, including one that supports veterans, and another that supports animal welfare — 208 Street Machines (the number being the telephone area code for Idaho).

The couple plan to travel to Joseph this weekend for another car show, then back to Idaho for a Labor Day show. They are especially interested in car shows that directly support veterans.

Classic Cadillac

Bill Bienapfl brought his 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Seville, another rare classic, to the Memory Cruise.

Only around 900 to 1,000 Sevilles were built in 1959.

Bienapfl, originally from Meridian, Idaho, found his Seville at an auction in California almost four years ago, buying it for close to $100,000.

With all the upgrades and modifications he put into the car, Bienapfl says he wouldn’t sell it for less than $200,000.

Bienapfl has been a car person, modifying and upgrading vehicles, since he was 14. He’s 80 now.

He has eight cars in his collection, including a 2023 Dodge Hellcat widebody, a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

“I just gravitate to cars,” Bienapfl said. “Making them faster and better.”

By the end of this year, he’ll have gone to 15 car shows in states including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Utah.

“We put about 8,000 to 9,000 miles a year on the hot rods going to different shows,” Bienapfl said.

He also plans to attend the car show in Joseph this weekend.

What Bienapfl loves the most about car shows is meeting people, looking at all the different cars and learning what new things people are doing with their own cars.

What he loves the most about his car is its rarity. It’s a conversation starter because there aren’t that many 1959 Sevilles around.

He plans on passing down at least five of his cars to his kids and grandchildren.