Cruising into Camas

From Grateful Dead themed “hippie vans” to a 1938 Ford Roadster, the Braggers Rights Classic Car Show Cruise-In had a little something for everyone.

Take George Boeckel, for example. The Milwaukie, Ore., resident enjoyed showing his 1970 Pontiac Judge and chatting with onlookers at the same time.

“This was a 15-year project,” he said. “It began when my son wanted to get a car and bought a 1972 Pontiac LeMans.” Boeckel went to a dragstrip in Central Oregon with his son, and never has been the same since. He and wife, Terry, have spent many hours of their free time in the last 15 years restoring the “Judge” to mint condition and attending several car shows along the way.

“I love it,” he said. “People will come up and they talk about it and ask what I’m doing with it. I just love to drive it.”

Garrett Erickson of Camas came to the show with a friend to check out all the different models of cars.

He doesn’t have a particular favorite.

“I just really like looking at all the old cars, and I live nearby, so it’s close,” he said.

Kevin McQueen of Vancouver entered his Mustang Shelby GT 500 in the show. It’s his second year entering a vehicle.

“I like all the different kinds of cars,” he said. “It’s pretty cool.”

McQueen doesn’t drive his Mustang often, though.

“My wife calls it the ‘garage queen,'” he joked.

Georgia Pacific sponsored the car show. All money raised from the 115 entries and raffles will benefit Camas-Washougal Community Chest, and canned goods collected go to the Inter-faith Treasure House.

Community Chest is a non-profit organization that provides grant funding to a variety of local charities and other organizations.

The show is a kick-off for the mill’s annual charity drive, said spokeswoman Nancy Viuhkola. This year, the goal is to raise $5,000.

The show included a raffle, T-shirts, nostalgic music, shopping and dining at downtown stores and restaurants. Dash plaques and goodie bags were given to the first 100 vehicle entries. There were also 18 different categories for first- and second-place trophies.

Some unique features were the Washougal volunteer firefighters handing out 1,200 reams of copy paper to spectators. In addition, the “potty toss,” game rewarded participants with rolls of toilet paper if they were able to make a “basket” in the attached toilet seat.

And of course, there were the cars.

“I really enjoy the interaction of the car owners, spectators and love the beautiful cars,” Viuhkola said.