30th Street Masters Christmas Cruise

What a great day in SoCal! The Poway Cruisers mustered 12 cars plus one extra friend at the defunct Haggen’s on Carmel Mountain Road and headed for Torrey Pines High School precisely at 0700. We made the drive in good time (about 15 minutes) and got in line to drop off our toys and park for the show. We thought we’d be early, but so did a bunch of other car nuts, so we had to park in the second tier for the first time. Turned out to be a good spot.

Making the caravan were:

George & Joyce Cowman’s ’37 Buick Coupe (Wagon Master)
Earl Asbury in his ’29 Model A Sedan Delivery
Travis & Vicki Williams in their ‘71 Chevelle
Jerry & Bonnie Badders in their ’67 Chevy C-10
Ed VanLaningham in his ’67 Mustang with its fresh paint job (nice)
Bill & Lynda Bryan in their ’37 Ford 2dr
Patrick & Tom Burns in Patrick’s 68 Camaro
Joe and Carol Artino in their ’69 Pontiac Firebird Sprint
Alex & Jean Ann Abosamra in their ’32 Ford Roadster
Paul Bundy in his new ’32 Ford 3w Coupe
Ed & Carol Asbury in their ’33 Ford 4dr
Arne & Monica Knufman in their ’32 Ford Roadster
Arne’s friend (I did not get his name) in a Pinto Station Wagon sleeper (Full role cage, turbo charged, fuel injected Mitsubishi 4 cyl putting out 450-500 HP)

Also attending the show, but driving on their own were:

Dale Partusch & Lee Parker in their ’36 Ford 2dr
Jerry & Kristy Keller in their hot rod ’63 Dodge
Lou & Joyce Heyn (not sure which car they drove)
Brenda Anthony with her ’99 Jeep Wrangler
Dick Blank drove his ’40 Ford 2dr (it’s For Sale!)
Chuck Kramer made the show in his ’28 Chevrolet Touring
Walter Borra was also there with his 34 Chevy 4dr
Hollywood & Vine Wong made the scene (not sure which car they drove)
Joe Musick was there with his black ’69 Opel GT
Doug Smith showed off his ’50 Mercury 4dr (It’s also for sale)

The show was very well attended, with 3 tiers of the parking lot filled and overflowing onto the 4th. I did not get a count, but I’m guessing at least 250 cars. The show attendance was up from previous years, as demonstrated by them running out of donuts early, and pancake batter requiring a quick run to the grocery store.  Even the roach coach ran out of hamburgers at lunch time.

As was the usual case for this show, the Street Masters had a boatload of gifts and equipment to give away. A Poker Walk provided a little exercise and fun for many, several Bingo games provided enjoyment for many others, and the “Opportunity Drawings” delivered a ton of nice gifts. They also gave away a TH350 and TH400 transmission.  Several Poway Cruisers participated and took home some fun gifts.

As for the toy drive, I don’t have a toy count, but they had 20’ van stuffed pretty full. I’s say that effort was a big success.

When it came time for the People’s Choice Awards of favorite cars at the show, 3 of the 15 where awarded to Poway Cruiser cars:  George & Joyce Cowman’s ’37 Buick Special Business Coupe, Earl Asbury’s ’29 Ford Model A Sedan Delivery, and Chuck Kramer’s ’28 Chevrolet Touring.

While the day started out on the chilly side, by 1030 it warmed up and allowed everyone to shed their jackets. Altogether, another very enjoyable day in the SoCal sun.

George Cowman
Wagon Master, Street Masters 30th Annual Christmas Cruise for the Kids

Pictures are also by George Cowman