A dazzling display of classic cars

Nothing draws a crowd like Sisters' annual Glory Daze Car Show. And last Saturday under sunny skies, Main Avenue was closed off so hundreds of classic-car enthusiasts could stroll down memory lane with over 100 vintage automobiles to enjoy.

From muscle cars to roadsters to rat rods to hot rods, there was something for everyone's taste. Highly polished engines that gleamed and a rainbow of colored paint that shimmered kept enthusiasts busy all day searching for their favorites among the best.

"We have more cars here this year than last, which is a nice surprise since Prineville is having their car show," said Jeri Buckmann, Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce event coordinator. "And I'd say that 30 percent of the cars have never been here before which is great. With SPRD's Buried Beef & Brew going on in conjunction with the car show it's a win-win situation."

Attention to detail is an important factor not only for the classic car hobbyist, but for the enthusiast as well. Classic car enthusiast Frank Wells and his buddies from Redmond checked out the details of the custom engine on a Black 1966 Chevy Chevelle Super Sport owned by Duane and Debbie Welch from Pasco, Washington.

"It's all custom with a Chevy engine, it's a 454 punched out to a 468, a full roller cam and 550 horsepower," Welch said.

Now that's a fast car.

Meandering around in the sun checking out favorite vintage autos can work up an appetite for anyone, and this year, Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD) hosted one of their feast series with "Buried Beef & Brew" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the corner of Fir Street and Main Avenue in association with the show. Beverages to go with the feast included Three Creeks Brewing Co. beer as well as a variety of sodas.

Liam Hughes was on hand to talk about how the two events went hand in hand.

"We found out that the car show didn't have a food venue so we asked the Sisters Chamber if it was OK if we brought food for everyone to purchase during the car show and they didn't mind at all.

We thought it was a good concept," Hughes said.

"With the success of last year's luau we've looked at the idea of another event or two.

We're having our feast series in which we have different food that you can't find on a regular basis in Sisters.

We buried a side of meat in the ground for 12 hours and let it cook overnight, then dug it up and it's falling apart, tender and juicy.

We have people rolling through here and the numbers are great so far.

It's good for the car show as well as SPRD's fundraiser."

Oldies music by "DJ Chuck Boogie" played throughout the day and kept everyone moving and dancing a little up and down Main Avenue.

The unusual stands out, and Butch Steele's 1934 Airflow Desoto really did. Steele and his wife, Cathy, from Grants Pass purchased the car in 2001.

"They actually found this car on an old deserted ranch in 2000 by a logging company in a little community called O'Brian.

The company told my friend, Del Hearn, that they found an old weird car that we might be interested in," Steele explained.

"The car, or what was left of it, had a tree growing through the middle of it.

There was no flooring in it, the roof was all rotted out and there were no running boards.

It had been abandoned for about 45 years.

It took Del and I five-and-a-half years to build it back up.

In the beginning it was hard to tell what kind of car it was.

We did a lot of research and found out they only built this car, a Desoto, for three years and this was the first year it came out and was built by Chrysler.

We built it back up in a garage and it's custom with a very fast Chrysler Hemi motor.

I did all the engineering and design work and he did sheet metal and the actual reforming of the body."

At 2:45 p.m. Jeri Buckmann announced the official winners of the show's 22 categories. And Butch Steele not only won Best of Show for his custom classic 1934 Desoto, but Best Custom, and Best Paint to boot.

Winners in other categories included Best Rat Rod, Lyle Cole a Sisters resident, for his 1950 Ford F3 Flatbed. Best Engine, Chip and Bernie Chipman for their 1941 Willys Swoopster. And the People's Choice ribbon went to David Childress for his 1934 Cabriolet.