Car enthusiasts, bike riders, and curious spectators gathered on Friday evening for Currie Motors Ford of Valpo’s cruise night series, aptly named Cruising Downtown Valparaiso. Vehicles from near the turn of the 19th century to the latest Broncos and Corvettes lined the Old 3D parking lot, also known as Lot 37 at Valparaiso University.
It was the third evening of the series, with one more scheduled for July 21. The event is a big draw and pulls in attendees from around the Region and beyond with vehicle owners looking for new audiences to showcase their beloved masterworks. Dozens and dozens of cars, of all makes and models, filtered in and out of the lot. Some true classics, owned by families for generations. Others such as Keith Nalley brought custom replicas of their vintage favorites, in his case, a Superformance replica of a ’65 Shelby Cobra.
“I’ve wanted a Cobra since I was 10 years old since I saw my first real one,” he said. “There’s only about 25 of the originals and to find one of them you’d be starting at about two and half million dollars. Even if I could afford one I wouldn’t want to drive it!”
Nalley’s been involved in the car show/cruise night circuit since his childhood, building cars with his father and talking shop with other gearheads at shows and races. He knows that people and their stories play just as much a role in a quality cruise night as the cars themselves.
“Car people tend to be really friendly no matter where you go,” he said. “I like to see all the community involvement and to see car clubs get involved. I’ve talked with some young people and helped influence a few of them to come out to shows like this. It’s just nice to get people involved and interested in the mechanics and history.”
Attendees pour a lot of love, money, and work into getting their vehicles into showcase condition. It’s not just the car collectors either - bike riders like Joseph Hall also make their presence known. He rode his custom 2016 Maddog – a bike that has intense personal significance to him.
“It was my late twin brother’s dream bike,” he said. “My dad and my brother both passed away on dialysis last year. I’m also on dialysis, I just had my right kidney removed two weeks ago.”
Hall has polycystic kidney disease, a disorder inherited at birth that causes cysts to form on the kidneys – requiring dialysis and eventually a transplant. Hall, a veteran and member of the American Veterans Motorcycle Riders Association, is on the transplant waiting list and despite his poor health, finds the strength to come out to cruise nights, memorial rides, and other events to share his story.
“My whole life I’ve been wanting to give back to everybody,” he said. “Even though you’re sick, that doesn’t mean you can’t give back. I want to show people in the world that you can still go out and live. If I don’t fight and get stronger, I’m not going to be able to come out here and give back.”
Currie Motors Ford of Valpo is set to host one more night of Cruising Downtown Valparaiso on July 21 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Old 3D Lot, just east of the corner of Lincolnway and Roosevelt Road, right across the street from Horizon Bank. For more info on the dealership, visit www.fordofvalpo.com.
