Salem Super Cruise

12/08/2024

11/08/2024

Street/hot rods....2024

04/08/2024

Chevrolets....2024

20/07/2024

Friends...then and now.

20/07/2024

Fords....2024

10/07/2024

Mustangs....2024

05/07/2024

Flashback.....

05/07/2024

Tri-5's....2024

01/07/2024

Oldsmobile....2024

29/06/2024

My philosophy on owning collector cars....

A friend posted this on his feed, and it showed up on mine. It spoke volumes to me and it also validates something I've been saying for years..."Once we're gone, our cars will fade away as well". As each generation passes the next generation enjoys the cars they grew up with, eschewing the last generation's cars. Case in point...being a baby boomer I grew up with 50's/60's muscle as new cars and car shows involved 1920's/1930's cars being displayed at parades, events, and shows. Aside from the hot rods that we have made from those 20's and 30's cars we rarely see a 'stock' Model A anymore, but cars that boomers, generation X, and now millennials grew up with are everywhere. We are seeing fewer and fewer original 1950's cars all the time now as that generation passes. And so it goes.

I didn't share that to be a gloomy Gus but to advise you to enjoy that Chevelle quietly resting in your garage. Take that Corvette , Mustang, Galaxy 500...whatever you own...and enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed. I adopted the philosophy years ago that I am not spending thousands of dollars on a collector car and NOT drive it!!! If it gets a rock chip in the paint...the NEXT owner can fix it. I want to and have driven my collector cars as my vacation vehicles for several years now. A thumbs up from someone in North Carolina feels just as good as a thumbs up I receive at the Salem Super Cruise.

I'm not criticizing anyone that disagrees with me. It's a personal choice. My choice is, if I own it, I'm enjoying it, not just at a car show, but all the time.

28/06/2024

Buicks....2024

25/06/2024

Pontiacs....2024

22/06/2024

Mopars.....2024

11/06/2024

Cops and the Salem Super Cruise...

I've received, and some of you have read, complaints about some of the actions taken by Salem's police officers during the cruise. I cannot comment directly to those complaints because I was not there to observe what took place that warranted the cop's involvement.

I will say this, since I am involved with the cruise and have spoken with the police chief on several occasions. Salem's cops know what our event is, and they do tolerate behavior on our four days they would not tolerate the other 361 days of the year. That's a fact.

There are people that believe all rules and regulations do not apply on our four days, but they do...they have to.

Cops do have discretion to cite or give a warning. I'm certain more warnings were given than citations. There are more people, cars, and bikes in Salem during our four days than there are residents that live in Salem. The city's police officers are tasked with keeping control. Sometimes we may believe the cop went overboard. Maybe they did...maybe they did not.

10/06/2024

Thanks...

To all that came to our event, be it spectators, vendors, car owners, and anyone else that came to Salem, Ohio, thanks for making this year's Salem Super Cruise a success. When people say "participants" they usually mean the car cruisers but each and every one of you participated, contributing to that success in your own way.

Come Sunday at 5pm when the show officially ended, we volunteers let out a group "WHEW glad it's over" sigh of relief. Here it is Monday morning June 10, 715am, and I'm ready to go again for next year's show. Despite the work, the aggravations, and the time involved, doing an event like this is very satisfying when it's a succeess

Thursday's kick-off rain gave way to pretty much perfect weather, well except for Friday when cold blooded me expected snow at any time....😜.

Hope to see you all again next year!!

15/06/2023

None left....

I've been asked if any 2023 t-shirts are still available. Unfortunately there are none left. I wish we had more but alas, we don't.

13/06/2023

Policy change.....

As I've stated many times, no comments are censored in any way, and all comments both good and bad are allowed. All comments are read and if I feel a response is warranted I send a private message if I can. Allowing all messages allows me to gauge how we're doing with the show and even the less than flattering remarks are considered. Once read, I delete all comments equally. I was trying to prevent any comment that may result in a public squabble on this forum that we all know occurs when one person disagrees with another and names start flying. I feel that results in a bad image for both the Cruise and the city of Salem.

Today, that policy ends.

All comments will remain for any post. Applaud our efforts or air a grievance as you wish. If you have a grievance I suggest your comment be made in a respectful and polite manner. My response will be the same. If any comment gets a response from anyone other than myself they will also remain as long as they too are polite and respectful. If any comment results in the aforementioned public squabble I will delete the entire conversation.

Doing it this way may answer other people's questions and also may result in educating naysayers on why we have to run areas of the Cruise the way we do. As a city in the state of Ohio we not only have our own ordinances to follow we are also restricted by state and federal laws governing things we can and cannot do.

For those that have tried to post their event on this page I cannot allow that because this forum is for the Salem Super Cruise only. Sorry.

11/06/2023

It's 418pm....

The Show and Shine has awarded its trophies, the raffles' winners have been drawn, the band has sung its last song, and the vendors have begun packing up for the drive home.

A few cars may still be in town but those that were here all four days, like myself, we still made one more trip down the cruise route before we headed for home.

Tomorrow a meeting will be held at city hall to review the Cruise and addressing any issues that came up, good or bad. The emphasis will be on "...how can we make it better?".

On behalf of the City of Salem, Ohio, the volunteers, staff, and vendors we'd like to thank everyone involved for making this event a success.

11/06/2023

An apology owed....

or maybe not.

Referencing the post from this morning about the Show and Shine Car Show. I stated it was open to pretty much anything with wheels that involved either a driver or a rider...key word being rider in this instance. That statement was correct.

Some motorcyclists were turned away by the people in charge of admittance. The riders mentioned the post about motorcycles being welcome, which was true. Unfortunately the person at the front gate made an assumption that motorcyclists just wanted to come in and park with the cars which has not been allowed in the past.

So...to those motorcycle enthusiasts that were affected by this...

if you intended to register for the Show and Shine and pay the participation fee and were turned away we at the Salem Super Cruise want to offer you an apology. The incident was simply a matter of the left hand not knowing the right hand. Mea culpa.

IF you were going to just park and not be involved in the Show and Shine the volunteer that turned you away was correct in doing so.

WHEW!!! One more thing...

Volunteers run the show and they do a pretty good job of managing chaos. Parking lots fill up and sometimes cars leave. The volunteers did their best to let cars in when spots come open but if 4-5 cars leave at once they may only let in 4 cars but that may be because in the hustle and bustle they lost count. Give 'em a break.

11/06/2023

Folks....

I need to publicly address some complaints by individuals that seem a wee bit entitled to me.

People complained about cops "Pulling people over for every little thing". If a person breaks a law shouldn't the cops take a moment and speak with tat 'lawbreaker'. What happens after the conversation is what matters. The Salem cops seem fairly lenient to me. I know of at least two incidents where a person broke the law, was stopped, and let off with a verbal warning. One I witnessed myself, and the other one was told to me by my Grandson who kind of chirped his ires with a cop right behind him. I called him "du***ss' and he told me he was warned. Cops must keep a lid on any event to be sure but they are not nit picking the crowd as some people believe.

I received comments from motorcyclists about the dearth of parking for them. Some were upset they could not park with the cars. The Salem Super Cruise is and always will be for automobiles. As evidenced by the number of bikes on city streets throughout the event nobody ran them off. They were free to cruise or park anywhere in the city with the exception of the main cruise parking lot. With all due respect for motorcycle enthusiasts we don't feel you are being discriminated against. The SSC is all about cars and the nostalgia surrounding them. Would you as a motorcyclist like to see a car right in the middle of your poker run?

For those that think I am taking sides in favor of cars I want those people to know I not only am a car enthusiast but also enjoy motorcycling. Queenie, the wife, also has her endorsement and had her own motorcycle.

11/06/2023

One more day....

The Salem Super Cruise Show and Shine sponsored by Quality Water Systems of Salem is a fitting end to a great weekend.

The Show and Shine Car Show is open to cars, trucks, motorcycles, any make, any model. We've had Schwinn bicycles entered. The car show will run from 11am until 3pm.

23 trophies will be awared....Top 20, Sponsor's Choice, Mayor's Choice, and Best of Show. It will be a judged show. There are no classes and motorcycles may enter and will be judged just like the cars, and that aforementioned bicycle.

In addition to the car show all raffle winners will be drawn immediately after awarding the Best of Show award.

Food vendors will be open and on the Broadway Stage Christina Langen and House Party will perform from 1pm until 4pm. If a cruiser just wants to come to the car show but not enter it, that's okay too.

10/06/2023

FYI...

It's 725 as I write this. I'm shutting the page down now getting ready to head out for Salem to enjoy the whole day at the Salem Super Cruise. If you try to contact the page after I close this out about something happening today I won't be able to answer. It's not like I don't want to answer but I can explain why I can't respond in just two words....FLIP PHONE!

When I tell people I'm 'old school'....I mean it. Which if kind of funny 'cause when I grew up they still had 'party lines'. If you don't understand that imagine a phone system where your neighbor can secretly hear your conversation with your girlfriend when your wife isn't home!! So to me a flip phone is very high tech!!!!

10/06/2023

FYI.....

If you've ever tried to get into the municipal parking lot on Pershing and got turned away because the lot was full....I feel your pain.....🤨. Yesterday, due to unforeseen circumstances, I wasn't able to make it to Salem until almost 4pm. Now, I've been a volunteer from the day the event came to Salem so if you think that gives me special privileges...apparently not....😂.

I couldn't get in either! And the people in charge of the parking lot knew me and said "sucks to be you" as I drove away!!! The upside of all this forced me to do what I enjoy anyway...driving my car and cruising.

I'll be there this morning by 830...***hehehe***

It's a little early to estimate the number of cars that have been to the cruise at this point, but my initial impression is so far it seems to be higher than even last year, and I thought last year's event was a banner year.

Today's event schedule has a car cruise/show out at the CDJR (Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram) dealership on N. Ellsworth just before you get to the four lane bypass around Salem. Oops, it's not technically a bypass as much as it is a traffic relief route. Whatever, it's got four concrete lanes and a median strip...you get the idea. All makes and models are welcome. My info has the show starting at 11am.

The valve cover race will be held on South Lundy one more time from 2pm until 8pm. It's a good way to stretch your legs if you've been sitting a while and some of the participants go out of their way to decorate a valve cover for racing! Apparently that fake hood scoop and boy racer wing make them faster!! 😁

The garden tractor pull on South Broadway starts at 2pm. People have asked me "where on S. Broadway" and I can only say just keep going south from downtown until you find it! I don't mean to sound cheeky but that's where it's gonna be at.

On the Broadway stage we feature two bands today. At 3pm "Winona Road' will be entertaining participants until 6pm. The band "Manhattan" will be on stage this evening from 730 until 1030.

There will be cars cruising, people watching, and crowds of people enjoying the cars cruising by...along with people, watching people, watching people!!😏