Shawnee, OK: Cars on display at Woodland Veterans Park

News-Star.com: Cars on display at Woodland Veterans Park
SHAWNEE, Okla. — Classic cars filled Woodland Veterans Park Saturday as enthusiasts were granted reprieve from 100-degree heat for most of the show.
Cars displayed included a 1923 Studebaker, a 1924 Model T Ford ambulance, and a plethora of multi-colored Mustangs, Corvettes and Camaros, including a replica of the original Bumblebee from the 1984 Transformers cartoon.
Lynn Alldredge, who graduated from Shawnee High School in 1963, is now the proud owner of a 1952 Ford Victorian.
“I’ve had the car for about 20 years,” Alldredge said. “It’s the car I could never afford when I was in high school.”
Alldredge said the cars of the 50s and 60s played a major role for the youth in identifying the culture of the period.
“It’s a connection to the good old times of the past,” Alldredge said. “This is what we drove, or wish we could have driven.”
David Fischer is originally from Shawnee, but now lives in Denton, Texas. Fischer is the proud owner of the aforementioned Bumblebee replica.
“We come back to Shawnee every year for this show,” Fischer said. “That and to see a lot of the people we grew up with and went to school with.”
Fisher said he bought the 1969 Camaro 15 years ago and has been showing it off ever since.
“I had the car before the movie came out but not the cartoon,” Fischer said. “Everyone likes to call it Bumblebee now.”
Not all attendees were showing off their rides. L.A. Heatly took his dog for a walk in the park while admiring Americana.
“My favorite cars are the old Impalas,” Heatly said. “I like to come here every year and see the older cars that are still in good shape.”
Shawnee resident Bud Johnson was showing off his rare 1953 Oldsmobile 98.
“I’ve never seen another car of this model,” Shawnee resident Bud Johnson said. “I’ve had this car for about 20 years. It was restored right before I bought it.”
Johnson said the already limited supply of old cars was reduced even further when salvage yards began to crush cars for recycling purposes.
“There are a lot of cars being restored today,” Johnson said. “But the supply of the real old cars will eventually run out.”
Longtime Shawnee resident Gregory Talton made his first trip to the Knights car show on Saturday and said he was glad he finally attended.
“I just came to look around,” Talton said. “I usually just drive by, but I decided to stop and look around today.”
Cars stretched throughout Woodland Veterans Park Saturday, from Broadway Street to Union Street.
“There are a lot of nice vehicles here,” Talton said. “I’m a Chevy man, so my favorite would probably be a Malibu or an SS.
Shawnee Commissioner James Harrod owns six classic cars, three were on display-two corvettes and a Ford truck. The remaining three were still in the process of being restored.
“I’ve been working on cars since I was 15 years old,” Shawnee commissioner James Harrod said. “I’ve seen people from as far away as Dallas, and license plates from Alaska. This show does a really good job of bringing a lot of people to Shawnee.”