Classic cars come out as warmer weather sets in

WEST CARTHAGE, New York (WWNY) - The roar of engines echoed throughout West Carthage streets Wednesday night.

The Memory Lane Cruise-In Car Show rolled into the Price Chopper parking lot for the first of 18 summer nights — all for a good cause.

“We call ourselves a car family here,” said Heather Hallenbeck, a member of the Northern Cruisers Car Club. “We grow every week, sometimes as much as 100 cars. We’re all here to do the same thing, enjoy the rides and raise money for the children’s scholarship.”

The weekly meet-up, put on by Carthage American Legion Post 789, raises more than $10,000 each year to help fund scholarships for kids in the Carthage-West Carthage community. The car owners come from across the north country.

“It means a lot to these people,” said Richard Simmons, who coordinates the car show. “You can see they’re coming from as far away as Ogdensburg, Star Lake, Port Lyden, Boonville. They come that far to be here every week.”

This is the 16th summer that Simmons has run the show.

“Tremendous amount of work,” he said. “I usually start in February so I can put it on for the first May.”

With a food truck serving up fresh burgers off the grill and some homemade cookies for dessert, even an overcast night couldn’t keep the cars from pulling in.

“We get between 80 and 125, 130 cars per week when the weather’s nice,” Simmons said.

For car lovers, the show drops the green flag for the unofficial start to summer in West Carthage. The Cruise-In Car Show revs up from 5 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday.

The checkered flag drops at the end of August.

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