Cruising, and the car culture that surrounds it, drives on in Grand Forks and region

GRAND FORKS – For Rick Jackson, a 40-year love of cruising the streets in classic cars has turned into a full-time gig.

The popularity of the cruising culture in the region led him to develop Rick’s Car Calendar (

rickscarcalendar.com

), a website that lists the multitude of car shows and cruising events in the upper Midwest and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“The calendar has become my full-time hobby,” he said.

Jackson’s sweeping calendar of car events isn’t the only evidence that the culture is alive and well in the region. According to the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), the state has issued 64,812 antique license plates for the first half of 2023 – up from 44,322 in 2019.

To be eligible for an antique plate, vehicles must be at least 25 years old. And since it’s unlikely a car owner will apply for a historic plate for just a typical everyday runner, the rise in plates hints that more North Dakotans are becoming interested in restoring old cars, the car culture or both.

Locally, at least two car clubs — Prime Steel and Northern Cruz — appear to be going strong. Leah Byzewski, president of Prime Steel, said her club has more than 20 full-time members.

“It’s a good social club, especially in the winter when we’re not out having cruise nights,” she said.

At a recent Prime Steel Car Club cruise night – held Tuesday evenings in the parking lot of La Cantina restaurant at the Grand Forks intersection of Gateway Drive and North Washington Street – more than dozen car owners displayed their vehicles. For the club’s cruise nights, membership isn’t necessary.

Attendees usually come with a backstory on why they enjoy the cruising culture.

On this particular Tuesday, Jackson brought his 1961 Ford Galaxy Starliner – one of only 26,000 produced. He said the car’s design makes it conducive to stock car racing, which Jackson believes helped boost its popularity.

“Over the course of two years, they won 23 NASCAR races,” he said. “Well, when you’re winning those races you don’t just have one car, you have a bunch of them. Then everyone around the country would take a look and say ‘Geez, they’re winning with Starliners in NASCAR. We need to have a circle race.’ If you look at it, it’s a great big boat, so more than likely there were a lot of them in demolition derbies too.”

Jackson, who has owned the car for two years, traveled to Greene, Iowa, after seeing it advertised on a car collector website.

“I drove a ’56 Chevy down there and we worked out a deal,” he said. “I drove the Chevy back home, they brought the Starliner back here on a truck and they took the Chevy back down with them.”

Since purchasing the car, Jackson estimates he has driven more than 1,000 miles and traveled to numerous car shows around North Dakota and Minnesota. He said he enjoys the attention he receives from passersby.

“It’s a classic old car – fun to drive,” he said. “You get a lot of people waving and hollering. The show I’m probably going to enjoy the most this year is an all Ford show down in Fargo. We’ll see if another Starliner shows up.”

For Jackson, his hobby is a family affair.

“It’s been a very pleasurable hobby – my wife and kids have enjoyed it too,” he said. “When the kids were little, they’d be in the backseat and away we’d go. My wife and I even drove a 1935 Nash LaFayette to Kalamazoo, Michigan.”

Jackson – who said he attends multiple car shows weekly – is not a member of Prime Steel or any other local clubs. He prefers the flexibility to attend shows at his leisure.

“I’m what you might call one of these lone wolves, although I belong to the North Dakota and Minnesota street rod associations,” he said. “I go to everybody’s show – sometimes clubs go ‘we’re all going to this show on Saturday,’ but that might not be the one I want to go to.”

Marie Rogalla,

whose husband, David, owns a 1958 Pontiac Star Chief – the only model in existence with two doors and Pontiac’s golden jubilee paint scheme

– said his passion for classic cars prompted her to start participating in cruising events with her 1966 Ford Mustang.

“My husband is a car enthusiast, and we’ve been married for 28 years now,” she said. “I had an interest in old cars before, but started to get involved more because of him.”

Barry Flath said that going to cruise events in his 1964 Ford Galaxie brings back fond memories.

“I had one in high school,” he said. “I really enjoy going to different shows and meeting different people.”

Lanny Moore, who has been a member of the Prime Steel Car Club since 1981, said his 1966 Buick Gran Sport convertible is one of “only 30 or 40 left in the world,” which makes buying parts difficult. Still, Moore said he thoroughly enjoys driving it.

“It drives better than my 2016 Cadillac,” he said.

Marna Kobe, co-activities director for the Northern Cruz Club, said its cruise nights – held every Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. at the Culver’s restaurant on 32nd Avenue South – are open to all. She said the event serves as a learning experience for younger car owners.

“I think it’s kind of neat that a lot of times you’ll see the older guys mentoring the younger ones,” Kobe said. “We try to make it a very friendly environment, and make people feel welcome.”

“It’s also a wonderful social outlet,” she added. “You can go to car shows every weekend – as a matter of fact, there are usually at least three every weekend, and it’s a matter of choosing where you want to go. My husband and I tend to travel far, to places like Warroad, Park Rapids and Devils Lake, because we’re very social creatures and enjoy talking to people about cars.”