It’s not the first time Brian Anderson won an award for his stunning 1954 red and white Bellaire convertible.
But collecting this year’s Mayor’s Award at the Thorold BIA Car Show held an extra special place in his heart.
“My kid brother Chris and I built it up,” said the St. Catharines resident, after being handed a plaque from Mayor Terry Ugulini Saturday.
“He passed away last year,” Anderson told the Thorold News. “I said, ‘Thank you’,” to him, he added, pointing skyward.
Visitors from far and wide braved the heat wave to wander up and down Front Street, where classic coupes, Camaros and Corvettes were showcased along with GTs, Jaguars and jalopies, some dating back several decades.
According to BIA chair Serge Carpino, 150 cars registered for this year’s event, and an estimated 15 or 20 additional classic car owners participated.
A Double A full Dragster stretched the length of two parking spaces, while William McCleary’s pristine 1912 Michigan was parked at the corner of Front and Clairmont, built by the Kalamazoo Carriage Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
“They were put out of business by the government in 1913,” McCleary told the Thorold News, “when they built an even better car.”
The long-time Thorold resident also owns a 1913 Stevens Duryea. “It’s one of only six in existence, and I’ll be bringing it to next year’s (car) show,” he added.
Two men, including Thorold druggist William Macartney and McCleary’s great-grandfather William McCleary, were sent to Massachusetts in the late 1890s to investigate the possibility of bringing a Duryea car factory to Thorold, though it never materialized (see story here).
McCleary also brought along two of his carousel organs to the car show, which cranked out tunes from a century ago during the day-long event.
Made in North Tonawanda, New York, his 1912 Wurlitzer organ travelled Ontario with a carousel “for many years,” he explained. “Somehow, over the years, the two got separated, and Captain John Leonard bought it, and when he died, his wife sold it to me. A few years of rebuilding it and sending it to an organ works in Bellefontaine, Ohio,” and it was making music again.
At the opposite end of Front Street, representatives from the city of Thorold were busy handing out information and asking for feedback from residents regarding the city’s developing Transportation Master Plan.
According to project manager Ryan Maiden, the Car Show provided a perfect place to talk about transportation, and a chance for residents to ask questions about the Master Plan, which includes the entire city.
Part of his job is to “Make sure we have a plan in place to handle the growth” as Thorold incorporates new subdivisions, “the trail along St. David’s Road,” as well as downtown and other transportation developments.
A second public information meeting is being planned, said Maiden, “to try and make it as painless as possible for the merchants” during future downtown reconstruction.
The Plan will “shape how people and goods move around the city, and direct transportation investment and identify future opportunities for better connectivity and mobility for all of Thorold.”
“People can go online in case they’re reluctant to comment in person,” he added, at www.thoroldtalks.ca/transportation-master-plan
