BELLEFONTE — A great tradition returned to Bellefonte last weekend after being canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the 32nd annual Historic Bellefonte Cruise rolled into town.
Friday night featured an open cruise, when the ordinance against “lapping the block” was suspended for two hours, and all types of antique and classic cars, hot rods, trucks, motorcycles, and modern-day muscle cars took to the streets, against a backdrop of the town’s historic architecture.Click to find out more about a new promotionDon’t miss this content from our sponsorSee More
A comfortably warm evening and perhaps a wave of nostalgia brought out huge crowds of spectators, lined up along the borough’s streets. They were greeted by the sounds of rumbling V8’s, chirping tires, and many friendly waves from the vehicles’ occupants. Some of the ladies on the sidewalks were likely the same ones who inhabited that space many years ago, now in their sixties, and still worthy of honks, whistles, and waves from cruising drivers.
All types of vehicles were seen on the streets that night, including many Detroit muscle cars of the 1960s, hot rods, pickup trucks, and motorcycles. Some were very ordinary cars of the 1950s and 60s, reminiscent of the days when kids who couldn’t afford to buy cars took to the streets in mom and dad’s family sedans and station wagons. It was a great time of nostalgia, and a history lesson for the younger generations who gained a glimpse of the history and culture of small town America a half century ago.
On Saturday, Bellefonte was filled with hundreds of vehicles, lined up along Allegheny and High streets in the biggest and best car show in the area. Every kind of vehicle imaginable was represented, as well as a few unimaginable rat rods, including one based on a Model A ford sedan sitting on a truck chassis with a diesel engine and huge shock absorbers taken from a locomotive. The rod also featured tractor seats with seat backs made from pitch forks and hammers, and was in its “as found” rusty patina.
Another interesting and unusual vehicle in the show was a 1966 Ford Good Humor ice cream truck owned by Curtis Kunes of Port Matilda. Kunes said that the Good Humor Company had those trucks made especially for their vendors. The truck has no door on the driver’s side and the right side is open with diamond plate covered steps for entry and exit, much like a school bus.
Kunes said he found the truck in Lancaster County a few years ago, where it was still being used to sell ice cream. The former owner had failing eyesight, and had to sell the truck, and Kunes was glad to acquire it.
The gleaming white truck is in excellent condition, completely rust-free, since ice cream trucks were used only on sunny summer days, and never saw snow, ice or road salt. Kunes was dressed in his “ice cream man” outfit, consisting of white shorts and shirt, and a black bow tie and hat, evoking many good memories of times gone by.
In the motorcycle area was a very unusual 2011 Russian Ural Patrol bike with a sidecar, shown by Sara Ray and Kevin Trimpey of Bellefonte. The Ural featured an opposed twin cylinder “boxer” engine, which was a Russian clone of a BMW engine, and two-wheel drive. Kevin said he and Sara have taken many trips on the bike, and Sara said the sidecar is quite comfortable to ride in.
“It’s like sitting in a recliner chair,” she said.
