Gearing up for another season of cars, cruising and camaraderie

By Serena Lapointe

Whether the wheels belong to a truck, car, SUV or bike, all are welcome to join the fun

at the Wednesday night gathering of the Whitecourt Wheels Car Club which happens

weekly at A&W. Last week was the first outing of the year and there was a mix of

returning and new faces, and wheels, in the parking lot.

Ben Farnsworth was a returning face. He’s enjoyed four years of attending the Coffee &

Cars me\]poiuytret and said he looks forward to them. “I like looking at everyone’s cars and

talking about how they spend their time enjoying them.” He said people in town with

something to share in their driveways and garages should make a point to join the fun.

“I think everybody in town wants to see these vehicles not only for the nostalgia but for

the beauty.”

Farnsworth had his 1975 Triumph TR6 with him and said driving it around town is one of

his favourite things. “My wife bought it new in 1975. We sold it in 1996 and bought it

back from the person we sold it to in 2021. I’m holding onto it forever now,” he chuckled.

“We knew who purchased it and had kept in contact over the years, and he called us up

when he was ready to sell it, and we jumped on it.” There’s a bit more to the story on

how he got the blue beauty back, but it’s best to hear it in person. Look for Farnsworth

at an upcoming Wednesday meet and tell him the Press sent you to learn the whole

story.

Another familiar face at the meet was Ken VanderBurg, with his snazzy green 1957

Chevy Bel Air. He too, wants to see more faces and was happy to see some new folks

at the event. “There are so many nice vehicles in town that we could fill up this parking

lot four times. We had forty cars here two years ago, and it was great.”

He said he loves chatting about fixing cars. “People nowadays, like my son’s age, late

thirties or early forties, have no idea how to get an older car going. I pulled mine out of

the barn. It sat for forty years, and a week later I was driving it. If you have an old car in

your garage, show it to us. I want to share my experiences fixing up these old cars

before I lose my marbles,” he laughed.

It’s not just the old cars that VanderBurg likes to see. “Last year, we had a guy show up

with a truck that was two days old. We want to see old and new.” One of his favourites

from a recent show was a pretty blue number. “It was a Chevy Nova. It only came once

because the guy was selling it.”

One of the new faces belonged to Lee Albaya. That wasn’t the only new thing about

him. He also happened to have his new baby, a 2023 Chevy Corvette. “It was the right

price at the right time and good advice from a good friend,” said Albaya about buying

the car three weeks prior. “It’s a dream car for me. The stars aligned for it to show up in

the Auto Trader. I saw it on a Friday and took the day off work to buy it on Monday,”

explained Albaya with a big grin. “I’m fresh in. It is everything I dreamed it would be. It’s

wild. You can’t help but smile when you look at it.”

As the evening went on, Albaya chatted with numerous attendees, those with a vehicle

in the show and those spectating. He said he was glad to come and plans to go again.

“There’s a whole bunch of knowledgeable people here, so if there’s something that

you’re working on, on your car, and you’re not quite sure about it, I’m pretty sure you

would find the right person here to talk to about it. There’s a mix of new and old here,

and everything in between, and it seems like a good group of people. So, life is good.”

One of his friends, Nick Gravel, encouraged him to attend the meet. “He’s got a nice

car, and I have a nice car, and now I have somebody to cruise with. Him getting his car

changed the game for me. Now I go cruising with him almost every night,” explained

Gravel, who owns an eye-catching yellow 1971 Dodge Charger.

“I’ve come once before (to the event), but it was raining. There was only one guy here.

We were just here with our old cars, standing in the rain,” he laughed. “And my car

wasn’t running properly last year, so I couldn’t come then, but now it is. I’ll probably

come every week if I can.”

Gravel said talking with other vehicle owners and learn about their rides is fun. “I like the

social part of it and learning about other people’s cars and just the fun of it. I hope we all

go cruising in a line afterwards and everybody stares. It would be cool.” He and Albaya

work together as pipe fitters and now share a new hobby, with two sweet rides, over 50

years apart. “I’m 34 years old and my car’s fifty-five,” laughed Gravel. “We both like cool

stuff, and this is pretty cool.”

Lana Miller runs the Whitecourt Wheels Car Club. She organizes events through the

year, including the Wednesday meetups at A&W. Her 1978 Jaguar XJ6 wasn’t out of

winter storage yet last week, but she said she is excited to get back behind the wheel.

“We’ve been holding the Coffee &Cars for about 5 or 6 years. They started at A&W.

Then, we used the parking lot at Western Canada Coffee Company and then 1st Choice

Truck and Car Wash. We are back at A&W now. We love having spectators, so the

highway location is best.”

She echoed the sentiments of other attendees and encouraged more locals to hop into

or onto their rides and cruise up to The Dub for a visit every Wednesday starting at 5:30

pm. “We love everything coming, including new and old motorbikes! We hope more

people come from other towns, like Fox Creek and Mayerthorpe. We share stories and

discuss car events and sometimes help each other with maintenance issues.

Sometimes there are even buy/sell opportunities, including for parts. So, come out!”