On Saturday, May 13, Clinton will host the first cruise night of the season. Although cruise nights on the Square have been going for 20 years, the tradition was in danger of ending last year.
Then long-time car guys in the community decided to keep it going— same time, same day, same place.
“Most people won’t even know it’s changed,” Matt Wray said.
Matt, along with Brent Winter and Marty Loyd, are the three officers of a new not-for-profit that formed to run Clinton’s cruise night. What’s different— formerly under the aegis of Main Street, it is now steered by a group of community volunteers who are all “car people,” Matt said -- both guys and gals.
What they are 100 percent committed to:
“It will always be free, and it will alway be on the Clinton Square,” he said.
Clinton’s cruise night is the second oldest cruise night in central Missouri, after one in Springfield, Matt said. Since 2017, it’s been run by Chris and Crystal Church, who built it up from 75 cars to 150. The Churches, while working and raising a family, volunteered their time to keep it going despite a decreasing number of people who wanted to help, Matt said.
That, combined with concerns about the chip-seal surfacing done on the streets around the Square, led to talk that Clinton’s cruise night might have to be moved off the Square.
It was not something the local car crowd wanted to see happen.
“So we thought, ‘What would it take to keep it here?’” Matt said, “and we realized it would take getting the whole gang getting back together.”
So they sent out the word, and now have enough volunteers to work at all six cruise nights this year, he said. They decided to officially name it Cruisin’ to Clinton.
There will be some new twists: There will be a live DJ at every event, Matt said, who he met at a car show in Deepwater. Bud “Budman” Powell will emcee every show, and play nostalgic car songs from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
“We are committed to it being a community event,” Brent said.
Brent, who grew up in Clinton, CHS Class of ’87, has a ’29 Ford Roadster salt flat race car. He recalled that teenagers used to come down and cruise around the Square.
Marty has a Plymouth Duster. Matt grew up in Peculiar/Harrisonville area, but has lived in Clinton for 25 years. He met Brent and other car guys through their mutual interest. Matt has a ’37 Wild Rod and a ’34 coupe, which his son drives.
Taking over cruise night, they have streamlined the running of it, Matt said, getting rid of committees and meetings, which no one wanted to attend. Now the three men and a group of advisors direct things, mostly by phone, Brent said. People volunteer to help. They’ve already lined up two volunteers for each of the six cruise nights, he said, to set up traffic cones, help the DJ unload and set up, eand direct car parking, then help take down afterwards. The job comes with a premier parking spot for your car, Matt said.
Versailles has the biggest cruise night, Matt said, drawing more than 300 cars. Clinton has the biggest town square in Missouri, so has the potential to grow as big. Now, Clinton cruisers fill up the parking spaces on the east side of the square, and lap around the south side.
“We have the best cruise-night facility around,” Matt said. “We have the parking, the shade, the Square and the nostalgia.”
Some towns’ cruise nights are staged in parking lots, with maybe one tree for shade.
“Everybody is standing under that tree, like cows in a field on a hot day,” Brent said.
Cruisin’ to Clinton will start a new tradition of cruising by a nursing home or senior citizen housing facility at the close of each cruise night, at 7 p.m. On May 13, they will cruise to Clinton Healthcare, then drive out to the Olde Crow and Winery on Highway 7.
Cruise nights will also have food trucks at every event, Matt said —in May, TLC BBQ and Maw’s Kettle Corn. Vendors are welcome to apply, with no fee required, but must have a local vendor permit.
On June 10, Cruisin’ to Clinton will have a special attraction —a vintage bicycle show, Matt said, with bicycles from Clinton collector Skipper Buckley. Buckely collects models from the ‘60s and ’70s, including Schwinn Krate Sting Rays, a classic hot-rod version. Another bicycle collector is planning to bring a big-wheel bike, Matt said, and Charlie the Window-Washer will be on his bike in costume, complete with handlebar mustache.
The goal of a cruise night is to meet other car people and have a good time, Matt said, not have a competition, like at a car show. Cruise nights bring car buffs of all ages together, Brent said, and all types of collectible cars are welcome— originals, hot rods, racers and new cars.
On May 6, the C to C volunteers will bring their cars down to the Square for a prom night photo shoot at 4 p.m. Students will be photographed on a red carpet in front of vintage cars, with the photographs posted on Facebook afterwards. There is no charge for the event, which is being organized by Main Street’s Amanda Johnson. Cruise night volunteers continue to work with Main Street, Matt said, and also appreciate the continued support of David Lee at the Clinton Chamber of Commerce.
Both Matt and Brent have photos on their phones of their sons at a young age at car events. Matt remembers attending one of the first Clinton Cruise Nights with son Tanner when Tanner was an infant. He is now 21 and a big-time car guy, Matt said.
Brent has a selfie that his son Zach, who was 4 years old, took at a drag race. Zach is now 20, but is not into cars.
Their goal: to get more young people involved, Brent said. The car culture was dying back in 2005, he said, until car manufacturers reintroduced the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger, which revived it. The Cruisin’ to Clinton volunteers hope to support the trend by raising enough money to fund scholarships for vo-tech students in the future, Matt said. A 50-50 raffle held at each event will help cover costs, they said.
Clinton had a handful of car enthusiasts with large private collections, Matt said, but that number is down one, after Rich Theiler, who owned R.A.T. Rods in Clinton, passed away. Three other car collectors have their collections stored downtown, or one at his home. Cars that show up at Clinton’s cruise night can range from a few hundred dollars in value to models worth thousands of dollars, Matt said.
“If it’s your pride and job, bring it,” Brent said. “No one will be turned away.”
Cruisin’ to Clinton takes place on the second Saturday of the month from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. May through September, plus the third Saturday night of October. No entrance fee for cars or spectators. Cruisers afterwards will drive through the grounds of senior or rehab complexes, depending on the weather, but may skip July and August because of the heat, Matt said. For more information, check the Cruisin’ to Clinton facebook.
Upcoming car shows include the Clinton Technical School Car show fundraiser on May 6, and the Clinton Senior Center Car Show, also a fundraiser, on June 17. Both are fundraisers, with entry fees and awards.
