Classic Car

Proud owners entered nearly 100 cars in the Fourth Annual Blast to the Past car show Saturday. The event was co-sponsored by the Kenneth Village Merchants Assn. and the Burbank Road'ers classic car club. Glendale police and fire department officers blocked off the 1400 block of West Kenneth Road in Glendale so merchants could host the show. They sold food and beverages on the street as shoppers and car enthusiasts admired vintage autos and enjoyed the atmosphere. Road'ers officials conducted two drawings for prizes and the Glendale Police Department SWAT team displayed its latest vehicle, canine officer and special weapons.

Team raising cash for Relay for Life A fundraiser for Relay for Life and the American Cancer society will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday at Far Niente, 204 1/2 N. Brand Blvd. Through silent auctions and opportunity drawings the event will raise money for the American Cancer Society and Hope Rises II, a team in Relay for Life, coming on Oct. 7 and 8 at the Glendale Sport Complex. Relay for Life is an event that celebrates cancer survivors and raises money for the American Cancer Society.

Before there was hip-hop, there was car-hop, a style of service that has all but disappeared, with one happy exception. Every Friday and Saturday night, you can find it at Bob's Big Boy restaurant In Toluca Lake. The place is swell. Teeny boppers and hep cats, squares and swing daddies can all be found there enjoying the same diner fare that Bob's has been dishing out since 1949. The building has been preserved in its original form earning it recognition as a Historical Place of Interest.

Gary Moskowitz These days, Terry "Moe" Wilcox drives around a refurbished, personalized 1929 Ford pickup, but for 30 years, the truck sat in Wilcox's garage collecting dust. Wilcox spent Saturday evening "talking shop" with other classic car enthusiasts about all the nuts and bolts that went into fixing up his car during Glendale's 11th annual Cruise Night, which was from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday along Brand Boulevard in Glendale. Saturday was Wilcox's first time entering his car in Cruise Night.

The news around Glendale early in 1917 was that war with Germany was looming. In response to that, an auxiliary to the Los Angeles Red Cross was formed at a meeting at the high school, and later in the year a local chapter began. Also that year, two local churches dedicated new structures: the First Lutheran on Easter Sunday, April 8, and the First Methodist Episcopal on June 9. And the Knights of Columbus Council No. 1920 was instituted. In 1917, Tropico had not yet been annexed to Glendale; there was no district council for the Boy Scouts, and the police and fire departments were still one unit.

About 400 people will be able to find parking on Brand on Saturday, but that's not why we're celebrating. Some 30,000 people will come to enjoy the classic cars filling the street at Glendale Cruise Night. The streets will be packed with people talking about their cars and dancing to the music of Flat Top Tom & His Jump Cats and The Alley Cats, along with Swing Syndicate, L.A. Bluescasters and The Rattlers. Restaurants will be dishing up meals by the hundreds.

Tim Willert They're coming. The '32 Fords, '56 T-Birds, '57 Chevys and '65 Mustangs that make Cruise Night go round. The city is hosting its annual classic car show and street concert from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. July 20. Organizers are expecting as many as 35,000 people to attend. "I think it's grown more popular because we have expanded the number of cars," event chairman Ross Ferris said Thursday. More than 400 classic cars and hot rods will line Brand Boulevard from Broadway to Doran Street, a far cry from the 150 or so cars at the inagural Cruise Night nine years ago. "Every time I look at a '56 Chevy I cry," said Councilman Dave Weaver, a Cruise Night regular.

Robert Chacon The Montrose Block Party and Hot Rod Show helped to kick off a day of Fourth of July festivities in the communities north of Glendale. The morning to mid-afternoon event drew an estimated 16,000 people to the 2300 and 2400 blocks of Honolulu Avenue on Sunday, with a classic car show, farmers market, food booths and live music, as well as bounce attractions, face-painting and pony rides for children. Standing 7 feet 2 in his stilts and Uncle Sam costume, Kurt Freitag strolled among the crowd.

CRESCENTA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL Crescenta Valley High School Class of 1968 is having its 35-year reunion on a three-day weekend cruise Oct. 10 to 13 on board the Ecstasy, sailing out of Long Beach to Ensenada and a day at sea. The cost is $353 per person. The reservation deadline is Aug. 8. For more information, call Chris Van Orden Knowles at 553-3242. HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL Hoover High School Class of 1993 will have its 10-year reunion July 26 at the Holly- wood Roosevelt Hotel.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is taking orders for license plates that mirror ones issued from the 1950s to the 1970s -- a program established under legislation introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silverlake). The state needs 7,500 orders by Jan. 1, 2015, to print the "legacy license plates," which have either blue, black or yellow backgrounds. Drivers must fill out a form, which is available on the DMV website , and pay $50. If the state does not meet the order threshold, it will refund the application fees, according to the L.A. Times.