For the last few years, a new event has emerged on the Pacific Northwest truck show scene. The Mid-Valley Cruise-In is held every year in the parking lot of the First Assembly of God church in Albany, Oregon. This year’s 9th annual show, held on August 13, was absolutely packed from driveway to driveway with over 200 street rods and pickups. There were also close to 20 trucks spread out across the back line, pressed and polished, and standing tall!
We can credit George Van Dyke of Tangent, Oregon for organizing this event and getting all of us “truck nuts” together for it every year. And based on the crowd’s excited reaction to the big rigs, not only does George’s church appreciate his efforts, but everybody else seems to, as well. The Mid-Valley Cruise-In, which features free admission and entry, is a community outreach and ministry program for the church. Any and all donations collected at this event goes toward the church’s Men’s Ministry group, which George’s son Brad Van Dyke plays a vital role in.
As always, there were plenty of reasons to attend this event including live music (retro bands crankin’ the oldies), freshly-grilled burgers, and tons of cool rides (big and small) to photograph and admire, all presented in a family-friendly atmosphere. This is strictly a “People’s Choice” event, and I must say that the choices over in the “truck nut” section made it tough to pick!
Looking to turn some heads, Eric Schoen rolled in with his beautifully-rebuilt maroon W900 which he has owned since 1995. And how could anyone miss our past cover trucker Mike Brown (April 2008) and his latest creation – a “Blazer Blue” 1970 Pete baby cab long hood log truck, restored and re-powered with an E-model Cat, and almost ready to hit the woods. Of course, George Van Dyke had several of his beautiful working and show trucks on display, too.
Some other cool rigs that made it out to the show included Mike McCay’s orange Pete 352 cabover, Bill Latimer’s two-tone blue V12 Detroit-powered A-Model, and Rick Franklin’s all original white and brown “Silver 92” V8-powered Kenworth A-Model single axle. Jeff Patterson also brought out his super-clean orange and white Peterbilt 389 and parked it right beside my yellow Farwest Steel-owned T800 KW.
Choosing the “Best of the Best” from this truck lineup was tough, but George Van Dyke managed to pull off 1st Place with his baby blue GMC hay truck – and rightfully so – that thing is perfect! This event is always fun, but what makes it great is the people (I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon). Thanks again to the First Assembly of God church and, of course, to George Van Dyke and his family for once again putting all of this together. We hope to see a few more of you PNW “big shots” next year!