Two area women among vehicle owners at Monroe County Fair's car show

MONROE — A couple of women showed their classic vehicles Sunday at the Monroe County Fair.

Former neighbors, Jennifer Cleve, of Milan, and Linda Cooley, of Maybee, and their husbands were among dozens of vehicle owners at the 27th Classic Car Show held in the Glenn Stock Arena at the fairgrounds. In all, there were about 160 vehicles from all over Monroe County and the Toledo area, said Doug Gilson, longtime disc jockey for the show.

Both Cleve and Cooley help their husbands with the vehicles.

This spring, Cleve applied polyethene to the original oak bed of the 1965 Chevrolet C10 pickup truck she owns with her husband, James.

“I was a carpenter for seven years in the ‘90s. I worked for Monroe County Opportunity Program's Weatherization Program,” Cleve said.

The restored orange truck has an original spare tire. The vehicle was shown at this year's Auto Rama in Detroit. “The rims were just painted,” Cleve said. “We try to go to as many (car shows) as we can. I like the cars and the people. The people share their stories There are not a lot of ladies (showing).”

Cleve said her dad, the late Alan Laming of Maybee, restored a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro when she was 16.

“He worked on it for five years. He was in a wheelchair at the time. He wanted it to be my first car,” Cleve said.

Cleve’s friend Linda Cooley and her husband, Brian, brought their blue 1970 Plymouth Duster to the fair car show Sunday. Linda enjoys driving the Duster and cleaning it.

“I take it to work. I like the fun and the noise," she said. "People sometimes stop me and want to take a picture with it."

Cleaning the classic car usually means dusting.

“We wash it only when necessary, like after going down a dirt road. We mostly dust it with Mist-N-Shine (detail spray) If she’s not cleaning it, she’s driving it,” Brian said.

The Duster has matching numbers, which means it has the original body, engine block and transmission.

Like Cleve, Linda had a dad who restored classic cars. She also would help him clean the vehicles. The Maybee grandmother never thought she’d be going to car shows.

“Then I married him,” she said. The Cooleys have been married for 38 years.

The couple also owns other vehicles, including a 2013 truck that Linda drives when it rains.

“(The Duster) is the pleasure one,” Brian said.

Taking over the annual Monroe County Fair car show this year were the Milan Backstreet Cruisers Car Club and the Hot Rods Motorcycle Awareness & Suicide Prevention Foundation. For years, the show was hosted by a Monroe car club, but its members are aging and needed help with the show, Gilson said.

Gilson returned as the disc jockey.

“We are revamping (the show),” he said. This year, the event was shortened, and the usual 1950s dance was not held. Gilson also expanded the musical selection.

“We aren’t just playing ‘50s music. We play everything. We are taking requests," Gilson said during the show.

La-Z-Boy was one of the show's sponsors and gave away a chair to a car owner.

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"That’s a big deal. This is the home of La-Z-Boy," Gilson said.

The car show at the Monroe County Fair isn't judged, so it's more of a car cruise, Gilson said. He said many car cruises take place in Monroe County in warmer months. There's one in Milan Aug. 3, and the Saline Summerfest car show is Aug. 10. Hot Rods Motorcycle Awareness & Suicide Prevention Foundation is having a show Sept. 17.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Two area women among owners at Monroe County Fair's 27th car show