MSRA’s “Back to the Fifties” event will celebrate 40 years of hot rods and community this summer in St. Paul, MN. In tribute to the event, we will be reposting excerpts from a series of articles that appeared in the MSRA LineChaser magazine in 2012 documenting the history of the event. Thanks to Bud Bloomquist for compiling the articles in the first place, to Gary Magner for facilitating them, to all the contributors and to Graphics Design Inc. for providing us files in the proper format.
These excerpts were originally published in the in Feb. 2012 issue of LineChaser.
Prior to the first Back to the 50’s, the club was working on being the host club for the 1974 Street Rod Nationals. Much work was being done to get ready to be the host and as an MSRA group we needed some experience to be able to host the Nats. It was all new to us.
Gene Sonnen and his girlfriend, Red, get the credit for coming up with this idea. Gene wanted to show Red how cruising was way back in the ‘50s. It was brought up at the membership meeting and we decided to give it a whirl. It would be a tune-up for the Nats and a time to have some fun. The date was set and it was Friday night June 21, 1974.
The first Back to the 50’s was held at Midway Shopping Center. One hundred fifty cars showed up. Jerry Johnson directed cars out of the parking lot in small groups to control traffic on University Avenue. The group cruised to the Grandview Theater to see the showing of “American Graffiti.” From there we cruised to Porky’s on University Avenue. Then we were free to cruise all we wanted. It was a great night of fun! The event was sponsored by Midway Commerce and Civic Association and MSRA.
Collaborators: Bud Bloomquist #54, Rick Schnell #251, Fred Romo #246, Mike Mason #L-8, Jim Jones #151
By now it’s history. MSRA’s Back to the 50’s Night” was probably the best event that has happened to the Association since it was formed back in ’67.
Designed as a pre-promotion for the NSRA Street Rod Nationals, the “50’s Night” provided those who participated a look into the past with some members dressing in the styles and traditions of those fabulous ‘50s. More than 2,500 Nats handbills were passed out to the thousands of people who viewed the cars on display in the Midway Shopping Center parking lot. More than 250 cars were counted during the one-hour parking lot show.
After the parking lot display, the cars were let loose on University Avenue to “cruise” just like the old days. The rods left the parking lot at intervals with two or three cars in a group. They overwhelmed the “Avenue” from every direction as people sat in lawn chairs on the curbs to watch the parade go by. Many young people were seen on the center island of University watching the rods go by at even a closer vantage point. One old “drunk” on the corner of University and Snelling was seen to dance the “Lindy” every time a street rod would pass. Many of the rods made the traditional pass through Porky’s Drive In on the first leg of the cruise. After about an hour of cruising, the rods returned to the parking lot for a regrouping and a side trip over to the local Grandview Theater where “American Graffiti” was about to let out.
Four different groups set out to the Grandview. Each group was taken to a different location so that the theater would be “blitzed” from every direction when the film let out. The theater is on the corner of Grand and Fairview in St Paul. When the film let out a 9:27pm, Grand Avenue was “alive” with street rods. The sidewalk in front of the theater had MSRA members handing out handbills to the totally unsuspecting theater patrons who walked out of the theater after viewing the film version of what was happening “live” in front of the theater. The reaction of the movie goers was unreal. The sight of low-rider ’50 Merc “Bailon” custom, many ’32 and ’34 Fords, ’40 Ford converts, ’57 Chevys, T Roadsters, rods and customs from the past and the people dressed in ‘50s styles literally “blew their minds”.
One young fellow and his girlfriend just stood on the sidewalk with their mouths open, staring. One guy said, “Look at the ‘Pharaohs’ Merc’”, pointing to Sterling Ashby’s custom of the ‘50s. (The car was built by Bailon Custom’s in Northern California in 1956 for Sonny Morris.) Just about the time everything was getting back to normal, a wine colored ’40 Ford “Woodie” driven by some “red-headed gal” slowly cruised up, waited for the semaphore on the corner to turn green and floored it and exposed a “mooner” in the rear window. After the crowed regained its composure and stopped laughing, they continued to watch the rods cruise by for the next half-hour.
After the Grandview Blitz, most of the rods returned to University Avenue and either cruised or pulled into Porky’s for Coke and onion rings or a “Twinburger” or went back to the parking lot to reminisce, or went to “The Esquire Bar” for free beer or went to Minneapolis’ Lake Street to give them a little taste of the evening.
The success of the evening prompted many members to ask that we do it again this late summer or early fall, which will allow those who couldn’t make the first one to get in on some of the fun. We’ll see … and let you know later.
By Jerry Johnson #L-1 – This article was take from the July 1974 LineChaser, and used in the 2012 look back.
The week before our first Back to the 50’s I was working in LA but the timing could not have been better. I had ordered my Tru Spoke chrome wheels a month earlier for my ‘34 Ford. I drove far south of LAX Thursday to pick up the wheels, went back to the motel and tied two boxes into one so I could check my 4 wheels as luggage on Western Airlines at no cost. My laundry was jammed into the boxes of wheels so they did not move.
There was no limit to how many bags to check in free in those days and they did not care whether it was a suitcase or boxes of wheels. To this day I am not sure how I pulled that one off.
Late Thursday, I arrived home and first thing Friday I was at the tire dealer so I could arrive at Midway Shopping Center with what I think was the first set of chrome Tru Spoke wire wheels to show up in Minnesota.
By Gary Magner #193
