By tara petersen
Staff Writer
TARA PETERSEN A 1951 Ford Victoria owned by Roy Sperling, president of Cruise Knights Car Club, is lined up with several other antique and classic cars in Jamesburg Friday evening.
JAMESBURG — The forecast for thunderstorms didn’t keep classic car enthusiasts away from Jamesburg.
The first Jamesburg Cruise Night allowed over 45 car and motorcycle owners to show off their cherished possessions to whoever wandered by them in the drizzly rain.
This was the third attempt to hold the event.
The first two were rained out.
Jamesburg resident Roy Sperling brought his ’51 Ford Victoria to the July 18 Cruise Night.
He is president of the local non-profit organization that was responsible for the event, the Cruisin’ Knights Car Club of Central Jersey. The group has 25 active members.
"Cruises are different than car shows. Car shows give out trophies, and you’re committed for most of the day. (With) cruises, you come and go in a relaxed atmosphere, and you just hang out," Sperling said.
Sperling said that the Jamesburg Police Department approached with the idea of organizing the Cruise Night.
Peter Gurka was selling club T-shirts and hats alongside the backed-in vehicles with hoods popped.
He’s a real estate agent by trade, but takes pride in his 1969 Cadillac Sedan Deville that is "100-percent original."
Gurka said that a percentage of the proceeds from the items sold goes to the Jamesburg Presbyterian Church and the local food bank.
Sixty-two-year-old Pennsylvania resident Roger Pelton, who works in Monroe, came out for the Cruise Night with his wife Nancy. The couple attends many such events.
"Wherever there’s a car show (or cruise), that’s where I go," Pelton said. "I have made a lot of friends. I see a lot of people with the same interests."
He said of his 1982 Chevy truck, "It’s in better shape than me."
As interested spectators viewed the engines and shared stories, they listened to tunes played by Wolfman Jerry, as he calls himself. He is the owner of two antique cars, and travels to car events as a disc jockey.
"Anybody that has an old car knows who I am," he said.
Sperling said he hopes to hold Cruise Nights once per month in the summer, weather permitting.