Night CruZers Put Antique Autos on DisplayBy Phyllis McGuire
Special to iBerkshires
04:59PM / Monday, September 14, 2009
Photos by Paul Guillotte
 The Berkshire County Night CruZers filled the parking lot at Williamstown Commons with their beautifully restored automobiles. See more photos here. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — It is not unusual for parking spaces at Williamstown Commons to be occupied, but vehicles in 50 of those spaces last Wednesday, Sept. 9, were unusual.
Manufactured in the early 1920s up to the 1970s, the vehicles belong to members of the Berkshire County Night CruZers Car Club and other automobile enthusiasts. The nursing center was hosting the club's third annual CruZe Night.
"We like to do a show at Williamstown Commons so the residents can see the cars," said William "Bill" Popp of Pittsfield, president of the club established in 1988.
Currently, the club has 60 family memberships. To qualify to be a member, you must own a car that is at least 25 years old. "Some are modified cars," said Popp. "Older body style with later-model drive trains, discs, air conditioning ... ."
People enjoying CruZ Night ranged in age from 4 to l00.
Residents of Williamstown Commons in wheelchairs admired Popp's 1937 gray-and-blue Ford Cabriolet. "I've had it 15 years, and now it has a value of about $40,000," Popp said, as he stood next to one of the club's three yellow trailers emblazoned with the Night CruZers logo.
One-hundred-year-old Ernie Purpura, a resident of North Adams for 65 years, is a fan of Corvettes. His interest in Corvettes was awakened shortly after his son Robert moved from the family homestead and did not take his l959 white-and-aqua Corvette with him.
"I left it for my sister to go to school — University of Massachusetts," said Robert Purpura, who now lives in Rome, N.Y. "Then my father drove it and liked it."
 Over the years, Purpura's owned four Corvettes, and he and his wife had taken the 1954, 1959 and 1986 models to shows all over New England. "I won several awards with the 1959," he recalled. Purpura also drove his Corvettes in the Fall Foliage Parade for more than 20 years sporting the banner of North Adams Mayor John Barrett III.
This was the first time Butch Fenzie of Richmond had displayed his 1965 white Thunderbird at Williamstown Commons. Though he is partial to Thunderbirds, he blurted out, "I love that car!" when an antique white Nash, bearing a Vermont license plate, entered the parking lot.
John Lavariere of North Adams drove his 1949 purple Chevrolet pickup truck to the show, his son Mark, 5, sitting beside him.
Asked what he thought of that particular Chevrolet, 5-year-old Mark Meehan of Lanesborough gave a thumbs-up.
"Mark is a car enthusiast already," said his grandmother Carmine Lambombe, who had Mark and his 4-year-old sister, Lillian, in tow.
Robert Pedercini, 69, has been a car enthusiast since he was born, he said. He remembers standing on the car seat while his father taught him to drive. When he was 13, he collected hub caps and liked to restore cars. He worked in barns to earn money, and at age 16, bought a brand-new 1959 Plymouth "with wings on the back."
"I've been told that I was one of the first hot-rodders in the Pittsfield area," said Pedercini, who resides in Williamstown. "In the 1950s, we went to junkyards and scrapyards, and took door handles, electric-car silencers, switches, etc. There was no one you could buy parts from like you can now."
When you see a hot rod going down the road, he added, you probably do not realize that tens of thousands of dollars been have been invested in its reconstruction.
 A 20-year member of the Berkshire County Night CruZers, Pedercini owns a 1936 blue and black Chevrolet pick-up truck and a 1934 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery.
On Sept. 10, the Pedercinis drove to Lake George to participate in the 10th auto show held there. That event, at which 3,000 cars are displayed, draws l00,000 people. "Cars tour the streets," Pedercini said. Later in September, they will travel to Burlington, Vt., for another show.
"We have been going to shows for years," said Pedercini. "We meet a lot of people all over the country and make new friendships."
The money raised at Night CruZers' car shows is contributed to charity, including the United Way, Santa toy funds, and to local fire departments for safety equipment. Also, a scholarship is awarded annually to a graduate of McCann Technical School who has completed the automotive program and will continue in the trade. |
