Car enthusiasts come out for annual Flames of the Spirit Car Cruise despite COVID-19 concerns

POST FALLS — Michael Brooks likes showing off.

Especially his 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse, complete with a skeleton riding shotgun and a casket in the back end.

“I like doing the cruise,” said Brooks, of Hayden, before Saturday’s Flames of the Spirit Car Cruise in Post Falls. “If I get something, I get something. If I don’t that’s OK too. I’m just showing off my car. People seem to enjoy it, get inside and like to take pictures. I just love showing it off.”

John Ader of Hayden was showing off his 1964 Impala, something he also is quite proud of.

“When I come up here in the summer, this is what I do,” said Ader, who spends the winter months in Mesa, Ariz. “Pretty much every week, I’m doing a show somewhere.”

Saturday’s event was a little more stripped down due to COVID-19, with the annual car show canceled in conjunction with the Post Falls Festival.

But the show still went on.

“We thought about canceling the whole thing after Post Falls Days was canceled,” said Linda Fleming, who organized the event, put on for the eighth straight year by Calvary Lutheran Church. “But we’d already put so much into it. And some of us were itching to get out and do something. Since the people weren’t able to come to the festival or car show, we decided to bring the show to them.”

By 9:30 on Saturday morning, Fleming said 34 cars had shown up to show off. By the time cars left for the cruise route, it was closer to 50.

“We were expecting a larger-than-normal turnout just because the other car shows in the area had been canceled,” Fleming said. “The car club enthusiasts are excited to get out, show their cars off and go on a cruise.”

For Brooks, it’s been a process to get his car in prime shape.

“I did a lot of the body work and some of the sanding,” said Brooks, originally from Beverly Hills before relocating to the area 20 years ago. “I had G-Force Graphics do the rest of it. I told them, ‘This is what I want, and go for it.’ And it came out nice.”

Brooks’ car pays homage to his California roots as well, with a surfboard rack on the roof.

“I still surf,” Brooks said. “I’m 76, and still snowboard, skateboard and all that stuff. I really enjoy it.”

Traveling back from Lost in the ’50s in Sandpoint, his car suffered a bit of a setback.

“I usually do a lot of the local car shows, but not some of the bigger ones,” Brooks said. “I don’t like to travel that much. Coming back from Sandpoint last year, I got a crack in my windshield. A truck hit it with a rock. I went to a glass company, and they were able to find a new one back east, so I paid top dollar for it. It came out nice, and I just like how it looks. Full custom flames and airbags. The license plate says ‘GONSTYLE’, but the casket says ‘GoneNStyle’ so I’m going either way happy.”

Best in Show went to Pete Stohl of Post Falls. His prize: a $150 gift certificate to Les Schwab Tire Center.

For the past eight years, the church has coordinated the car show as part of its fundraising efforts for different charities such as the Family Promise and Meals on Wheels. Usually, the money is raised by collecting entrance fees from the car owners, but because of the lack of a showing, the church asked for canned and nonperishable food donations. Monetary donations will be split between the Post Falls Food Bank and sponsoring teens to attend the National Youth Conference in 2021.

Rob Chatters of Hayden has been working on his car — a 1951 Crosley station wagon — off and on for the last 20 years.

“I know Linda is a great lady,” Chatters said. “She’s a member of our car group the ‘Phuddy Duddy’s.’ I like to look at the cars, the entire car culture. It’s a good cause with the money going to the food bank. I don’t normally do the big shows, but I really like the atmosphere and giving something back to the town.”

Ader, who has been traveling to the area during the summer for the last 18 years, wasn’t aware of the cruise until last Tuesday.

“We love it here, but just not in the winter,” Ader said. “There’s usually a cruise at Yoke’s (in Post Falls) on Tuesdays, and they were passing out flyers for this. We do this show every year. We like seeing the cars and talking to the guys that have build them. I know a lot of these people, and there’s a lot of camaraderie. It’s really a common bond that really keeps me interested in coming back.”

Fleming echoed Ader’s thoughts.

“The car club community is such a warm, giving group,” Fleming said. “Everyone wants to see everyone else do well. They go out of their way to show their appreciation for what you’ve done with your vehicle. They are just so supportive of everything we do.”

And besides, it’s still fun, right?

“I really enjoy the people,” Chatters said. “I like seeing what other people are doing with their cars. It might not be my taste, but it’s their taste. And that’s what counts. They’ve put a lot of work into it, and they’re having fun. If you’re not having fun, then what the hay?”