A ’57 Chevy was practically still in its prime when the Cruise to the Woods made its debut 40 years ago this fall. It all started as just a small band of friends from Webster City who thought it would be fun to get in their classic cars, cruise the Iowa countryside in the autumn, and spend a leisurely afternoon at Briggs Woods Park.

About 75 cars and drivers turned out for that first cruise in 1984. Some 1,400-plus vintage vehicles are expected to turn out for the 40th annual Cruise to the Woods hosted by the WC Cruisers Car Club, this year at the Lizard Creek Ranch and Event Center, 1762 Johnson Ave., just north of Fort Dodge on Saturday, Sept. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 1.

No doubt, plenty of gleaming ’57 Chevys will again be on hand for the show. They may have a few more miles on them, but they still shine like new. As for the drivers, they’ve got a few more miles under the hood as well, but they still know how to have a good time.

Mike and Barb Briggs, founding members of the WC Cruisers, were there for the very first cruise and haven’t missed one yet.

“It was cold and rainy,” Barb Briggs recalled. “We sent the kids out to find wood to burn in the fire pit to keep us warm.”

That first cruise started at Humboldt, traveled south through Dolliver State Park, and then east to Briggs Woods Park in Hamilton County.

“The second year we added the route from Ankeny and we had about 150 cars,” Briggs said. “The next year we doubled that, and we started adding more routes. After we got to about 600 cars there just wasn’t room at Briggs Woods anymore.”

Other show sites over the years have included the Dayton Golf and Country Club, Kennedy Park, Sunkissed Meadows, the Webster County Fairgrounds, Harlan Rogers Park, and even one year when the show had to be moved to the Crossroads Mall parking lot due to rain at the show site

This year there will be 10 routes beginning from various points in Iowa and Minnesota. They will each converge upon the small town of Stratford to form one tremendous parade of vintage cars that will then proceed north through Dolliver Park and out to Lizard Creek.

While the final destination has moved several times over the years, Stratford as a convergence point and Dolliver Park as a drive-through have remained constant favorites, according to Briggs.

“Stratford and Dolliver are really important parts of the show,” said Briggs. “About half the cars go on the cruise.” The other half choose their own independent routes to reach the show site. “We will have cars coming into Lizard Creek starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, and it’s just cars coming in constantly after that,” she explained.

As always, spectators are encouraged to come out and look over the cars, do a little dreaming. There is a per car fee to get into the grounds for spectators, so Briggs encourages everyone to load up the car and have a great time together. While the cruise and the show may be the big events, there’s much more to do throughout the weekend, Briggs noted.

Rock and Roll lives at Saturday dance

Des Moines-based rock and roll band Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will perform at Lizard Creek Event Center on Saturday, Sept. 30, with doors opening at 6 p.m. The public is invited to come out and dance the night away to this classic sound.

Looking a bit like The Blues Brothers, and staying true to music as it was from 1950 through 1969, this band will be sure to have the rafters rocking.

Tickets are $10 and available at the door at Lizard Creek on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Garage sale on Saturday

All day Saturday is billed at Fun Day for the cruise. In addition to the evening dance, during the day there will be a garage tour, scavenger hunt by car, poker run, and games.

On Sunday, a craft show will return for the first time in a few years to the main show at Lizard Creek. Area crafters and vendors will have seasonal displays and offer a chance to do a little fun shopping while taking a break from looking at all the classic cars.