By Nathanael Chen
It was a cold April evening at the A&W restaurant on Kenmount Road, one of the popular spots where classic car owners gather. An old black Chevrolet Caprice was seen in the parking lot. Car show season is just around the corner.
Blair Chaulk is a creator of All Cars Welcome, a Facebook group for car enthusiasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, which currently boasts 1,800 members. He credits his wife for coming up with the name. He says that while most car owners would start coming to A&W Kenmount Road in early May, he had seen some in April.
“When I saw them, they were driving on the salt. I was like, ‘Oh, what are you doing?’ You know? But it’s their cars,” says Chaulk, the owner of a 2001 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.
Chaulk bought his light pewter metallic Camaro in 2015 and began attending car meets. However, he observed that the car meets were brand specific; Corvette or Oldsmobile owners would not go to a Camaro meet, for example, while others were specifically for antiques or classics. His Camaro was not old enough to qualify as an antique.
Some feel A&W Kenmount Road is exclusively reserved for classic cars, with younger car enthusiasts with import cars such as Subaru and Honda eventually choosing the A&W White Rose Drive location as their space.
“Everything is separated, and I don’t feel it should be,” Chaulk explains. “A lot of opinions out there. You’ve just got to brush it off and enjoy what you enjoy.”
Leon House created Wheels for Wishes in 2019, a community car show that doubles as a fundraiser for a children’s charity. Wheels for Wishes does not focus on awards, House says, but rather to serve as a space for everyone to enjoy the car show, regardless of gender, age or car model.
“It’s just about people who like cars coming together,” says House, adding that he enjoys evening car meets, even when the weather is still relatively cold.
“When you’re a car person and all you want to do is go and hang out with car people, winters become really long.”
House says there are no awards at Wheels for Wishes as a way to keep participants from feeling discouraged. Many car shows see awards go to those who spend the most money. No competition, House says, helps to bring the car community closer.
Chaulk adds that car show organizers usually plan a ‘rain date’ to reschedule the show should bad weather arise, which is a main challenge for car shows in Newfoundland. Scheduling, he says, is another.
Many people do not attend lesser-known car shows as the schedules often coincide with more popular shows held on the same day, especially in the summer months.
According to Chaulk, there are fewer car shows in Labrador due to the lower population. However, it is common to see older pickup trucks and SUVS used as daily drivers since places in Labrador do not use salt on the roads.
“If that was down here [Newfoundland] and you drive them all year, there will be none left of it,” says Chaulk.
Chaulk shares that there are two indoor car shows in Newfoundland and Labrador held in Bay Roberts and Marystown, though House says that having indoor car shows provides certain challenges. Typically, organizers charge an admission, and he has no desire to turn away potential visitors. On the other hand, there are few buildings in Newfoundland that can accommodate numerous cars. Last year, he says, there were 600 cars in the Wheels for Wishes show.
Both Chaulk and House have their reasons for their love of cars.
In 1979, Chaulk’s older brother brought home a 1978 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and that moment marked the beginning of his car obsession. He says it reminds him of the Smokey and the Bandit movie, which was popular at the time. Like many other car enthusiasts, he had models and posters. His first car was a four-door 1982 burgundy Dodge Aries.
“It had a bench seat, it was a cushy ride, like very smooth,” said Chaulk. “I thought it was a Cadillac, right?”
He also had an Innocenti, a small Italian car with a three-cylinder engine and a five-speed transmission, and a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, nicknamed ‘Gutless Cutlass’, with a 305 cubic inch engine that produced 180 horsepower.
“So many cars that I wish I had kept,” he says reflectively.
Leon House expresses his love for antique cars from the 20th century. He owns a red 1932 steel Ford Roadster that he bought from California, and a 1928 Ford Roadster pickup from Surrey, B.C.
“I am a hotrod person at heart. That’s just who I am,” says House, whose first car is a three-window 1929 Chevrolet AC Coupe that he bought from Mayerthorpe, Alberta.
House says Hot Rod cars allow him to choose to build the cars in his own way. He says he has never seen a 1929 Chevrolet that resembles his car. Old Chevrolet cars were built with wood and had steel nailed to the wooden frame, while older Fords were built with steel.
“After 1959, I kind of really lost interest,” he admits.
In the early 1990s, House went to a car show at Memorial Stadium where he helped his friend’s father unload a 1931 Chevrolet Coupe. He initially planned to buy a Corvette before changing his mind and becoming interested in hot rods.
He also owns a 1926 Ford Model T “Doctor’s Coupe”, which refers to the higher roof version of the car. Back in the day, doctors wore tall hats, and the roof was designed in such a way to make sure there was enough room for the doctor’s hat.
What’s next for Chaulk and House?
“I can’t wait. Can’t wait,” says Chaulk, looking forward to going to The Atlantic Nationals in Moncton, N.B., for the first time.
This past spring, House spent four nights a week in his garage.
“I can’t wait for car show season,” he says.
