‘Rust or Shine’ Draws Record Crowd

Car enthusiasts all the way from Bellingham, Spokane, and Salem, Oregon, turned out Sunday for the Rust or Shine Car Show and Music Festival in Chehalis. The event, hosted by the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis, was the largest it’s ever been, as the pandemic has forced most other shows to cancel.

“We’re literally like the only car show,” Chip Duncan, the museum’s executive director, said. “There’s a lot of frustration that a lot of other car shows have gotten canceled.”

Although organizers encouraged people to follow health guidelines, most attendees did not wear masks. 

A stroll through the show, flanked by the museum and a line of rusty railcars, was like a trip back in time. A five-piece bluegrass band welcomed the parade of vintage cars as Chicago-style pin-up models in heels and straw hats strutted through the rows. 

Standing in front of his 1931 Ford Roadster, Fred Moon explained how his rusty ember-colored car came to be. A friend bought the body in 1969 on his way down to Reno. By then, the car was already filled with history — literally. 

“The doors were all stuffed with newspapers,” Moon said. “I cleaned all them out, and they were New York Yankee game coverage from the ‘50s.”

The show ranged from brand-new Mustangs to 1920s Model As, hot rods and rusty rat rods, Pontiac convertibles and military cargo trucks. Duncan’s own show-car, a 1951 GMC pickup truck, was a family affair to build. His kids helped sand the black primer off the frame, revealing a tie-dye-like pattern of silver, red, and teal. Duncan also had to weld over some bullet holes. 

“It sat out in the field for years, so it was just used as target practice,” Duncan said. 

Kylie Dahl, a museum volunteer, spent her time managing the pin-up fundraising competition, calling herself the “pin-up wrangler.” She stood by a Jeep filled with several pairs of heels. Part of the job, she said, is driving contestants around when their feet get sore. 

The contest began three years ago, and was originally composed entirely of Dahl’s burlesque troop, the Hub City Shimmy. As a Burlesque performer and history buff, Dahl said the pin-up contest is a great mix of her interests.

“A lot of people don’t realize, but burlesque has always been tied to the military and to the pin-up girl thing as well,” Dahl said. “Burlesque was done at the U.S.O. shows, so it all goes hand-in-hand, and it’s all part of the experience.” 

Although most cars represented an opportunity to peer into history, some ventured into the realm of fiction. 

Raymond Herrera’s fantasy yellow rat rod pickup, for example, was brought all the way from Salem, Oregon. Herrera said the bullet holes prove that it was once a “moonshine car” used to illegally transport alcohol. But other than that, the car was constructed around a fantasy. 

After installing a flying pig hood ornament, Herrera concocted a story around the fictitious “Flying Pig Garage” in the non-existent town of Moonshine, Kentucky.  His friend designed a logo for the fake garage, which is slapped on both doors. The smorgasbord-of-a-car is decked out with two real bomb shells, which Herrera plans on turning into flame-throwers. The gas tank is two kegs welded together, and sits in the bed.

Trophies made from scrap metal and welded together by Duncan himself were handed out to contestants, and funds raised will go to support the Veterans Memorial Museum.