While overcast skies put a damper on the classic car turnout for those unwilling to risk rain on their paintjobs, nearly a dozen enthusiasts brought their prized rides and project cars out to the George P. Memorial Car Show at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis on Saturday.
The car show was held in honor of George Peltonen II, a retiree from Napavine who spent the majority of his free time taking pictures at car shows. Peltonen died this year following a cancer recurrence in January.
Scott Coolidge and his wife, Kris Carter, of Centralia, both turned up to the car show with a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda they are currently restoring. While Coolidge could see how some people would not want to bring their cars out with the threat of rain, he expected more people to turn up for the car show.
“I figured there would be a lot more people out here for George (Peltonen),” Coolidge said. “That guy would crawl on his hands and knees to get out here for a car show if he had to. Nicest guy you’d ever meet, and he took the best pictures.”
Aside from car show photography in Lewis County, Peltonen also ran a photography restoration business where he’d bring damaged and faded vintage photos back to life. He was also skilled in photography of Washington’s varied landscapes.
Others in attendance at the George P. Memorial car show included Sunny Winters of Rochester with his 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, Chris Quimby of Centralia with his 1970 AMC Hornet SST, Paula Sandirk of Napavine with her 1978 Cadillac Coupe de Ville and Scooter Lopes of Chehalis with his 1966 GMC half-ton short-bed truck.
A pair of modern Dodge Challengers were also on display alongside a 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a classic 1980’s Porsche and a restored late 1960’s Ford Falcon.
Peltonen’s car photography can be viewed on his “Nice Rides/GPhotos” Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/niceridesgphotos. To view his landscape photography and restored photos, visit https://gphotodesigns.com/.
