Meghann Evans/The News
Penny Edwards and Ed Biggers look at a 1934 Ford parked in downtown Mount Airy for the 2011 Vintage Rod Tour of the Vintage Street Rodders of America.
Meghann Evans/The News
Cars dating back to 1948 and older line downtown Mount Airy Thursday for a stop along the 2011 Vintage Rod Tour of the Vintage Street Rodders of America.
Meghann Evans/The News
Don Snyder of Shelby, Ohio, polishes his 1934 Chevy after arriving in Mount Airy with the Vintage Street Rodders of America, who included the city on their 2011 Vintage Rod Tour.
Meghann Evans/The News
Vintage cars sit on display in downtown Mount Airy on Thursday. Members of the Vintage Street Rodders of America stopped by during their 2011 Vintage Rod Tour.
Members of Vintage Street Rodders of America braved the heat Thursday afternoon to park their vintage cars in downtown Mount Airy for a few hours during their 2011 Vintage Rods Tour.
Mount Airy was the third stop along the group’s four-day tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which began in Cherokee on Wednesday and will end in Waynesboro, Va. Fifteen vintage cars were represented on the tour, and the club members planned to spend Thursday night in Mount Airy.
The right lane of Main Street downtown was blocked off for the club members to park their cars for the afternoon. Car owners sat nearby, chatting and talking to people about their cars despite temperatures in the upper 90s. Most of them planned to stay parked downtown until around 7 p.m. Passers-by viewed the cars as they drove through and walked downtown.
This was the first Vintage Rods Tour, according to club founder Jim Bledsoe. Vintage Street Rodders of America is a national club represented by 31 states and more than 500 members, according to Bledsoe. The club is open to people with cars from 1948 or older. Group members participate in shows and events year-round.
“We just enjoy the old cars,” Bledsoe remarked. “Most of us build and run them, too.”
Bledsoe said he came to Mount Airy on the Hot Rod Power Tour several years ago. He liked the city, so he decided to come back with the Vintage Rods Tour. He brought his 1934 Ford.
Don Snyder of Shelby, Ohio, brought his 1934 Chevrolet on the tour. He said, “It’s what I do in the summertime. This is what I do. It’s what we all do.”
Snyder said he goes to various car shows and participates in car tours during the year. He said most of the people that came on the Vintage Rods Tour drove a good distance to make the trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The tour took the cars to Cherokee, Little Switzerland, and then Mount Airy. The group will continue on to Roanoke, Va., and Waynesboro, Va.
For more information about Vintage Street Rodders of America, visit www.vsra-usa.com or call (423) 571-6430.
Contact Meghann Evans at 719-1952 or mevans@mtairynews.com.
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