South Euclid's Joe Guzik sits in the 1956 Chevy Bel Air he and his son, Chris, restored, during Mayfield's Annual Cruise Night on Saturday (June 11). Guzik is shown here enjoying Cruise Night with his grandchildren, from left, Gracie, Joey and Carly Guzik, of Lyndhurst.

MAYFIELD, Ohio -- This year’s Mayfield Village Annual Cruise Night -- which was more like a Cruise Late Afternoon due to its new, earlier 3-7 p.m. time slot -- was threatened by rain but to the relief of car owners and attendees, only a few sprinkles fell, allowing the fun to carry on.

The threat of rain Saturday (June 11) appeared to keep away some car owners. Nonetheless, hundreds did bring their classic autos out for a spin and a little showing off, to the delight of hundreds of attendees.

“I don’t mind if the car gets wet,” said Mayfield’s Victor Lerz, who was at the show with wife, Linda, and her prized, sparkling white 1966 Pontiac Bonneville 421 TRL convertible. ”I just don’t like driving in the rain. That’s when the car gets real dirty. Plus, we didn’t have to come very far.

Sal and Lisa Chuppa, of South Euclid, and their 1961 Ford F-100 pickup truck.

Linda Lerz has owned the Bonneville for 20 years, having bought it from a Westlake man she met at a Michigan car show. Finding the car was the culmination for her of a longtime search.

“I had a red 1966 Bonneville convertible when I was in high school and I loved that car,” she said. “I always wanted to get another one. I drove that (red) one until 1977.”

The Lerz’s attend many area car shows, including weekly events at Annabelle’s Drive-In in Mentor on Saturdays, Eastlake’s Boulevard of Flags on Thursdays, and weekly shows in Painesville and Burton. They are members of a Pontiac club and are looking forward to a June 26 All Pontiac and Orphan Show to be held at Chili’s Restaurant at 6652 Macedonia Commons. Orphans are cars no longer made, such Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles and Mercurys.

“We’re at this show every year,” Linda said of Mayfield Cruise Night. “It’s a great show because they let you cruise (on Wilson Mills Road).”

Formerly the owner of a ‘65 Ford Thunderbird, Victor Lerz’ classic car these days is a 1993 Cadillac Allante.

John Smithson, of Mentor-on-the-Lake and his 1937 Chevy.

Pretty much every classic car owner has a story to go along with their vehicle. For instance, Sal Chuppa, of South Euclid, and wife, Lisa, took in the afternoon sitting in front of their 1961 Ford F-100 pickup truck. While most showed off cars, Sal Chuppa said, ”I’m a truck guy. I’ve been a truck driver my whole adult life.”

Why a ‘61 Ford pickup? “That’s the kind of truck I drove (in the early ‘60s) when I was working for Marshall Ford (formerly in Mayfield Heights),” Sal said.

For Mentor-on-the-Lake’s John Smithson, found sitting behind the wheel of a 1937 Chevrolet, with its original small block engine, the story of how he came to ownthe car was simple. “It was a good buy,” he said of the car he’s owned for three years.

Ed Marks, of Aurora, displays his 1969 Mercury Cougar during Mayfield's Annual Cruise Night.

Smithson, like Sal Chuppa did with his pickup, added automatic transmission to his old Chevy. Like many collectors, Smithson said the ‘37 Chevy isn’t his only classic. He is in the process of working on a newer vintage Chevy at his home, a 1965 Impala.

Ed Marks, of Aurora, spent a portion of the afternoon wiping down the black leather interior of his bright blue 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible. “I have a ‘68 Cougar, too,” Marks said as he worked. “It’s in lime frost (color).” He also recently sold a Cougar.

The Cougar of the late 60s-early 70′s is a unique looking auto that features headlights hidden behind a grill that resembles a shark’s smile.

“This car was all over the country before I bought it from a guy in Mansfield,” Marks said. “It had several owners. But it was originally bought from, I think it was Wick Lincoln Mercury in East Cleveland.”

Marks’ Cougar was one of four parked in close proximity in the village’s Civic Center lot. Across from his was a 1970 model belonging to his brother, John Marks, of Northfield.

Victor and Linda Lerz stand beside Linda's dream car, her 1966 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, that features factory air conditioning and eight-lug wheels.

“His is rare,” Ed Marks said of his brother’s car. “It’s a 428 Cobra Jet factory four-speed. That’s one of only 35 (made). And it’s been highly modified with four-wheel disc brakes (and other things). There’s said to be $35,000 in the motor alone. He just bought it, though (he didn’t put in the $35,000 into) the motor. He got a helluva deal. There’s probably over $150,000 in that car. He didn’t pay anywhere near that. The car is from California. The (previous owner) did all the modifications.”

Joe Guzik, of South Euclid, who makes the Mayfield Cruise Night scene with his son and grandchildren every year, vintage cars and Cruise Night are family affairs. He has seven vintage cars, working at restoring them with his son, Chris, of Richmond Heights.

Spectators watch the passing parade of classic cars along Wilson Mills Road at Mayfield's Cruise Night.

Of his and Chris’s 1956 Chevy Bel Air convertible on display Saturday, Guzik said, “I’ve had it since 2009. It was a basket case and my son and I totally restored it. We did all the work ourselves. It took about eight years. This has a VA 265 engine. An original engine. Everything on it is original, but it’s been restored.”

While the cars are the main attraction at Cruise Night, there are plenty of other activities -- music supplied by three live bands and a DJ, kids games and an overall festive atmosphere. As is the case every year, attendees sit in folding chairs facing Wilson Mills Road chatting and watching the cars parade past.

Mentor's Wendy Samuele, left, who said she annually attends Mayfield's Cruise Night, and Debbie Garbo, an executive assistant in the Mayfield Village Building Department, and Cruise Night volunteer, at the event's t-shirt stand.

It is indeed the cars, traveling museums, of sorts, that keep the people coming back to Cruise Night each year. If it weren’t for those who put their heart and soul into these machines and make them available for all to see, a large part of America’s past would be lost.

Other area upcoming cruise-ins can be found here. Below is a sampling, many of them weekly:

• Samosky’s Homestyle Pizzeria Car Cruise in Valley City, 4 to 8 p.m. Monday (June 13)

• Weekly Car Cruise-Ins in downtown Cuyahoga Falls, 4 to 8 p.m. Mondays through Sept. 19

• Weekly Summer Ice Cream Social Cruise-in at Mootown Creamery, 437 W. Bagley Road in Berea, 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sept. 6, weather permitting

• Solon Tuesday Nights Cruisin the Commons, 6200 Enterprise Parkway in Solon, 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sept. 27

• South Town Cruise-In, 233 Lafayette Road in Medina, 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Oct. 12

• Slim and Chubby’s Strongsville Cruise-In, 12492 Prospect Road in Strongsville, 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sept. 28

• St. Charles-Knights of Columbus Car Show, at the St. Charles Wilbur Avenue parking lot in Parma, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 18

• Avon Lake Town Center Cruise-In, 32914 Walker Road in Avon Lake, 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays

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