YOUR AD HERE »

100 vehicles drive in downtown for Bear River Young Life Car Show

Andy Bockelman
Chase Westberg displays his 1965 Ford Mustang in downtown Craig during the 11th annual Bear River Young Life Car Show Saturday. The fundraiser for the youth ministry organization featured 100 vehicles. Westberg first purchased his auto eight years ago at age 14 in South Dakota.
Andy Bockelman

11th annual Bear River Young Life Car Show awards

• Yampa Valley Bank Best Car of Show

Chuck Zulian, 1954 Cadillac

• Yampa Valley Bank Best Motorcycle of Show

Tom Murriah, 2009 Harley Davidson

• Rocky Mountain Auto Best Rat Rod

Merrick Jones, 1923 Ford T Bucket

• Masterworks Mechanical Best Truck

John Davis, 1959 Chevy Apache 3100

• Brother’s Custom Processing Best Hot Rod

Steve Kearne, 1966 Ford Fairlane GT

• Northwest Auto Glass Under Construction

Garret Munzing, 1974 Plymouth Duster

• T&H NAPA Auto Parts Best Original

Chuck Zulian, 1954 Cadillac

• Cook, Chevy Subaru and Ford Farthest Traveled

Jim Green, 1967 Ford Mustang (Whitesboro, Texas)

• Owners’ Choice

Joe and Casey Herod, 1950 Chevy 3100 Pickup

• Northwest Diesel Best Off-Road

Dusty and Janice Steinmasel, 1975 Jeep CJ5

• Ken Meyer Auto Body Best Import

Charlie Epp, 1977 911S Porsche

• People’s Choice

Jim Green, 1967 Ford Mustang

• People’s Choice Runner Up

Merrick Jones, 1923 Ford T Bucket

• Mayor’s Choice

Joe and Casey Herod, 1950 Chevy 3100 Pickup

• Sheriff’s Choice

Norm Fedde, 1956 Chevy 210

• Bear River Young Life Choice Award

Gene McDowell, 1937 Plymouth Coupe

Even if drivers had been able to park along Yampa Avenue Saturday, the 400 and 500 blocks of the street were full of hard bodies with decades of history behind them.

11th annual Bear River Young Life Car Show awards

• Yampa Valley Bank Best Car of Show

Chuck Zulian, 1954 Cadillac



• Yampa Valley Bank Best Motorcycle of Show

Tom Murriah, 2009 Harley Davidson



• Rocky Mountain Auto Best Rat Rod

Merrick Jones, 1923 Ford T Bucket

• Masterworks Mechanical Best Truck

John Davis, 1959 Chevy Apache 3100

• Brother’s Custom Processing Best Hot Rod

Steve Kearne, 1966 Ford Fairlane GT

• Northwest Auto Glass Under Construction

Garret Munzing, 1974 Plymouth Duster

• T&H NAPA Auto Parts Best Original

Chuck Zulian, 1954 Cadillac

• Cook, Chevy Subaru and Ford Farthest Traveled

Jim Green, 1967 Ford Mustang (Whitesboro, Texas)

• Owners’ Choice

Joe and Casey Herod, 1950 Chevy 3100 Pickup

• Northwest Diesel Best Off-Road

Dusty and Janice Steinmasel, 1975 Jeep CJ5

• Ken Meyer Auto Body Best Import

Charlie Epp, 1977 911S Porsche

• People’s Choice

Jim Green, 1967 Ford Mustang

• People’s Choice Runner Up

Merrick Jones, 1923 Ford T Bucket

• Mayor’s Choice

Joe and Casey Herod, 1950 Chevy 3100 Pickup

• Sheriff’s Choice

Norm Fedde, 1956 Chevy 210

• Bear River Young Life Choice Award

Gene McDowell, 1937 Plymouth Coupe

The 11th annual Bear River Young Life Car Show featured 100 cars, trucks, bikes and more, with owners proudly showing off the kind of care they’ve put into their classics or contemporary vehicles.

Craig’s own Chuck Zulian won the Yampa Valley Bank Best of Show award for his 1954 Cadillac, as well as the T&H NAPA Auto Parts Best Original.

The majority of awards featured the names of local businesses attached.

People’s Choice went to Jim Green for his 1967 Ford Mustang, and hailing from Whitesboro, Texas, Green also gained Cook, Chevy Subaru and Ford’s Farthest Traveled.

Another Mustang owner didn’t have to make quite the journey. Chase Westberg bought his 1965 model eight years ago for $500 at age 14.

The years of restoration has it looking far from the rusty heap he originally purchased when the Craig resident lived in South Dakota and looks closer to its glory days from 50 years ago.

“A lot of the guys that here have so much knowledge about what you can do and what you can improve on,” Westberg said. “People walk up, and either they owned one, or their buddy owned one, it brings back memories for everybody.”

Ken Baptist has a similar story with his 1946 Dodge sedan, however, it looks far different than in its heyday. Rather than keep it the same car it was originally, Ken and his father, Jim, reassembled the auto with a four-wheel drive from an old pickup after the car spent more than a half-century rotting in rural Moffat County.

“When we found it, it had a raccoon nest, and it had been parked there since 1957,” he said. “(Friday) was the first time it’s been on the road since.”

Being able to be in the show with his dad during Father’s Day weekend was a joy, Ken said.

“As a younger kid, I wasn’t into the mechanic thing,” he said. “As I got older, I just realized it was stupid not to listen to Dad, and I got to helping him with his roadster, but this is our car, we did it together.”

Among those in the crowd were some international visitors. New Zealand’s Warwick Allen and his parents, Jim and Neroli, happened to be passing through Craig en route to Dinosaur National Monument when they saw the auto gathering, their second in as many days, after checking out the Mustang Roundup in Steamboat Springs.

The family of Kiwis said it was a rare occasion to see the American style since vehicles in New Zealand have steering wheels on the right, and traffic drives in the left lane.

In the Southern Hemisphere, they have a special name for muscle cars from the USA.

“We call these ‘Yank tanks,’” Warwick and his father chuckled.

Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or abockelman@CraigDailyPress.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.