23RD ANNUAL CAR SHOW: 1950s, '60s RELIVED THROUGH MUSIC AND CARS

Whether you were looking for the car of your dreams or the car you remember cruising in as a teen-ager, you could have found it Sunday at Capaha Park.

More than 200 cars and trucks from early Roadsters to brand new models were registered in the 23rd annual River City Rodders car show. A few were even for sale.

With brilliant paint jobs and waxed bodies, vehicles sparkled and glittered in the bright sunlight with their hoods and trunks open for the crowds to inspect. Music from the 1950s and 1960s blasted from loudspeakers, taking the crowd back to the days of carhops and drive-in theaters.

Some people came to find the car they remember riding in as children or the car they wanted as a teen-agers but couldn't afford to fix up. Others were just fascinated by the quality of the vehicles at the show.

Judges awarded three trophies in the 36 classes of competition, as well as an overall show winner.

But Zeno Amschler of Perryville, Mo., doesn't come to the show to compete. He's comfortable sitting around in the shade talking with other car enthusiasts about restoration and finding parts for cars.

Amschler spent about three years restoring his 1935 Plymouth. It took three trips to Hershey, Pa., to find all the parts he needed for the job.

"You try to find all steel parts and not fiberglass," he explained. It was a little more difficult for his car since the company went through a model change between 1934 and 1936.

The 1935 models are "sort of all by themselves," which can make finding parts more challenging, he said. "You're never really done with a car, you can always add different stuff onto it."

But the challenge is what keeps many of the enthusiasts coming back to shows and swap meets, said Danny Essner, a charter member of the River City Rodders Club.

Essner admits he has always been fascinated by cars and suspects most other people are too.

"For some, it's just the uniqueness of older cars and the workmanship," he said. "For some it's the horsepower."

Cars today are much more complex and complicated, Essner said. Older cars are much simpler and that adds to their appeal.

The River City Rodders car club actually began by chance meeting of a few car enthusiasts in the area, Essner said.

About 25 years ago, a few of the club's members would routinely cruise Broadway on Sunday afternoons in their vintage cars. They'd end up in the lower circle at Capaha Park to wax and polish the vehicles. Eventually they decided to start a club.

Membership has grown to about 50 people, including some new members in their 20s. The members own everything from original cars from the 1900s to the 1940s and even a few street rods.

Keith Farmer knows all about street rods he's customized plenty of them over the years for car enthusiasts and he judged that class Sunday afternoon.

A street rod is a customized car, generally from 1900 to 1948. Street machines are customized cars, meaning that they'd had some more modern conveniences and parts added, older than 1948.

Farmer, who owns Street Rod Lane shop in Scott City, Mo., said street rods are gaining in popularity.

The rise in popularity is due partly to people having more disposable income to spend on customizing or restoring older cars, he said. Baby boomers want the cars they drove as kids but with all the amenities of modern cars.

The club charges no admission fees for its annual show.

"It's important that you can bring your kids and families," Essner said.

The show is held each year at the park on the Sunday after the SEMO District Fair.