GREAT RIVER ROAD RAMBLE TO COME DOWN HIGHWAY 61

A parade of 30 vintage cars will roll through Southeast Missouri June 6 on the way to the Gulf of Mexico in an event called the Great River Road Ramble.

The cars will drive from St. Peter, Mo., to Venice, La.

All the vehicles were built before 1968, with the oldest a 1928 Mercedes-Benz. Other entrants include a 1964 Ford Mustang, a 1959 Studebaker, Thunderbirds, a Delta 88, Cadillacs, a 1940 Buick and a 1937 Jaguar.

The tour is being held to celebrate 60 years of scenic motoring from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the continuation of a July 1998 tour the group drove from Kenora, Ontario, to St. Louis.

The sponsors are the Mississippi River Parkway Commission and Motor Memories, Inc., a Des Moines, Iowa, vintage car club.

Following Highway 61, the cars will begin June 6 after breakfast in St. Peter and stop for lunch in Ste. Genevieve. They are scheduled to be on display at Second and Market streets before heading to the final destination on the first day, Paducah, Ky.

Irene Werner, who is helping plan the Ste. Genevieve stop on behalf of the Ste. Genevieve Chamber of Commerce, said the first car is scheduled to arrive there about 10 a.m. They do not drive as a group because some of the vehicles are only capable of going 40 mph, she said.

They will travel 150-200 miles per day.

Short stops also will be made along the route, which goes through Cape Girardeau. Werner did not know whether one of the short stops would occur in Cape Girardeau.