RUSS’S GARAGE OF CLASSICS

Oliver Paipoonage Museum

On Saturday, July 8th, I met Russ for the second time. It was a week ago that I approached Russ Wanzuk. He was selling a trail-load of used car parts at the classic car rally at Thunder City Speedway. It’s one of his hobbies. He also restores vintage cars and does a first-classic job of it.

Russ’s Garage is a 50- by 100-foot brand new building that opened in early summer 2022. It’s located at Oliver Paipoonage Heritage Park, formerly known and still known as Founders Pioneer Museum. The property is 10 minutes south of the Kam River on Hwy. 61. Google the hours.

In addition to the usual vintage cars, Russ’s Garage has race cars, soap box cars, and pedal cars, and scads of memorabilia, including mounted, poster-size photographs which illustrate local history.

Between 1909 and 1927, Henry Ford produced 15 million Ford Model Ts. This 1924 Huckster was one of them. In Russ’s restoration, look in vain for scratches, dents, and oil stains. The original Huckster body could be ordered in any colour as long as it was black.

In 1941, my Dad and Mom and I rode in a classic car. Okay, it wasn’t called a classic back then, but it might have been a 1929 Dodge Sedan. We were travelling from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, to Sherbrooke, Quebec. I don’t remember much of the trip, being a one-year old. Later, after I learned to talk, my parents told me that the Trans-Canada highway at that time ended at Nipigon. They shipped the car by rail to North Bay or thereabouts. We shoulda kept that Dodge ̶ be worth a fortune today.

Today, Saturday, Russ’s Garage had a lot of business. I left more flyers at the desk: I am still searching for any clue about the whereabouts of a ’31 McLoughlin-Buick. Russ told me he hasn’t got any feedback yet from his contacts.

I picked up one clue. I will be checking Dorion.