ESTEVAN — The Estevan Car Club made Sunday brighter for Estevan seniors with their now-traditional drive-by.
The rain on Saturday pushed the gathering to the next day. Fortunately, more rain held off, and it turned out to be a nice day in the end with close to 40 members joining the seniors cruise.
"This is our third one," said Estevan Car Club organizer Nathan Dies. "Last year, we did this as well and it went pretty good, so we thought we'd try it again.
"We all know that age isn't going to wait for any of us. So, someday I might be in here, and hopefully, somebody comes and drives an old car past my place.
"And I think everybody enjoys doing this and realizes that it's appreciated," Dies added.
On the day of the cruise, participants gathered at the Ron Stregger Trenching parking lot at 1 p.m. From there they drove by Hill View Manor, then they went past the Estevan Regional Nursing Home a couple of times, drove by Creighton Lodge and finally made it to St. Joseph's Hospital' long-term care unit. There, most people parked their vehicles and took time to visit. As the cruise approached the facilities, seniors would come out or watch old fancy cars going by through the windows. At the final stop, many long-term care residents came outside to have a closer look at the vehicles and visit with the drivers.
Dies said he was happy with the turnout. They are now an informal club, and he did his best to reach as many people as he could through personal connections and social media to have a colourful and fun cruise for participants and seniors.
Most drivers were local, and one man came from Regina to join the cruise.
With the seniors cruise, the Estevan Car Club is getting close to wrapping up its 2023 season. There is nothing else planned. Depending on the weather, they might call for another gathering before the winter, but the majority of their activity for this summer is in the books.
Dies said they had a good time and hope the community enjoyed seeing them at their new location as well.
"It was pretty good; we had a new location this year and it worked out all right. We'd get 20 to 30 vehicles out once a month and something different every time. You don't get the same group of people every month," Dies said.
For any updates on the club's activities and projects and to join, check out the Estevan Car Club's Facebook page.
"Next year we'll do this again sometime, and if you know somebody with an old car that needs to get it out, encourage them to do so," Dies said.
