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Some sun and no rain for Lakers Car Club Show and Shine in Williams Lake

Car club event takes over downtown with motorheads and car enthusiasts

The Lakers Car Club hosted their Annual Spring Roundup Show and Shine on Sunday, May 29 in downtown Williams Lake, and luckily, the sun chose to shine as well.

The streets of downtown were packed with people, and the new location in the heart of town, using Spirit Square and Oliver Street, created a lively centre with lots to see, hear and even eat.

It was an incredible turnout, with around 215 entries, a first-ever kids’ class, music, food vendors, and even attendance by local celebrity pilot Jessica James of the reality TV series Lost Car Rescue.

Originally from Nimpo Lake, James was signing autographed pictures of the show’s cast for fans of the car salvage reality series and was able to disclose there will be an announcement on June 2. While the Tribune will have gone to press, information will be available online for fans of Lost Car Rescue via wltribune.com.

James repeated how Nimpo Lake, the area, and even the Tribune have a “big ol’ piece of my heart” as she was enjoying taking in the event.

Cars in attendance included a broad range, from street racers to rare classic cars, and each one had a story behind it, with more than just cars on display.

There were motorcycles, track cars not legal for the road, a 4x4 monster truck, and a motorized bicycle.

The Schwinn Whizzer on display by Sasha Kokesch was a restoration with an incredible backstory.

Bought new in 1947, the bicycle was his grandmother’s, and she chose all of the modifications, including front suspension forks, a rare modification at the time, now standard on most motorcycles and mountain bikes.

Kokesch grew up hearing stories about the “mystical Schwinn bicycle” his grandma rode to and from her job as a schoolteacher in rural Saskatchewan.

She rode it until it was worn out and she retired the bike sometime in the 1950s, then the bike was stored in a grain elevator for years.

In about 2007, Kokesch said his dad got the bike back and the two of them began restoring it, which took a few years to do.

Eventually, the Schwinn Whizzer was once again ready to run and Kokesch choked up as he recalled the day he was able to take his grandmother for a ride on her beloved bike.

Due to macular degeneration, his grandmother is legally blind, but she still loved getting to sit on the back as they drove the classic bike around Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, where she still lives at 93 years old.

She entered her bicycle in the Rocky Mountain House car show and won the best overall trophy after the work Kokesch and his father did.

The bike is now kept in a specially-made display cabinet in their home, but it gets to come out and run from time to time at car shows, where Kokesch can share this family history and a rare and beautiful bicycle.It was a day for collectors to share their cars and enthusiasts to collect photos and stories, as each entry seemed to have a tale behind it, whether it was how the vehicle was found, the process of restoring it or why this particular type of vehicle meant so much to the owner.

All-in-all it was a day for even those who aren’t car crazy to enjoy a vibrant public event in downtown with something for everyone to appreciate, including the weather.

Read more: Lakers Car Club gears up for return of Show and Shine in Williams Lake

Read more: Float plane pilot Jessica James lands lead role in History channel show, Lost Car Rescue



ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com

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Ruth Lloyd

About the Author: Ruth Lloyd

After moving back to Williams Lake, where I was born and graduated from school, I joined the amazing team at the Williams Lake Tribune in 2021.
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