Local Residents to Show Off “Street Rod” Cars at Retirement Community

A group of retired men who call themselves the “Gitalong Gang” will be showing off their old cars at Columbia Ridge Senior Living in Washougal. On Saturday, June 27, members of the club will converge from noon to 2:00 p.m. to show their “Street Rods” to residents and interested members of the community.

The vehicles are all American-made cars built prior to 1948, which is considered the end of the “Street Rod” era. .

Gitalong Gang member Norm Leetch of Fern Prairie outside of Camas, WA., had heard from a family member who works at Columbia Ridge Senior Living that they were interested in organizing a “Cruise-In” or other automotive-related event. So he approached Columbia Ridge Executive Director Kevin Ross about their club, and the date was set.

The Gitalong Gang is comprised of about 12 men from the Camas-Washougal area, each of whom own an average of 2-3 Street Rods, as well as an assortment of other classic cars and trucks.

The group has been in existence for at least 15 years; during that time, they have participated in numerous local and regional car shows, participated in the Camas Days parades and helped deliver food for the local fire departments to needy residents. The group frequently converges on Wednesday evenings during the summer at the Beaches Cruise-In at Portland International Raceway (the largest weekly event of its kind on the entire West Coast).

According to Leetch, in the past decade, Street Rods have become highly valuable and collectible; unrestored, original cars (or shells of cars) that previously sold for a few hundred dollars and now commanding prices of $30,000 and more for finished, fully “tricked-out” vehicles. It is common for these Street Rods to feature such up-to-the-minute features as anti-lock brakes, power steering, power seats, fuel-injected modern engines, sophisticated sound systems and custom upholstery and paint jobs, says Leetch

The Gitalong Gang will appear on Saturday, June 27 from noon to 2:00 p.m. at Columbia Ridge, which is located in the Lookout Ridge neighborhood, off Crown Rd. at 2300 W. 9th St. in Washougal.

Event attendance is open to the public and free. There will be complimentary root beer floats and nostalgic, period-appropriate music.

Columbia Ridge is a 56-unit retirement and assisted living community located between Camas and Washougal, WA. Built in 2001, and locally owned and managed, the community is located in the Lookout Ridge development. An addition of 14 new one-bedroom apartments is under construction, expected to open in the summer of 2009.

For more information, contact Richard Glenn, Community Outreach Director at Columbia Ridge at (360) 335-1238. Or email Richard at rglenn@springhillsl.com