Twice a month, the Whatcom County Cruising Association (WCCA) hosts meetings for members at the Cedars RV Resort in Ferndale. These gatherings are an opportunity to meet new and old friends, enjoy good food, and geek out over antique vehicles.
“We’re a big family,” says Russ Gregor, a member of WCCA.
After some friendly conversations and light teasing, the meeting begins. First, they recite the Pledge of Allegiance, introduce themselves, and recap the previous meeting. After a couple more announcements, it’s time to talk about the logistics of the next upcoming car show—in this case, on May 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This was WCCA’s first antique car show of 2025, and people arrived from all over Whatcom and Skagit Counties to show off their vehicles, from cities such as Maple Falls, Mount Vernon, and Ferndale. Over 130 vehicles were registered for the show—WCCA even had to turn people away!
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
WCCA was started in 1985 by 12-14 people, including Carl Bishop, Gary Patterson, Gary Abercrombie, John Lira, Andy Ochoa, Greg Irwin, Ken and Louise Sager, Larry Schaffer, and Jim Russell. Their first car show was a year later, and there are now three shows annually: the Spring Car Show in May, the Firecracker Car Show in July, and the Fall Car Show in September. The club donates the profits from the car shows to nonprofits such as the Boys and Girls Club of Whatcom County (Ferndale location), the Ferndale Food Bank, Project Santa Claus, and the Vietnam Veterans Chapter #165.
Awards were given out at the end of the May show, including Favorite Truck, WCCA Choice, Favorite Motorcycle, and Award in Excellence. There were also individual awards for the best vehicle from the 30’s to the 2000s. Schaffer won the Participant’s Choice award for his 1948 Thames Panel. He has won around 200 trophies from various car shows. Schaffer’s winning vehicle is just one of many that he has worked on in his vast car garage.
“The cars he’s built are beautiful,” says Gregor.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
Working on cars runs in Schaffer’s blood—his dad was a car mechanic. There’s photographic evidence of Schaffer working on cars as early as four years old, marking the beginning of his lifelong passion for cars.
Schaffer bought his first car in 1988, built it from the ground up in his shop the following year, and had it on the road by 1991. Since the original build, the car has had three different paint jobs and has traveled 60,000 miles. The third car Schaffer ever bought is the rarest car he owns: a 1936 English Ford CX he built from scratch. According to him, there are fewer than 50 recorded in the world and fewer than five in the United States, making this car incredibly valuable.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
Schaffer also has an equally impressive, if not more so, antique model vehicle collection. He keeps them in glass cases that he built himself, in a black-and-white tiled room down the hallway from his garage. In addition to the 2,700 models themselves are many scenes with miniature figurines, including a COVID-19 swabbing station, a car wash, and an outdoor farmers market.
“I’m a little car crazy, as you can tell,” laughs Schaffer.
Schaffer isn’t the only member with an extensive background in antique cars. Shelby Harksell, WCCA’s Media Director, was named after the first racecar her mom rode in, a 1966 Carroll Shelby Mustang GT350. Harksell’s middle name is Allison, after Bobby Allison, an American racecar driver. As Harksell’s parents met in Southern California at the racetracks, naming their child after racecars and racecar drivers only makes sense. Little did they know that these names would lead Harksell to her lifelong partner some decades later.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
At the time, Peter Harksell worked at Pure Vision, a car factory in Southern California. He had been working with them for less than a year, and didn’t know many people in the area. A customer visited Pure Vision looking for Shelby parts to put on their Mustang, and while Pure Vision ended up not taking that project, Harksell wanted to learn more about the car. He searched ‘Shelby Mustangs’ on MySpace, which is how he ran across his future wife’s MySpace profile.
“Back in the day, my MySpace [profile] picture was of the Mustang I’m named after, and my display name was ‘Miss Stang’…He looked at my pictures and was like oh there’s this cute girl and she’s in California,” laughs Harksell.
And the rest is history.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
The Harksells wanted to open a car garage and decided Washington would be a good place to start. Now, they are the proud owners of Muscle Car Beach, a classic car repair shop located in Ferndale that opened in 2023. Antique automobiles brought the Harksells together, and they continue to be an important part of their lives, as they are both members of WCCA!
Michael Croxton, the president of WCCA, has always had a soft spot for antique automobiles. Croxton attended Oregon State University, and in 1968, he had a roommate with a brand-new 1960 Z/28 Camaro.
“I can remember he was really nice about letting us go for rides in it, in the passenger seat,” says Croxton. “I said to myself at the time, ‘I’m going to own one of these someday.’”
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
Many years later, Croxton bought a 1968 Cordovan Maroon Chevrolet Camaro SS-396, which he nicknamed ‘Ricky Camaro.’ Nearly four years and $50,000 later, not much is the same about the car, other than the color. Beginning in January 2021 and ending in December of 2024, the repairs Croxton made to the car were “vast,” including replacing the rear quarter panels, the rear trunk lid, front fender, radiator and shroud, grill, windshield and rear window, tires, and much more. B&R Automotive in Centralia worked on the car, and Croxton loved working with them.
“I cannot recommend them [enough]…These guys are the best!” says Croxton.
Croxton filled an entire binder with photos documenting every detail of the repair journey, and he loves to share the Camaro’s story. If you happen to run into him at a car show and are interested in learning more about the restoration process, don’t be afraid to ask!
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
WCCA’s more than 60 members range in age from the late teens to the 90s; the majority are over 50, and Gregor wants more young people to get involved. Not only because the club would benefit from an increase in enrollment, but also because the older the members get, the harder it is to run the car shows. There’s no age requirement, and families are welcome—many members bring their kids to meetings and shows!
If you’re interested in antique vehicles, WCCA is the perfect place to start! If you’re considering joining the club, you’ll need to attend a minimum of two events or meetings. The membership application costs $20 a year for an individual or $25 for a couple. To meet some members before joining, head to the Fall Car Show on September 1 (the last WCCA car show this year).
Ferndale, wccacruisers.org
