Nine-year-old Dalton Berglund is something of a good luck charm for his father Mark.
Two years ago the Shell Rock, Iowa resident took his son to the Cruise to the Woods car show at the Webster County Fairgrounds and won an award for his1968 Chevy Camaro. Last year Dalton came to the show with a friend, and his friend won an award then too.
"I should start renting him out for $20," said his father, joking.
But despite the Berglunds' luck the annual Cruise to the Woods car show Sunday had almost nothing to do with awards, according to organizers.
"It's all about the cruise," said Heath Briggs, president of the WC Cruisers, which is host to the Midwest's largest cruise/car show. "It's really what makes this show special."
In fact with more than 1,200 cars filling the fairgrounds it would be almost impossible to pick out an actual "best in show," said Briggs, so the WC Cruisers simply pick out the their top ten favorites they saw throughout the day.
"It's not about the awards, it's about getting your car out one last time before the year's over," said Briggs.
The cruise consisted of nine different routes starting from the borders of Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, which all eventually met up in Stratford.
After nearly filling the town, the drivers cruised on in to the Webster County Fairgrounds. While some of them came from as far as Albert Lea, Minn., others came from a little closer to home.
Gene Pederson, of Humboldt, has turned his lifelong passion for cars and showing them into a family affair.
When Pederson was a "young man,'" he bought a 1935 Chevy for $25, he said, and a few months later sold it for $100.
"That's when I found out old cars were worth money," he said. "Now I've got the kids interested in it."
While he was showing his Chevy El Camino, his wife and son were showing their cars, a Chevy Camaro and a Pontiac GTO.
For others, it's not just one thing or another that brings them out, "it's everything," said Terry Helmers, of Coalville, who was showing his 1951 Chevy.
"All of it, I enjoy every bit of it," he said. "It's just good entertainment."
Contact Ian Schmit at (515) 573-2141 or ischmit@messengernews.net