Cruisin’ through Royal Oak

By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

ROYAL OAK — Gail Wakeen had a grin on her face as she watched all the classic cars cruise down Woodward on Aug. 16. She couldn’t help but recall her youth.

“I lived Up North, but I would come down with my friends in high school and cruise,” she said while sitting in front of the Belle Tire near 13 Mile Road in Royal Oak. “We would just go back and forth.”

Wakeen had a prime spot, in the shade and near the road, with her husband John. The two came from Ann Arbor, as they have done for the past three years.

“I love the old cars,” he said. “It’s exciting to not only see them, but to see so many of them moving.”

The two said they planned to stay stationary for the event.

“It’s nice to just sit back and watch,” Gail Wakeen said. “It’s cheaper too.”

Wakeen was referring to sky-high gas prices, which didn’t detour an estimated 1.2 million people from crowding Woodward Avenue in the 16-mile stretch from Ferndale to Pontiac for the 14th annual Dream Cruise, according to Royal Oak police.

“It’s one day a year,” said Kevin Briar, who brought his son Nathan from White Lake Township. “Once you get here, watching all the cars is free.”

Nathan, 6, said his favorite part of the cruise wasn’t all the classic cars. Instead, it was the giant inflatable slide inside Memorial Park.

“It went fast,” he said.

With picture-perfect weather all day on Aug. 16, people packed Memorial Park — dubbed the Eaton Performance Park — Northwood Shopping Center and the sidewalks along Woodward up and down Royal Oak.

Dave Morolli of Sterling Heights took a break from the action on Woodward to watch the 20th annual Royal Oak Grand National race at the Northwood Shopping Center with his two sons. The race featured quarter-scale NASCAR-type radio-control cars.

“This is the first time we’ve been out to see this,” he said about the race. “It’s really neat.”

Both sons, Anthony, 7, and Andrew, 10, said they enjoyed watching the races.

“I think it’s really cool when the cars crash into each other,” Andrew said as the cars took a break between races.

Jean Chamberlain, who sits on the board for the Woodward Dream Cruise, said the Grand National once again was a hit, with an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 stopping in to watch the races throughout the day.

“It was just a beautiful cruise, with a beautiful day,” Chamberlain said.

She said it appears that weather has more to do with attendance of the cruise than gas prices.

“I never thought people would stay away. I knew they would come,” she said. “There’s something about getting your classic car out of your garage and driving it.”

Officials with Royal Oak police said there were a couple of individuals who acted up, but for a crowd as big as it was, everyone generally behaved themselves.

“It was a very family-oriented crowd,” Deputy Chief Christopher Jahnke said. “It was friendly. Everyone was there for the same purpose — to see the cars go by.”

He said the department had 11 arrests on Aug. 16 and two arrests on Aug. 15 on Woodward. All but one were alcohol-related. The other arrest involved a man using his camera inappropriately, Jahnke said. The man was arrested for voyeurism, he said.