Years of automobile history were on full display in Moose Jaw over the weekend. For the first time since before the pandemic, the Western Canadian Nationals Car Show made its return to Saskatchewan on Saturday and Sunday. It was an opportunity for car lovers to see the oldest, youngest, dimmest and brightest types of models scattered across the Anderson Auto and Memorabilia Collection just east of the city. “The car manufacturers forget what class is, and people enjoy it. I don’t care if you’re a man or woman or ten-year-old kid. Classic cars are amazing,” said organizer Melanie Anderson. “There’s just so much to look at and I think that’s all that brings us together as one big, happy family.” All proceeds of the event were donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities Saskatchewan. Over 500 cars were registered for the event and just under 2,000 confirmed spectators rolled in on Saturday. As part of the charity drive, an automatic $20 was donated to Ronald McDonald House for every vehicle and spectator in attendance. Car owners travelled in from all Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. The event even brought car owners from Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. One Moose Jaw resident sported a model from 1932 which has connections to Saskatchewan and Manitoba. John Westervelt, who’s lived in Moose Jaw for the past five years, is the owner of the 32 Ford Three Window Coupe. Originally, Westervelt knew about the car in 1997 during the Red River flood and acquired the car ten years later. He knew a family from Morris Man., whose car was owned by the father. Curious about the model, he contacted the father’s daughter. “She sort of arranged for me to have that car providing I would do something with it, finish it and make something of it. I promised to do that,” he said. “The whole idea was not to flip it just to make money. And when I found out that it was a three-window coupe, I got really excited.” Westervelt knew the autobody business would be a passion of his from an early age. When he grew up, he began building and selling cars on a semi-regular basis. “I can remember being a kid and sitting on the front step, watching cars go by and trying to identify them all.” Since he retired, Westervelt started making adjustments to the model. “For example, it had a cloth roof, and that would have to be replaced with metal. And I thought if I’m going to have to replace that with metal, I’ll buy a car with a sunroof in it,” he explained. “I went to an auto recycler and acquired a 2010 Aveo wagon roof and cut it to fit. So now I have an electric sunroof, which wasn’t anywhere near something that was going to happen in [1932].” For Anderson, the event was another successful opportunity to raise money for charity. A total donation number hasn’t been released just yet, but the Andersons have raised over $163,000 running car-based events in the past 11 years.
