On March 8, 1972, Waldon Barger bought a red orange 1972 Chevrolet C-10 Cheyenne from Hearl Brogan Chevrolet in Madison.
The truck later was passed down to his son, Donald Barger. It then went to the Conner side of the family and eventually was given to Donald Conner when he turned 16.
That was 19 years ago, and the Austin man still has it today. It still looks showroom new.
Over the years, he has taken it to benefit rides and on cruises in the area.
“My fiancée and I, we’ll go down to Madison and take it down on the river and cruise, we’ll go to Clarksville and cruise, so usually, on a Sunday evening, you’ll see us at Dairy Queen or a cruise-in, car show, stuff like that,” he said.
On Saturday, he took it to the Cruise with the Son open car show at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Seymour. That night, it was parked in the 100 block of South Chestnut Street during Scoop the Loop.
That was a new experience for him.
“I love it. This is fantastic,” Conner said. “I wish Austin and Scottsburg did something like this. I really do. This is great. … Everyone is here just to watch nice cars, compliment each other and they are all here for the same thing — because they enjoy seeing vehicles. When you can come together like that, that’s good, and there are all different walks of life here, from babies to middle-age people.”
In its heyday, Scoop the Loop brought people together in downtown Seymour as they made laps and gathered along the streets. After it went away for a while, it was revived in 2011.
“I’d hate to say how many people are here. It’s just for cars to go in a circle, and that’s what’s cool about it,” Conner said. “They are all here because they enjoy watching vehicles, and that’s something.”
A friend talked him into driving from Austin to Seymour to check it out Saturday, and Conner knew exactly what vehicle to take.
As people looked at the truck, they could peek under the hood and also check out the pictures of family members with it in a photo album and on the glove box.
“I like to go to shows so I can talk about the tradition,” Conner said. “My grandmother loved to ride in this truck. All my family would tell me stories about going to Florida in this truck. They had a camper shell on the back of it, and they would load up in the back with pillows and blankets and they would drive to Florida and all kinds of different things.”
It’s safe to say Conner is proud of the Cheyenne.
“As far as what it means to me, it’s just getting out and sharing the history of the truck and what it means,” he said. “A lot of people just have a vehicle. This one has been in the family for 50-some years, so it’s something I can pass down to more generations. I’ve put a lot of time and money into it hoping that it’ll stay the way it is so I can pass it down just like my family did.”
Nearby, Scott Reynolds of Brownstown was with his daughter, Presley Reynolds, 9, and stepson, Noah Christopher, 15, as they watched vehicles go by. They had their cellphones out taking pictures of ones that caught their eye.
“It’s a big event for the Seymour community and everybody around because all the communities come around all at once to make the big event,” Scott said. “That’s what makes it good — a lot of variety, a lot of cars.”
Scott wasn’t able to make it to the FOP Pre-Scoop Cruise-In and Car Show on Friday night because he had to work, so he made sure to arrive at the start of Scoop the Loop. He and the kids planned to stay for a while.
“We’ll stay for the whole thing,” he said.
Christopher said he liked all of the vehicles he saw and couldn’t pick a favorite.
“He’s a big car person. He likes cars, too,” Scott said.
Having his kids — part of the next generation — experience Scoop the Loop was a big deal.
“They’ve got to keep it going,” Scott said. “That’s what makes it so big like this. More generations get out here.”