Lost In The Fifties Car Club Cruises Into Marley Station Every Saturday Night

By Sharon Mager

“Now that’s some thunder!” one mid-50s man laughed while he strolled through the parking lot at Marley Station Mall on a comfortable Saturday evening as a 1960’s muscle car roared by. The GTO was one of about 400 classic cars at the weekly cruise sponsored by Lost in the Fifties Custom Car Club of Maryland.

Like stepping into the movie “American Graffiti,” oldies music drifted through the air as folks checked out the pristine vintage cars. A disc jockey played songs from the ‘50s and ‘60s as folks bought hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, soft drinks and snoballs. All that was missing was a young waitress on roller skates and Wolfman Jack howling in the background.

Club president John Taylor said things got started in the ‘80s when a group of classic car owners began meeting on Saturday mornings at Richard Lord’s paint shop in Pasadena near Jacobsville Elementary. Lord eventually became the club’s first president, they incorporated in the early ‘90s, and now have about 200 members.

“They just got together to shoot the breeze, drink coffee, and talk about what they were doing, what they had to work on, what parts they needed and stuff like that,” recalled Taylor, who began meeting with the guys after his mother gave him his father’s 1963 Ford Fairlane. “It was the first new car my parents purchased. That was a big thrill to go with my dad to get that car,” he reminisced.

As the club outgrew the paint shop, it moved to Faye’s Diner, which used to be located at Crain Highway and Delaware Avenue. The diner was perfect - embracing the 1950’s era and decorated with a variety of memorabilia – the classic car owners loved it.

The club held car shows and Saturday cruise nights in an empty gravel covered lot across the street. When Faye’s moved to Dorsey Road club members followed; it wasn’t uncommon to see up to 500 cars in the lot. Faye’s eventually closed when ownership changed and the club moved on. Four years ago it settled at Marley Station.

Gates officially open at 5:00pm every Saturday and families bring chairs, the children play, and there are usually a few dogs around to bark at the activity.

“This is the biggest cruise within 300 miles,” said Richard Boyd, who brings his Chevy Impala 409 from South Annapolis. A former semiprofessional racer, Boyd is passionate about the cars and fears that once the boomers are gone classic cruises will be just a memory.

John Taylor, on the other hand, believes there’s enough interest to keep the spark alive. “At least a dozen young adults attend each week,” he shared.

He sees the interest in his own family. His wife Marsha and son Christopher serve on the board of directors. In addition, Christopher, who has a ‘65 Mercury Comet, is the club’s photographer and historian. Taylor’s daughter, Stephanie, has a friend who owns 1968 and 1964 Volkswagen Beetles and a 1959 Ford F100; but she likes the Fairlane.

“My father passed away before my son was born, but Stephanie has memories about granddad washing and taking care of that car,” Taylor said, adding, “Everyone has memories of those old cars. I hear people say, ‘I had a car like that in high school!’ or ‘Hey, grand daddy had a car like that!’ There’s a connection.”

For more information about the club, visit www.lostn50s.com/who.php, or check out their Facebook page.