First of the season Mayberry Dream Cruise shows is Monday

Toledoan Gene Schwamberger, left, and Quentin Bettis, 10, in front of a Pontiac Bonneville. THE BLADE/LORI KING Enlarge | Buy This Photo

The love of classic cars has taken Sylvania residents Dan and Judy Twiss to a variety of shows and automobile related events.

“It has always been his love,” Mrs. Twiss said. The couple has four cars they show — two 1964 Plymouth's, a 1968 Plymouth Road Runner, and a 1970 Dodge Challenger. Married for 50 years this month, she said the vehicles hold great significance.

“We now own all the cars that we had early in our married life that we couldn't afford to keep. These are not the ones we've kept, but cars that we drove then and now we've kind of replicated,” she said.

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Both have been attending the Mayberry Dream Cruise Show since it began. It returns at 5 p.m. Monday to Mayberry Square just off Centennial Road, just south of Erie Road in Sylvania. The evening includes food, hanging out with friends and showing off vintage and newer vehicles.

Mr. Twiss said his interest in classic cars is more “nostalgic, than anything.”

He recently lost his vision, due to diabetes, but he still enjoys spending time with the many friends he and his wife have made over the past decade at car shows. Now retired, going to the shows can be the ultimate social connection for the pair.

Judy and Dan Twiss will be at the Mayberry Car Show which begins at 5 p.m. in Mayberry Square. Enlarge

“We like to mingle with the people,” he said.

Mrs. Twiss agreed.

“We don't go to shows to win. It's not our goal, but we've gotten things over the years, like fun little trophies,” she said.

Of the Mayberry show, Bruce Saba said, “It's a big thing out here, ranging from your real old cars, to your real new cars.”

He is the owner of Chili Jack's, a restaurant in the shopping center. The establishment experiences a tremendous increase in sales on the nights of the cruises.

“It's the four busiest days of the year for us,” he said. The Dream Cruises take place four times each summer, on the first Monday of the month, from June to September.

It's not uncommon for people to show up early.

“People bring their cars up at about 4 p.m. At the end, they'll usually do a burnout and show off the power of their car,” Mr. Saba said. An employee at Chili Jack's, Sarah Stykemain said the center is “extremely busy,” and the restaurant stays open past its regular closing time.

“As long as the car show is going on, we stay open. We don't close until its over,” she said.

But for the Twisses, it is an evening they wouldn't miss — for better or for worse. One of their cars will be in the shop for the entire summer, getting bodywork repairs, as well as new paint.

“There's always something,” Mrs. Twiss said. “It can be a very, very expensive hobby.”

Contact Kelly McLendon at: kmclendon@theblade.com or 419-206-0356.