Classics, crowds pack Lost in the '50s

SANDPOINT — More cars than usual, much sun and a big crowd marked the 25th anniversary of Lost in the ’50s.

By most concessions it was the sunny skies that prompted the muscle-busting crowd in downtown Sandpoint last weekend where more than 600 classic cars and pickups lined up along the main drag for passers to peruse.

“The weather brought out the public,” Dan Mimmack, who owns Northwest Handmade downtown, said. “It wasn’t too hot, it wasn’t rainy, it was a perfect year.”

The weekend, which included a host of entertainment from concerts and dances to the downtown car show, brought the people who lined up at local pubs and eateries such as Mickduff’s on First Avenue, where co-owner Duffy Mahoney saw a big bump in business.

“We were probably 20 percent more than previous years,” Mahoney said.

The local brew pub served an estimated 800 between Friday and Saturday, he said.

“That is a real big deal for us,” he said.

Mary Boyle at Old Geezer’s in the Cedar Street Bridge, who advertises her Reuben sandwiches as being the best in Idaho, said she had people waiting in line for a seat in her establishment.

“I went through 60 pounds of corned beef,” Boyle said.

 Tim Frazier at Cedar Street Bridge Cafe said the weekend increased his business by about 40 percent. He enlisted additional regular staffers to serve customers.

“It’s a nice boost,” he said.

Approximately 100 more registered vehicles joined the show than last year said Carolyn Gleason, who started the event 25 years ago.

 Motorists who registered their vehicles topped at 602, she said, and the crowd seemed bigger than in past years.

“In my estimation the crowd was way over what it’s been in the last two to three years, anyway,” Gleason said.

Gleason and her troupe of volunteers, who work from an office at Second Avenue Pizza, are still accepting donations to pay for the 2010 event, that cost approximately $9,000 for traffic control alone, and $2,500 for trophies, she said.

“Paying for performers are a large part of what we spend,” she said.

This year’s entertainment included Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits.

“He was fabulous,”  she said. “He was to die for.”

The event immediately benefits eateries, pubs and coffee shops, Mimmack said, but in the long run it is a boon for Sandpoint, its business community and the area in general.

“It really imprints,” Mimmack said. “They really remember the downtown experience as special and will tell others where they have been and then others will make the trip. Overall, it’s a huge image maker for us.”

Mahoney always enjoys the energy that Lost in the 50s brings.

“It’s one of my favorite weekends,” he said. “The whole town feels alive.”