Stray Kat takes over Fort Scott's Main Street Saturday

Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Bartlesville, Okla., Dick Kroeber's 1930 Ford Model A, Kustomized with a 1953 Cadillac motor, sits on display Saturday during the Stray Kat Kustoms car show. Rayma Silvers/Tribune Photo

For the second year in a row, event organizer Mickey Bryan and Stray Kat Kustoms, a Dewey, Okla.-based company, entertained area residents with a showing of special custom cars.

Through the diligence of the Kissick Construction workers, a portion of the StreetScape project on Main Street was completed and cleaned up in time for the arrival of the Stray Kat Kustom vehicles, according to Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Vicki Pritchett.

"I am glad we had the portion of downtown that we had," Pritchett said. "We really appreciate the hard work of Mike Eddings (Kissick Construction project superintendent for the StreetScape project) to get the portion of the road done."

Eddings and his workers not only had the road put back together and open for the weekend event, Pritchett said, but they also spent extra time power washing and cleaning the street, so it would look nice for the car show.

According to Bryan, nearly 80 custom cars lined Main Street Saturday for the event. Although no official count of event attendees was completed, Pritchett said she was very pleased with the number of residents who viewed the cars.

"We thought it was a fantastic turnout," she said.

Stray Kat Kustoms enjoys conducting car shows in small communities across the United States and has a desire to see the local event prosper, Bryan said.

"Our group loves small town Americana and Fort Scott is a perfect example of what is good about this country," Bryan said. "We do another show in Dewey, Okla., that is similar to your community. This was our seventh year, and we had almost 400 cars attend the event. This is our goal with the show in Fort Scott."

On the subject of positive characteristics of the local community, Bryan said, "One of our car club sayings is 'You can't fake cool.' Fort Scott, Kansas, is not faking cool. Communities from all over the country try to create or fake what the Fort Scott community already has to offer. The downtown business district and cruising down National is an awesome resource, and it takes the visitors breath away when they drive down the streets for the first time. The Fort Scott community has a lot to be proud of and we are blessed that you are willing to share it with my friends."

Bryan said he would like to see the car show moved to the middle of June, explaining the date change may bring a possible increase in event participants.

"I believe with the right date Fort Scott can attract a big number of cars that will contribute to the local economy," Bryan said.

Crediting the success of this year's event to several local residents, Bryan said local businessman Jim Shoemaker helped provide the event with a sound system, enabling the day to run smoothly. Pritchett and the employees at the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce worked diligently, ensuring the event's success, and Cheryl Adamson and the Courtland Hotel and Aveda Day Spa helped to make the drivers feel welcomed in the community.

According to Bryan, Stray Kat Kustoms does not want the annual event to become just another car show. The company has hopes of attaining national exposure which will attract people from all over the country.