BUCYRUS — A break in the weather saw classic cars pulling out onto Sandusky Avenue and lapping through downtown Bucyrus for the second edition of Cruisin’ with the Cops Car Show.

Saturday’s parade of nearly 300 American muscle and European classics was hosted by the Bucyrus Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #68. The FOP took over the former Graffiti Cruise in 2017 when the Crawford County Customs and Classics Car Club decided to step away from the car show after 25 years.

Tom Walker, president of FOP Lodge #68, wasn’t surprised that registration numbers dipped a bit this year. The lodge hosted roughly 500 cars in the inaugural year of the Cruisin’ with the Cops Car Show. The storms that rolled through Saturday morning and were expected to hit the area again in the evening kept Walker busy on his phone as he took calls from gearheads as far away as West Virginia, Virginia, and Michigan, informing the lieutenant that they would not be attending.

“However, it’s still a fantastic show,” Walker said. “We’ve been blessed with wonderful weather up to this point.”

Now that the FOP had a year of experience under its belt, Walker noticed a few areas of improvement for the show when it came to behind-the-scenes work. “I would say it’s a lot less chaotic than it was last year,” Walker said.

The Eliminators Car Club volunteered to work the gates for the FOP. “It took a huge burden off us so we’re not chasing around cars. It gives us time to actually work on the logistics and do the things we need to do to keep the car show moving forward,” Walker explained.

The FOP fought a little bit of an uphill battle last year when they took over the car show. Some people believed the Graffiti Cruise came to an end, but the FOP’s work throughout the community and surrounding areas has shown that Bucyrus’ beloved car show has simply been reborn as Cruisin’ with the Cops.

“They love it,” Walker said of the community. “The city and the community has welcomed it. Any place I’ve gone to hand out flyers – Richland County, Marion County, up in Willard, Fostoria, places like that – you go to hand these out at car shows, people are so glad that this show has continued.”

Walker credited area car clubs for helping spread the word about Cruisin’ with the Cops.

“It’s at least the 27th year the car show has been in Bucyrus. We didn’t want to see it die,” Walker said. “It’s a labor of love, I’ll say that first, but it was a little scary when we first took it over. It’s a huge undertaking with all the logistics and the cost involved.

“The good news is that when it’s all said and done, we are able to make enough money for the FOP to give back to the community,” Walker added. “We were able to double our funding this year for the charities that we fund. So to be able to give them twice as much as we’ve ever been able to give them before is absolutely phenomenal.”

Money raised from the car show has allowed the FOP to continue its support of the Explorers Unit #229, Bucyrus Area Youth Soccer, Operation Hope for Christmas, Little League, and scholarships.

“The recession hurt everyone,” Walker said. “But we’ve now been able to bring all these things back. We’ve just got money flowing back into this community in droves as best we can. It’s nice to be able to give.

“This is truly a labor of love. I can’t believe the amount of support we’ve had from the community. Volunteers, people that come and attend these meetings are exceptional people,” Walker said.

He also credited his fellow law enforcement officers. “The guys and the dispatchers that work so hard behind the scenes to get this going. It’s all volunteer work,” Walker said. “I would give all the credit to the community and the staff that I have. They’re exceptional.”

Cars from nearly every decade cruised down Sandusky Avenue for hours Saturday afternoon. From Mary Street all the way down to Oakwood Avenue, the rumble of Mustangs, Chevelles, Corvettes, hot rods, and more could be heard as they drove the nearly mile-long route along Bucyrus’ main drag.

Laura Thomas of Crestline pulled her 1964 Ford Mustang into a spot at the corner of Sandusky Avenue and Charles Street, the pale turquoise a spot of bright color amidst some of the darker paint jobs.

“I’ve had it about nine years,” Thomas explained as she polished the car’s already-shiney bumper. “My husband actually built it for me from the ground up.”

Laura Thomas’ husband, Rick, purchased the car on eBay in 2009 and finished it nearly three years later. The project really did start from the ground up: the car arrived in pieces in a box.

“It was literally in a box. It was all tore apart. It was in Atlanta,” said Rick Thomas. The previous owner delivered the boxed-up car to the Thomases. “We just started from there.”

“This has been my dream car since I was 10 years old,” Thomas said. “This is called Frost Turquoise. This has always been my dream car; this has always been the color I wanted.”

The ‘64 Mustang is only one amongst the Thomas’ stable of seven show cars, but Thomas clearly has a favorite. “It’s been here every year since I’ve been able to drive it.”