Who drives River Run? The car lovers

To Ralph Finch, cars are an American art form.

They aren’t just transportation, a means to get you from one place to another. Rather, Finch — a self-proclaimed lover of cars — says they are rolling works of art. They are special, beautiful and timeless.

“There’s something special about cars,” Finch said. “It’s a hobby. Some people go boating or camping. Cars are just that for me.”

Finch has been interested in cars since he was old enough to walk, driving his first vehicle when he was 14.

Now, he and his wife, Candy, have started a collection of vehicles — though he says his collection isn’t very large — and spend a great deal of time traveling to car shows and helping put on the annual Ol’ Marais River Run.

‘Just a classic’

The Finches just have a couple.

“They are too expensive to have too many of them,” he said. “They are a lot of fun and a good investment. They won’t lose money like the stock market.”

Finch is pretty proud of his 1969 Cadillac El Dorado.

“You get ideas from looking at cars that other people have done,” he said. “Every car is a little different.”

Candy Finch is more partial to the 1955 Chevy that’s been sitting in her garage for almost 18 years, though she admits it’s a touchy subject.

“My husband’s car has been repainted twice,” she joked. “I have just always loved ’55 Chevys. I love the way they look, and it’s just always been my favorite car.”

Her husband vowed to get the car done, though. Even if it’s taken him 18 years.

“I work on it once in awhile,” he said. “When I get it done, it’ll probably be my favorite. It’s just a classic.”

‘A friendship thing’

She got involved in car shows because her husband loved it so much, she says.

“I think it’s more a friendship thing for me,” she said. “It’s a way to get together with people that I really enjoy being around.”

She says you can walk around and look at all the cars, or you can sit your lawn chair up and talk to friends — either way, it’s fun.

“Everybody has a common interest in the cars,” she said. “I think that makes a huge difference.”

It didn’t hurt that she is a take charge person, she said. For that reason, she started volunteering to help organize the annual event.

“I don’t like to sit around,” she said. “I like to be busy.”

And busy is exactly what her husband says his wife is when it gets close to River Run time.

“My wife works twice as hard as I do,” he said. “It’s not just a husband thing. It’s a whole family type situation.”

‘Before TV’

When classic cars lined the streets. When people walked in and out of storefronts just for fun. When neighbors knew neighbors.

“When I was a kid, downtown Ottawa was just like it is on Cruise Night,” he said. “There were cars parked everywhere, and all the sidewalks were full.”

That’s why Finch says the annual cruise night is so important, so special.

“Back in the ’50s and ’60s, the time period in the U.S. was a whole lot different than it is now,” he said. “It takes you back 40 years in time.”

Finch said walking the streets and looking at the cars during the cruise night reminds him what it was like in those days.

“It was before TV,” he said. “It was more of a neighborhood and community type thing.”