Colby Diner transports Everett High School alumni back in time

They’re car guys — were, are and always will be. Over burgers and other lunch choices at Everett’s Colby Diner, their memories and good-natured jokes were flying.

Outside, it was an ordinary Thursday, with downtown workers running errands. One car parked out front — Ken Johnson’s shiny red 1969 Dodge Coronet R/T — hinted at the scene inside.

Once a month, a group calling themselves the “original Colby cruisers” meets for lunch at the diner. Nearly a dozen were there Thursday. The street takes them back. It’s where these Everett High School alumni relive the best times of their teenage lives.

Vintage cars are back downtown this weekend for the annual Cruzin’ to Colby spectacle. For these longtime friends, driving up and down Colby in a cool car was an every-weekend ritual.

Their memories are like scenes from “American Graffiti,” the George Lucas film that made a bittersweet tale of early ’60s cruising culture. Girls riding shotgun, stops at Herfy’s drive-in, dads checking odometers, the stories of Everett shared over lunch were echoes of more innocent times.

One long wall of the narrow Colby Diner is filled with framed photos of the men’s old cars. Some still own their high school rides, now collector treasures.

Dave Oczkewicz, a 1962 Everett High graduate, has three cars pictured on the wall: a red 1954 Chevy, a 1966 Plymouth Satellite and a 1970 Dodge Super Bee.

There’s a photo of Ron Osborn’s 1959 Edsel Corsair convertible. Osborn, 68, will drive that beauty Monday at Cruzin’ to Colby. His friends joked that they avoid calling it pink, instead describing the Edsel as “salmon.”

As a real cruiser, Osborn had a 1961 Ford Falcon and a 1964 Falcon Futura. After graduating from Everett High in 1965, he took a step up and got a new Mustang.

“In three days, I put 500 miles on it just cruising,” he said. Gene Fosheim, a 1969 Everett High graduate, also had Mustangs.

Oczkewicz recalled that his dad, the late Lloyd Oczkewicz, always told him to stay in Everett. One night, just cruising from north Everett’s Hilltop Drive In to 41st Street, he put 100 miles on his car.

The group’s elder statesman is Jack Kuehn, 80, a midyear Everett High graduate in 1952. A longtime police detective, he was with the Everett Police Department from 1965 to 1981. He never chased or ticketed Colby cruisers.

“I didn’t work traffic,” said Kuehn, who now takes his 1940 Ford Deluxe sedan to area car shows. Cars were a big part of his childhood.

“My dad ran a repair shop,” said Kuehn, who recalls winning Everett’s 1948 soapbox derby.

There’s one exception to the rule that everyone in the group went to Everett High. Gary Countryman, a 1963 Snohomish High graduate, had lots of friends in Everett. He cruised Colby in a 1960 Chevy El Camino.

By cruising, Countryman said, “we’d find out where the parties were.”

He remembers Fridays as the nights to bring a date cruising, “to show off that you were out with a girl.”

His family business, Countryman Signs/Screen Printers, made the group “Original Colby Cruiser” shirts, with Everett High’s Sammy Seagull logo. The business also creates annual posters for Cruzin’ to Colby.

After graduating from Everett High in 1957, Duane Gleave ran Re-Nu Auto Top Shop &Interior in downtown Everett. He remembers how Colby cruisers could tell “outsiders” by their license plates — back then, local plates had “D” as the first letter.

“And you knew guys by their cars. After they graduated and got married, you wouldn’t know them,” Gleave said.

Some were serious about racing, but not on Colby.

Al Furiak, a 1958 Everett High graduate, went on to race his 1963 Dodge at the Arlington Dragstrip, which was at the Arlington Airport.

“I bought it new and never got a ticket in that car,” Furiak said. The Arlington contests were sanctioned, but not the late-night races Furiak remembers on Highway 9 between Marysville and Arlington.

“Those Marysville guys had fast cars,” he said.

Not every cruiser had a fast or fancy car. Bob Mayer, part of Everett High’s class of 1965, helped start the lunch group a couple of years ago with his brother, Jim Mayer, and Countryman. On Thursday, Mayer pointed out the picture of his high school car — a 1960 Corvair.

Mukilteo’s Tom Nielsen, another group member, displayed his 1941 Mercury at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

“It had a chopped top and a Cadillac engine,” said Nielsen, a ‘62 Everett High graduate described by Oczkewicz as “a car guy’s car guy.”

“Colby wasn’t about racing,” Nielsen said. “It was about being seen.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Cruzin’ to Colby

The annual Cruzin’ to Colby, free for spectators, brings classic cars to downtown Everett Sunday and Monday. On Colby Avenue between Pacific and Everett avenues and on Hewitt from Hoyt to Oakes, the event is 1-5 p.m. Sunday with the Cruise on Colby. The Show ‘N’ Shine cruise and show is 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday. There’s a dance 6-10 p.m. Sunday at the Everett Holiday Inn, 3105 Pine St., $10 per person. On Monday, there’s live music downtown, the Wright Brothers Band 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Danny Vernon’s Illusion of Elvis 1-3 p.m. Awards are 3-4 p.m. Monday. Information: www.seattlerod-tiques.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A Sound Transit bus at it's new stop in the shadow of the newly opened Northgate Lightrail Station in Seattle. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Sound Transit may add overnight bus service between Everett, Seattle

The regional transit agency is seeking feedback on the proposed service changes, set to go into effect in fall 2026.

The Edmonds School District building on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mother sues Edmonds School District after her son’s fingertip was allegedly severed

The complaint alleges the boy’s special education teacher at Cedar Way Elementary closed the door on his finger in 2023.

Pedal-free electric bikes are considered motorcycles under Washington State law (Black Press Media file photo)
Stanwood Police: Pedal-free e-bikes are motorcycles

Unlike electric-assisted bikes, they need to be registered and operated by a properly endorsed driver.

The aftermath of a vandalism incident to the Irwin family's "skeleton army" display outside their Everett, Washington home. (Paul Irwin)
Despite vandalism spree, Everett light display owners vow to press on

Four attacks since September have taken a toll on Everett family’s Halloween and Christmas cheer.

Students, teachers, parents and first responders mill about during a pancake breakfast at Lowell Elementary School in 2023 in Everett. If approved, a proposed bond would pay for a complete replacement of Lowell Elementary as well as several other projects across the district. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett school board sends bond, levy measures to Feb. ballot

The $400 million bond would pay for a new school and building upgrades, while the levy would pay for locally funded expenses like extra-curriculars and athletics.

Edgewater Bridge construction workers talk as demolition continues on the bridge on Friday, May 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edgewater Bridge construction may impact parking on Everett street

As construction crews bring in large concrete beams necessary for construction, trucks could impact parking and slow traffic along Glenwood Avenue.

Customers walk in and out of Fred Meyer along Evergreen Way on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Closure of Fred Meyer leads Everett to consider solutions for vacant retail properties

One proposal would penalize landlords who don’t rent to new tenants after a store closes.

People leave notes on farmers market concept photos during an informational open house held at the Northwest Stream Center on Oct. 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County presents plans for Food and Farming Center

The future center will reside in McCollum Park and provide instrumental resources for local farmers to process, package and sell products.

People walk through Explorer Middle School’s new gymnasium during an open house on Oct. 7, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett middle school celebrates opening of new gym

The celebration came as the Mukilteo School District seeks the approval of another bond measure to finish rebuilding Explorer Middle School.

Daily Herald moves to new office near downtown Everett

The move came after the publication spent 12 years located in an office complex on 41st Street.

Women run free for health and wellness in Marysville

The second Women’s Freedom Run brought over 115 people together in support of mental and physical health.

Pop star Benson Boone comes home to Monroe High School

Boone, 23, proves you can take the star out of Monroe — but you can’t take Monroe out of the star.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.