SILVANA — Calling Silvana a quiet little cow town is usually accurate.
But on Sunday, quiet won’t be the right word.
Ed Goodridge, Sr., chairman of the Stillaguamish Tribe, has organized a car show that could bring as many as 300 hot rods to Silvana’s tiny downtown.
The show will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. along Pioneer Highway in Silvana. A sock hop is planned at 5 p.m. at Viking Hall, 1331 Pioneer Highway.
Goodridge got hooked on cars at a young age when he was growing up in the Arlington area and watched drag races at the airport. As he grew older and lived in Tacoma and Bremerton, he hung around with the crews of drag-racing stars such as Jerry "The King" Rush, Tommy "T.V." Ivo and Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen.
"Cars are just my thing," he said. "I’ve always liked putting stuff together."
That history and his hobby have come together in a business venture that will be the hub of activity Sunday. Goodridge and his wife, Linda, purchased the Old Silvana General Store and are converting it into a car hobby store. The store is packed full of car model kits, Hot Wheels and hundreds of framed historical photos of dragsters and drivers.
Goodridge hopes the car show will help his and other businesses in town. Next door, another tribal leader and relative, Sara Milliron-Schroedl, and her husband, Dan Schroedl, bought an antiques business, which they have renamed Bricky-Brack’n Bait.
"It might draw people here to Silvana," Goodridge said. "Pretty soon, other people will come and help in restoring the town."
Linda Goodridge is as hooked on cars as her husband and sons. Since the 1970s, they’ve always been buying and selling cars, some for parts, some for drag racing, some to collect.
"Ed and I have had so many cars together," she said. "It’s got to be over 450."
Her favorite, without hesitation, is a1956 Thunderbird. She had a shot at buying one in the 1970s but let the opportunity slip by. "My husband does not let me live that down to this day," she said.
Their son Dean has a red 1968 Chevelle with a 454-cubic-inch engine bored out to 468 cubic inches that will be in the show. It’s set up for drag racing, said Steve Durkin, who is helping organize the show. Another son, Eddie Jr., the tribe’s executive director, has a yellow Ferrari that might be at the show.
Reaction among Silvana residents has tended toward curiosity, said Jim Payne, co-owner of Willow and Jim’s Country Cafe a few doors down from Goodridge Sr.’s store.
"I haven’t heard anything negative," Payne said. "It sounds like an awful lot of cars."
His cafe normally closes by 3 p.m., but Payne plans to stay open until 5 p.m. Sunday to take advantage of the influx of people. Some of the waitresses found 1950s uniforms at thrift stores to wear, he said.
Richard Weese, who used to run the cafe with his wife, Faye, said the car show should be a good event, as long as it doesn’t "overwhelm the town" and cause traffic jams. "I just hope like heck it’s good for the town and good for them," Weese said of the Goodridges.
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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