| EVENT:. | Lewiston Hot August Nights |
| SPONSOR:. | City of Lewiston |
| DATE:. | August 27 - 28, 2004 |
| LOCATION:. | Lewiston, Idaho |
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By Jim Compton The annual Funfest in Lewiston lived up to its billingand was highlighted by the hospitality of Val and Howard Gunther, who once again opened their home to fellow Cascade Cougar Club members attending the event. Those who made the trek to Idaho included Elaine and Jim Pinkerton, Cheryl and Don Skinner, Judy and Eric Anders with Marc Ogren, Karen and Rick Morehouse, Charleen Bodvin, Larry Purviance, and Jim Compton. Friday was a wonderful day for a dam fine cruise, so off to Dworshak Dam we went. Dworshak Dam is near Orofino, Idaho, 40 miles east of Lewiston. The drive was great and partly caught on video. By sheer luck, the visitor's center had several displays of cougars and the life they lead. We also saw a movie about the last great logging run down the North Fork of the Clearwater River prior to Dworshak's construction. We had some really large lunches in the poolside diningroom of The Woodlot Café and Tavern in Ahsahka. |
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Cougar country: CCC Cats lined up at the Dworshak Dam. |
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Show Day was sunny and warm, but not too hot. Those staying at Howard and Val's met up near the show site with Charleen and Larry, plus Barb and Tim Weza and family, so we were able to get all eight CCC Cougars in a row sandwiched by Howard and Val's new maroon '65 T-Bird convertible and somebody's '59 Galaxie. A ninth Cougar was just up the street and entered by the Lewis and Clark State College Auto Mechanics Club. It was black and set up for racing with a very loud 428. The show featured a total of 306 cars, which included 17 Mustangs, five Camaros, and seven "Cameros." Don't laugh; I've seen a few of those listed for sale in the Tri-City Herald over the years, too. Show goody bags included a separate piece of paper marked "Best Of Show Ballet." We believe Swan Lake edged The Nutcracker, but no Cougars or Mustangs won show prizes. Don and Cheryl, Rick and Karen, and Charleen and Larry all won door prizes, though. |
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This dam group shot includes Jim Compton, Don Skinner, Cheryl Skinner, Jim Pinkerton, Elaine Pinkerton, Eric Anders, Judy Anders, Val Guenther, Howard Guenther, Karen Morehouse, Rick Morehouse, Marc Ogren. |
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Saturday evening was perfect for a great concert headlined by Herman's Hermits, led by Peter Noone. They put on a terrific show, playing many of their old hits, plus several others. Peter didn't even have to ask the crowd to sing along with them on "Love Potion #9." When he asked the crowd to join in for an extended version of "Henry The Eighth," nearly everyone did. The Hermits were preceded by The Buckinghams, another popular '60s group. They, too, sang a mix of their old hits and others. Most of the original band is now gone, though; and the current group was not as good as the old. |
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Eight in a row: CCC Cougars on display at Lewiston's Hot August Nights. |
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Back at the Guenthers' after the concert, we discovered that Coors (concert vendor) and the other breweries were reducing CO2 emissions, replacing it with nitrous oxide. As the overall squiffness level increased, so did the difficulty of not laughing at everything said. I'm amazed at how quickly some people can crack a joke or pun at somebody else's comment when squiffed at 2:00 a.m. It helped that some of us were totally sober or had stopped drinking much earlier so that we could supply straight lines. Even so, everyone was back up and packing to go as early as 7:30 sunday morning and no later than 8:30. Everyone was gone by about 10:00 to repeated calls that sounded a lot like "Drive safe insane." |
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The CCC's eight Cats were among 306 classics that lined the streets of Lewiston during the Hot August Nights show. |
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PHOTOS BY JIM COMPTON |
