Old U.S. 27 Tour runs for 17th year

Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter
·2 min read

COLDWATER — With police escort Wednesday at noon, nearly three dozen cars and trucks rolled north along on the 17th annual Old U.S. 27 Tour rolling car show and cruise.

When the tour arrives in Cheboygan on Saturday, 10 times the number of cars, trucks, and motorbikes will fill the roadway, escorted by law enforcement along the way.

A tee shirt maps the Old U.S. 27 route up the lower peninsula of Michigan.
A tee shirt maps the Old U.S. 27 route up the lower peninsula of Michigan.

Lansing area resident Craig Parrish created the idea and put together the tour in 2005. The tour took place every year but 2020 during COVID-19.

Why do hundreds make the trip? The word you hear is “camaraderie.”

His companion, Kim Davis, kept the tour going after Parrish's death in 2021 from cancer.

Dorr resident Craig Oliver said, “This is a Rambler. Marlin 1965. They only made 10,000 for two and a half years. They’re quite rare.” He bought his wife another one after she put a Hemi engine in his while he recovered from cancer.
Dorr resident Craig Oliver said, “This is a Rambler. Marlin 1965. They only made 10,000 for two and a half years. They’re quite rare.” He bought his wife another one after she put a Hemi engine in his while he recovered from cancer.

Contractor Craig Oliver of Dorr went for the first time last year. “In seven cities you have 13 car shows in six days. There is a little car show going on for a few hours and go on to the next one," he said.

Mike Shaw of Homer knew Parrish and was a regular. “We’re all old car people," he said.

Most are retired. A few take vacations to make the trip.

His wife Jean said the trip is fun. “We have a police escort to go through the intersections. People stand alongside the road and wave at us, even the Amish. It’s pretty cool.”

Mike Shaw drives a 1936 Dodge Brothers coupe. That was before Chrysler bought them out. The color is black cherry with the original hood ornament.
Mike Shaw drives a 1936 Dodge Brothers coupe. That was before Chrysler bought them out. The color is black cherry with the original hood ornament.

The tour unofficially started Monday night at the Coldwater Kilgore Car Cruise. Tourers turn back to Waterloo, Indiana, for lunch Tuesday at the historic train station, then cruise back to Coldwater Tuesday for a poker run scavenger hunt, another car show, and night at Adventure Zone, Short’s Drive Inn, and the Capri Drive-In theater.

Parrish had the idea to have Old U.S. 27 in Michigan become designated as a historic highway and went about making that happen by legislative action in 2010.

Route 66 and Old 27 were built in the same year, 1927. Route 66 was the east-west highway to go from Chicago to Los Angeles. Old 27 was the north-south highway from Cheboygan to Miami, Florida.

The Michigan route was replaced by I-69 and U.S. 127 in the 1960s. The course shows the drivers and passengers how Michigan road travel looked in past decades. 

The car tour caravan travels from Coldwater to Marshall, through Lansing, Dewitt, St. Johns, Ithaca, Alma, St. Louis, Shepherd, Clare, Harrison, Grayling, Gaylord, Wolverine, Indian River, and finally ending in Cheboygan.

Tom Maybourne and wife Pam are from Pleasant Lake, north of Jackson. This year, he drove a 1987 GMC Sierra. He’s afraid police won’t recognize him as the last vehicle in the line. Usually, he drives a 1978 GMC long-back step-side truck he bought brand new 45 years ago. The air conditioning blower didn't work this year.
Tom Maybourne and wife Pam are from Pleasant Lake, north of Jackson. This year, he drove a 1987 GMC Sierra. He’s afraid police won’t recognize him as the last vehicle in the line. Usually, he drives a 1978 GMC long-back step-side truck he bought brand new 45 years ago. The air conditioning blower didn't work this year.

Pam Maybourne from Pleasant Lake said, “The camaraderie is amazing. I love the little towns that make you feel so welcomed.”

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Cities plan events along the way. Each stop creates a car show of the classics and newer cars. The group will spend Wednesday night in DeWitt, Thursday in Clare, and Friday in Grayling, then cruise Gaylord Saturday before spending the night in Cheboygan.

---Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Old U.S. 27 Tour runs for 17th year