R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press | Owners of well-kept classic cars appreciate each other’s projects. The group meets every Wednesday at Upper Peninsula State Bank on North Lincoln Road.

ESCANABA — Auto shows are popular worldwide, and in some places, year-round. But in the Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and intense, there are only a few months a year when most owners of historic cars and other unique vehicles are comfortable taking their precious automobiles to the streets.

Regardless of whether these machines are winterized or run year-round, the events that gather them in Delta County take place pretty much between May and September. The casual group that meets on Wednesday evenings at Upper Peninsula State Bank in Escanaba begins as soon as the weather is deemed nice enough.

When Tom Flynn first called up the pals he knew with classic cars and wanted to start getting together regularly, there weren’t as many such gatherings as there are today, he said. The annual fun run was big, he remembers — bigger than today — but it was just once a year. Flynn was looking for something to do, and a social group around cool cars fit the bill. While some other car shows have financial aims, “this one’s about everyone getting together and enjoying the cars,” Tom said.

Presently, the group — which is not an official organization of any sort — meets Wednesday evenings beginning around 5 or 6 p.m. in the parking lot of U. P. State Bank on Lincoln Road (US 2), but they’ve hopped around a bit. About 10 years ago, maybe more, it started outside Advance Auto Parts on the other side of the highway.

“The district manager really liked us being there, so they made arrangements for us to park, and it drew a crowd and everything, and we did a 50-50 to support juvenile diabetes,” said Flynn. He explained that the following district manager felt differently about the group occupying Advance Auto’s parking space, so they relocated to what was at the time an empty lot nearby. But when Auto Zone was erected on the site, they had to move again.

“Then we went over to the bank, and they welcomed us with open arms,” Flynn said. Pizza was provided the first night. All U.P. State Bank asked for in return was that drivers not do burnouts in the parking lot, Tom said. That was about five years ago.

Though one participant called it the “geezer gathering,” Flynn said that drivers from all age groups attend. The younger crowd generally values different types of vehicles, but car people often appreciate hearing about other vehicles and what’s been done to them. And car enthusiast or not, it’s hard not to admire a pristine 1935 Ford like the one that rolled into the parking lot around 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Flynn referred to its owner, a retired machinist, as “very talented.”

This week — Aug. 23rd — saw a smaller group than usual because some regulars had opted to head downtown after hearing that Muscle on Main had rescheduled to the same day after weather last week screwed up original plans.

“Once in a while, there’ll get to be 30 or 40 cars here. But since they’ve started the other stuff, it’s been competition,” Tom lamented.

This group has conducted fundraisers in the past. “We can’t really get enough people to do a big fundraiser anymore,” he said.

It’s consistent — weekly — and centrally located on the highway, so awareness of the casual gathering has grown, and it has drawn the occasional interested passerby. While the number of vehicles in the lot varies from one Wednesday to the next, the group includes far more than the handful of buddies who formed the first meetup. A few weeks ago, a stranger showed up and pulled out an accordion.

Many are happy to talk about their automobiles to interested parties, and they often have great stories. Don Lambert drives a 1955 Pontiac on which he completed a frame-off rebuild over the course of seven years. It’s hardly factory restoration — there’s a Chevy V8 under the hood, a four-speed transmission, disc brakes and other parts that Lambert himself made — but incredibly, the frame was never repainted and boasts the original patina. Though not without rust, it sat in the desert in Death Valley for close to half a century before someone in Wisconsin bought it sight unseen. Due to an incorrect listing of the car online as part of an estate sale, that man had been under the impression he was collecting a 1955 Chevy. He had no interest in the Pontiac Chieftain he ended up trailering across the country and therefore sold it to Lambert.

Aficionados who cruise in to show off their vehicles and chat with others enjoy that the location at 430 N. Lincoln Road offers shade from trees, grass on which folding chairs can be set up, and a breeze not felt downtown. Newcomers are reminded to be respectful of the property. The group can be found every Wednesday as long as daylight exists after bank hours.