Dayton Daily News

It's almost a scene from the 1950s and 1960s: teenagers stopping at a small-town dairy bar to show off their prized cars, mingling in the parking lot, sipping milk shakes or licking ice cream cones while the Beach Boys blare from stereos.

Thursday nights during the warm season, that was the scene at Jim's Dairy Bar in West Milton. Most of the car owners are no longer teenagers, and neither are some of the cars. Organizers of the weekly event said that it is different from a lot of cruise-ins.

There is no entry fee, nor are there any trophies. Door prizes, including menu items from the Dairy Bar, are given, and there is a 50/50 drawing, but the main idea is for people to have fun. "I haven't been to many (other) car shows," said Jim Manning, owner of the food stand. "But in most of those (the car owners) sit in back or in front of their cars. Here, a lot of people mingle out under the trees there, and they just come in and have fun," he said. "It is a fun thing," said Bev Stamper, president of the Ohio Cruisers, which organizes the events.

"This place is full of people in their lawn chairs just having a ball," she said indicating the small stand of trees and picnic tables. Stamper said they often have events such as hula-hoop contests and are hoping to have a jitterbug contest in 2007. On a warm evening, Manning said that upwards of 60 vehicles pull into the lot for the show. Door prizes are donated by West Milton merchants, and proceeds from the 50/50 raffle went to help children in the Milton-Union school district.

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