32nd Annual Oregon State Penitentiary
"Behind the Walls" Cruise-in ~ Salem, OR
6.27.09
Temp: 84 degrees
Wow! What a great car show! We will be back for this one. Photos will be posted in a couple of weeks, as cameras were not allowed in from outside the prison.
Until then, we'd like to share a few memorable moments from this event.
This was our first time at the OSP Car Show. We didn't know what to expect, but were looking forward to something new and exciting. The prison has 12 clubs within its activities department. One of these clubs is the "Roadies Car Club". They organize and run the car and bike show every year. These guys love classic cars and music, and they do an excellent job of running this cruise-in.
There were about 35 cars at the show, and about 20 motorcyles. A select few vehicles - about 8 cars and a handful of bikes - were specially selected to be parked in the handball court for photo opportunities for the inmates. Tod's "Deathproof" Nova was selected as one of these cars. We waited near the Nova, just relaxing in the shade, and noticed that the number of guys lining up behind a nearby fenced area was slowly increasing. By the time the guards opened the gate, hundreds of inmates poured into the photo op area, and boy were they excited to see all the classic rides! We had so many people excited about the Nova, Tod had to finally step away and take a break from talking about the car. Way cool! AND - there was not a single inmate who had not seen the movie "Deathproof", as the movie had recently been played at the facility. So they all knew about the car.
One funny incident that occured happened when a group of young, in-shape and tough-looking dudes came up to the Nova and one man in particular got really excited after looking at the movie poster, saying "Hey this is the car from the movie, man!" and his buddy says "Oh I don't know, man, I don't think it was actually IN the movie". And then the first guy gets heated about it, as he's sure it was in the movie. As tough as these guys were, we didn't want be asked which answer was correct - so Tod suggested we quietly step away and let them sort it out. :)
One of the awards at the end of the day went to "best staff-owned bike". I guess the staff-member who won it was not well-liked by the inmates, and he received more boo's than cheers from the crowd. That was funny to see, as usually you have to clap for whoever wins at a car show.
Tod noticed a great t-shirt one of the other cruisers was wearing. It said on the back "Waking up the neighborhood, one car at a time".
It can be time-consuming getting in and out of the prison, just because there is protocol and rules in place for the facility. So we will be prepared for that aspect of it when we return next year. All of the good things about the day outweighed the bad, and we look forward to coming back to OSP for the next car cruise. The Roadie club, and the guys we talked to who weren't even in the club were really great, helpful, friendly and professional. I was particularly pleased with all of the little gifts and prizes we were given. And we were well fed, too! Thanks guys and we'll see you next year!
On the way out, we were handed this flyer:
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