Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
Beach Boys vocalist Bruce Johnston says memories of owning a Ford Ranchero when he learned to surf just might have influenced his vote in a Mississippi vintage car contest. Johnston, Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich were among judges for “Best Cruiser on the Beach.” A 1957 Ranchero owned by Dan Crossley of Lafayette, La., won Saturday’s contest. “Out of 20, I gave it a 30, but I’m not biased,” Johnston joked. The event was part of the eightday “Cruisin’ the Coast” festival along U.S. 90 in Mississippi, which drew more than 7,600 registrants by Saturday, nearly 350 more than last year’s record. Notable standouts among the cruisers in Saturday’s contest were a 1968 Chevy Camaro SS in pristine condition, a 1931 Ford Model-A and a 1960s Chevy Impala SS 409 — a car the Beach Boys immortalized in their hit song “409.” Gilich said he really liked the 409 and the “sweet little old lady” who owned it. “She really was ‘The Little Old Lady from Pasadena,’” Gilich said, referring to the 1964 Jan and Dean hit song, which was also performed by the Beach Boys.
Actor Dick Van Dyke is taking steps to save his childhood home in central Illinois, which was scheduled for demolition. News stories about the threat to the two-story home in Danville, condemned because of its tumbledown condition, reached the 89-year-old actor during the summer. He announced over the weekend that the house will be restored as headquarters for a new foundation to provide scholarships to accomplished young performers. Organizers of the Dick Van Dyke Foundation hope to establish a museum in the home where Van Dyke and brother Jerry lived during high school after the family relocated from Missouri. After learning of the house’s dilapidated state, the star of Mary Poppins and The Dick Van Dyke Show recalled the “happy memories drifting around in there” in a tweet to his tens of thousands of followers. When the city condemned the home in December, officials didn’t know the Van Dyke connection, Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said in July.