SUN GLARED OFF shiny chrome and gleaming hoods, surfaces waxed to prideful perfection for the monthly Classic Cruise In at Dawn’s Corner Bar in Dundas. The event was a first for me on a Sunday afternoon when I could have attended several other area car shows. But Randy and I chose Dundas.
By car show standards, this proved a small event, compacted into a paved parking lot across the street from the bar along Railway Street North.
While we meandered among the vehicles, which included cars, trucks and a few motorcycles, The Chad Johnson Trio played on the deck behind the bar. I remember only “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” the other songs becoming background music as I tuned into the car show.
But outside and in (I peeked inside), people packed the place, enjoying the music, $2.50 domestic tap beer and $10 cheeseburger baskets. Greg, who drove his 1956 black-and-white Chrysler to the show with a Sears bike strapped to the rear, vouched for the sizable, tasty burgers. I should have thought ahead. But Randy grilled burgers the previous evening and I was neither hungry nor thirsty.
I settled for appreciating and photographing vehicles driven to Dundas for a show-and-tell of sorts on a Sunday afternoon heating up to be a hot and humid week in southern Minnesota.
Conversations flowed as classic vehicle enthusiasts discussed whatever you talk about when you’re really into cars. Randy, who worked as an automotive machinist in next door Northfield for nearly 40 years, talked to former customers. That included a guy who brought an old truck Randy worked on. I hear those stories all the time from grateful customers. Randy was, and is, really good at what he does and knows a whole lot about everything automotive.
I’m more interested in the quirky, the artsy, the unusual. A Big Bird dangling from a Big Bird-hued Firebird brought to mind my second daughter who, as a child, carried her much-beloved yellow Sesame Street stuffie everywhere.
A vintage Honda motorcycle reminded me of my oldest brother revving up his bike, roaring across the farmyard, tires spitting gravel.
I expect nearly everyone attending the show could share a story, for classic vehicles are the stuff of memories.
Grandpa’s car. Siblings piling into a boat of a family car for a road trip. First car. Learning to drive a stick shift. Saturday night at a drive-in movie. A stop at the root beer stand. Racing down a back county road. Young love in a car parked at a dead end. Lights out under an inky dark sky. So many memories and stories.
As I walked among the many classic vehicles, I could only imagine the stories, told and untold. I wonder sometimes if that isn’t the real reason why people own these vehicles. It’s a way of holding onto the past, of connecting with previous generations, of reliving yesteryear, when life was, in many ways, less complicated.
Some may consider their vehicles an investment. And maybe they are. An investment in life as it once existed in quieter, gentler times.
By the end of my walk about the classic vehicles, I’d taken some 80 photos and engaged in several conversations. But mostly, I observed. The setting. The people. The vehicles. The art. After all that, and as the pavement was heating up I needed to cool off in air conditioning. I also needed a drink of icy cold water, although a beer may have hit the spot, too.
FYI: Dawn’s Corner Bar in Dundas hosts a Classic Car Cruise In from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. the last Sunday of the month June-September.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Thither will we go March 28, 2026
Tags: "Light Looked Down", "Thither Will I Go", commentary, concert, Faribault, Laurence Housman, light, Minnesota, music, No Kings Day protest, opinion, poem, protesting, song, Tom Trenney
I ATTENDED A CONCERT at my church, Trinity Lutheran, Friday evening. Students from Concordia Academy in Roseville kicked off their spring break “Walk in the Light Tour” to Nashville with their first stop here in Faribault.
What a talented group of high school musicians who sang with joy, energy and depth. From spirituals to traditional worship to blessing songs and more, they performed in the light of faith.
One song in particular, “Thither Will I Go” by composer Tom Trenney, resonated with me. It’s based on a poem, “Light Looked Down,” by Laurence Housman (1865-1959). Although this poem was written long ago, the words are timeless.
The short three-line poem centers on light and darkness, war and peace, and hatred and love.
As I sat listening to these young people, my mind wandered to the No Kings Day protests today. “Thither Will I Go” would be a great protest song. As protesters, we shine light, peace and love.
I’d like those who criticize us, who question our reasons for protesting, who claim we are paid (we are not), who shout profanities at us, call us stupid and more, to consider the words written long ago by Laurence Housman. As protesters, we choose light over darkness, peace over war, love over hatred.
Thither will we go.
Where there is darkness, let there be light. Where there is war, let there be peace. Where there is hatred, let there be love.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling