Annie Druskee speaking to CJFC Today on May 14, 2025 (Image credit: Anthony Corea/CFJC Today)

By Marty Hastings

ROLLING SENIORS TOUR

Hot rods evoke memories on tour of seniors’ homes in Kamloops

May 15, 2025 | 6:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — Residents clapped and cheered as Pine Grove Seniors Community staff kept them warm in blankets as the rain held off just long enough for the clear passage of sentimentality.

“It evokes all kinds of emotion for them to see all these old cars,” Pine Grove staff member Paula Popadynetz said. “Emotional programming is huge at this stage in their life. The gentlemen are a little bit tougher to connect with. All of them had a series of loves with their cars, for sure.”

A fleet of about 25 hot rods and muscle cars cruised by six North Shore seniors’ homes on Wednesday (May 14), dazzling residents as part of the second annual Baja North Rolling Seniors Tour.

“It keeps the seniors happy and it gives the car community something to do,” tour organizer Ron Popove said.

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Annie Druskee was among car enthusiasts who met in a parking lot before the tour began, standing alongside her 1969 Plymouth Valiant while explaining its sentimental value.

She said her father was looking for a family car shortly after her birth in 2004 and got wind that the Valiant was destined for the wrecker, so he bought it from an acquaintance for $200, painted it and rebuilt the engine.

“Why would you wreck this?” Druskee said. “It means a lot.”

“I always love being part of the seniors’ rolling tour. I work as a lifeguard. I’ve worked with the old-timers. I have a special bond with them. My dad is an older dad, so I was raised around the older generation. I love seeing them happy and seeing the smiles. It makes me think of my grandparents, my grandma specifically. Unfortunately, she passed back in 2017, but I know she had some pretty sweet rides.”

Overlander home resident Jeff Allen took in the show from a front-row seat in the parking lot. He’s a former car photographer who used to snap pictures of the beasts that roamed the Mission Raceway.

“It was pretty cool,” Allen said, noting the Deuce Coupe that drove by caught his eye. “It brought back some memories with some of the old cars, building cars with friends, having fun and getting in trouble.”

Kim Grayston, president of the Kamloops Street Rod Association, was peacocking in his 1969 El Camino.

“The seniors’ homes, they all seem to really like seeing the old cars,” Grayston said. “I think it brings back memories. Old cars do that.”

Pine Grove residents waved goodbye after the last car puttered away as they returned inside to put it in park for the night.

But there was still time for conversation, not all of it idle.

“We can get feedback afterward, depending on the resident,” Popadynetz said. “If we initiate the feedback to ask them how they felt, then they’ll go into a long list of lost loves they’ve had.”

Most of those lost loves were cars.

“Well, we’ve heard it all,” Popadynetz said with a laugh.