Wood Station Wagons on Display at the Beach

Sun, surfing and sand sound ideal, but don’t paint complete a picture, not in the spring when the Woodies gather at the beach. This year was another successful show at Doheny Beach in Southern California near Dana Point harbor.

Ford originally created the wood station wagons in 1929 to be used to pick up people and baggage from railway stations. They were marketed as light-duty commercial vehicles. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Mr. Ford had a forest of trees that he needed to find a use for.  The wood station wagons weren’t as durable as their steel counterparts, but surfers found the unpopular wood station wagons to be an economical form of transportation, and the Woodie culture as most of us know it was born.

More than 150 rare Woodies gathered at the Southern California Woodie Club event to celebrate beach culture. Breakfast for the participants was cooked and served on the beach, and after the presentation of our country’s colors, the show was officially open.

There’s something special about seeing Woodies at the beach, and in Southern California, Doheny Beach is a terrific place for the event. Attendees come from as far away as Northern California, Nevada and Arizona. Many of the vendors are unique to beach and Woodie shows.  It’s more than just the great cars that capture the imagination, it’s the idea of a bygone, more blissful era, and that’s worth keeping alive as much as the vehicles.

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