DAWSON CITY – The extra spice in Dawson’s Canada Day Parade this year was provided by the Vernon Nash Car Club, from Fairbanks, Alaska.

Phil Sanders was driving the 1967 MGB roadster. He explained that they were on their annual Adventure Before Dementia tour, which this year had taken them from Fairbanks to Tok, Haines Junction and Whitehorse.

Then they headed north to Dawson for the Canada Day parade. They were planning to finish up at Tok, joining the parade there for the July 4 Independence Day celebrations.

Once a year, the group raffles off an automobile, which is how Sanders acquired his roadster.

“This one, we raffled off three years ago, and I won it with a $5 ticket,” he said.

It needed a bit of work, but he’s got it in fine condition now.

Scott Grundy supplied the history of the tour, which has been going on since 2009 (with 2015 being the one year it didn’t run). The group last included Dawson in its route in 2013, and joined the parade that year as well.

As seen in the accompanying group photo, the vehicles and their passengers included, from left to right:

• a 1929 Model A owned by Ron & Nancy Allen;

• the 1967 MGB roadster owned by Sanders, who was travelling with high school buddy Tony Boyd;

• a 1968 Ford Crew-cab, driven by Bub Larson and daughter Rochelle;

• a 1955 Buick Century owned by Rick Larrick;

• a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 owned by Robbie & Doris Casey;

• a barely visible 1990 Geo Metro XFI (boasting 53 miles per gallon in the city and 58 on the highway), driven by 93-year-old Ed McLaughlin; and

• a 1955 Plymouth Belvedere four-door is owned by Grundy and his wife Linda. 

In an email, along with the club’s history, Scott Grundy added, “I can easily say that for many years Dawson City is & has been our club’s favourite destination.”