Cruisers and spectators alike took a stroll down memory lane Saturday night at Streator's annual cruise night.

Doug Miller of Streator was parked along Main Street with his yellow 1948 Ford F-1 pickup.

"When I was in high school, we all cruised Main Street," Miller told The Times. "I go to a lot of cruise nights all over the state. This is the only one that actually cruises. Everyone else just pulls in and parks."

Miller has had his truck for about 10 years. He has been a member of the Dream Machines club for five years, and has been bringing his truck to Cruise Night for seven years.

"When I got it, it came from a farmer's field," he said. "It was shot. I restored it from the frame up."

Miller's vehicle tends to draw attention to itself.

"That's the fun part about coming here," he said. "They all stop and look at it; it kind of sticks out."

Stan Viets of Varna has had his red 1961 Bel Air two-door hard top restored for 13 years and isn't looking to get rid of it anytime soon.

"I turned down a $20,000 offer about a month ago. My wife says I'm dumb; (she thinks) I should've sold it," he laughed.

Viets has been talking to General Motors and says there were only about 1,368 Bel Air's produced in 1961.

"I completely tore it apart and put it back together," Viets said. "I painted it red and put in a new engine. It's got seven coats of paint and three coats of clear coat on it. It took me three years to do it."

Viets' car has about 96,000 miles on it. He says he has been to Wisconsin and Kentucky and is not afraid to drive it anywhere.

Viets, too, remembers Streator's downtown being busy when he was younger.

"It reminds me of Owens' payday," he said. "When it was payday, you couldn't find a place to park. This is like that, only more people. It's unbelievable. I love it!"

Bob Lutz of Toluca entered his orange 1969 Chevy Camaro Z-28 in the show once again this year. He has had the car since 1976.

He has been working on the car off and on since then, and has put in a 502 cubic inch super-charged big block Chevrolet engine.

Lutz' love of restored cars has motivated him to begin a car show in Toluca. This was the fifth year for Cruise in Toluca, and it continues to grow. He said there were 104 entries this year.

Steve Gulvas and his son Mike were watching the crowds from across the street from where Gulvas' 1955 red and white Chevy 210 Sedan was parked.

Gulvas has owned the car since 1987 and takes it to other shows as well. He has done motor work, body work and repainted the car.

Gulvas has been coming to Cruise Night since its inception in the 1980s, and also remembers how busy Streator's downtown used to be on the weekends.

"This is the way it used to be, not this crowded, but we used to cruise all the time," he said.