Happy 50th Des Moines!

Excitement stretched as far as the eye could see down Marine View Drive last weekend at the Des Moines Waterland Parade. The Seafair sanctioned event featured hundreds of participants including the Seafair Pirates, Keystone Cops, Mt. Rainier Ramblin Band, and vintage trucks from Airport Towing. The parade is one of several events around the Seattle area leading up to Seafair weekend August 1st & 2nd on Lake Washington.

Covering the event from the back of an Airport Towing flatbed tow truck was Scott Schaefer and the staff from The Waterland Blog. Airport Towing has volunteered to use their flatbeds as parade floats in multiple parades this year, including The Burien 4th of July Parade. On Independence Day 2009 Airport Towing carried The B-Town Blog & it’s crew, along with the B-Town Blogmobile (which looks surprisingly similar to the Waterland Blogmobile) through the parade.

The 2009 Waterland Parade became a reality thanks to the hard work of Anna Bjorneby of Bjornebys Auto Rebuild and many other volunteers. Bjornebys featured their classic Chevrolet pick up truck towing a birthday cake for the city of Des Moines. More photos from the Des Moines Waterland Parade are available thanks to Des Moines City Councilmember Carmen Scott.

Airport Towing’s General Manager Daryl Wilson cruised Marine View Drive Saturday in a crowd favorite, 1935 Ford tow truck nicknamed “The Flame”. Daryl’s truck carried photos of the late Mark Storer and Brian Storer to honor their contributions to the Waterland community. Brian was a resident home owner of Des Moines. Mark lived in South King County his entire life. The family business has been offering quality and affordable towing services to the area since 1988.

Although some of the parade participants were too young to drive in the parade, they enjoyed soaking up plenty of warm sun along the route while smiling and waving to the crowd. Three different generations were represented as passengers and drivers within Airport Towing’s line of trucks. The small children were full of curiosity and affection toward the crowd, which made them a crowd-pleaser from start to finish. Airport Towing’s trucks represented in the parade included a 1925 Ford Model TT tow truck, a 1928 Ford Model A Roadster Pickup Truck, a 1935 Ford tow truck, a 1933 Ford tow truck, a Mitsubishi flatbed truck towing the Waterland Blog, and a heavy duty Peterbilt tow truck. All Airport Towing drivers and participants volunteered their time to support the  2009 Des Moines Waterland Parade & 50th Birthday Celebration.

Weekend Parades & Car Shows

Perfect summer weather the last week of June helped local parades and community events to be more successful than previous festivities in years past. In South King County the weekend kicked off with the Seatac International Festival and Parade. The event featured international displays, foods, and entertainment at Angle Lake Park located in the city of Seatac.

Airport Towing participated in the parade during the morning hours of the International Festival. Driver/Manager Daryl Wilson and his supportive wife Heather showed off their hot rod tow truck that is stored with the Storer Tow Truck Collection. “The Flame” is a 1935 Ford truck complimented by a Holmes Wrecker Unit and a 305-cubic-inch engine. The Wilson’s proudly displayed large photos of the company’s founder and his son on the sides of the truck as they drove along the parade route. Founder Mark Storer and his son Brian died in an airplane crash nearly one year ago and the classic hot rod was given to Daryl by the Storer family.

Just a few miles away Victory Outreach Church of Seattle hosted their annual hot rod & low rider car show. Hundreds of people gathered to see custom rides, some that were dropped down to just a few inches above the pavement and others with hydraulics that were raised so high their wheels were coming off the ground. Most of the cars on display were large bodied classics that were either dipped, raised, slammed, and dropped with a full working set of hydraulic pumps in the trunk. Other vehicles included a variety of classics and customs, including Airport Towing’s 1933 Ford lowrider tow truck with custom chrome suspension and undercarraige. The Seattle area towing company participated in the show with two hot rods on display and also participated as a sponsor of the event. Upcoming events around the South King County area include the Des Moines Waterland Festival and White Center Jubilee Days.