Classic ride on the Fourth

SHERBORN – With Fourth of July parades and other events either canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Marlene Custodio planned an informal Fourth of July classic car cruise from her home in Natick, thinking a dozen or so drivers would show up.

But by 10 a.m. Saturday, more than 60 drivers and motorcyclists, faces masked, were parked outside her home, engines humming and ready to ride.

“Our whole goal was, with what’s going on in the world and it being kind of gruesome out there at the moment, we just wanted to bring a smile to some people’s faces, and I think we accomplished that today,” said Arthur Taddeo, of Natick.

It was Taddeo who approached Custodio with the idea of holding an informal parade on the Fourth with other parades and fireworks displays being canceled.

“All the car shows have been canceled between now until whenever, but everyone that owns these types of cars likes to get out and drive them and show them off,” said Custodio, a second-grade teacher at Pine Hill Elementary School in Sherborn and proud owner of a blue 1987 Thunderbird. “People have been cooped up and want to come out in a safe environment.”

Rolling through Natick, Sherborn, Holliston, Hopkinton, Ashland and Framingham, before finishing at C&L Frosty in Sherborn, the more than 60 classic, antique and exotic car drivers, along with some motorcyclists, were greeted by more than 100 residents outside their homes, watching and waving from their porches or lawn chairs, said Custodio’s son, Matt.

“In some cases, they were exuberant, jumping up and down waving,” said Taddeo, of the spectators. He’s owned a 1934 white Ford Coupe for 28 years, as well as about 11 Chevrolet Corvettes during that time.

From Ferraris to Mustang convertibles, many participants waved American flags from the driver's and passenger's seats. One even strapped a sparkly red, white and blue firecracker to the hood of an Oldsmobile.

The 90-minute cruise concluded at C&L Frosty on North Main Street in Sherborn, with Custodio’s mechanic, Ed Rose, offering his parking lot at Rose’s Automotive, across the street from the eatery, as a place for drivers to gather afterward. Among the vehicles parked in the lot was his own classic ride – a 1970 Cadillac convertible.

“It’s my happy place,” Custodio said of going for solo cruises in her Thunderbird. She led the cruise that day, with her husband Warren and son trailing behind in a separate car.

“It’s like when some people want to relax by having a glass of wine, I like to go for a drive in my car," she said. Her affinity for classic cars was influenced by her husband, starting with their purchase of the Thunderbird back in 1987. A couple of years later, they started adding ground effects so it would resemble its '80s NASCAR design. After that, they started driving it to car shows in Boston, she said.

Despite the largely male audience that auto shows draw, Custodio said she hasn’t felt ostracized or questioned about her affinity for classic cars or knowledge of them.

“I don’t feel like I get treated any differently,” she said. “It also helps to have a car that nobody else has.”

Lauren Young writes about politics, social issues and covers the town of Franklin. Reach her at 774-804-1499 or lyoung@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurenatmilford.