What’s new since ’62?

The world’s most famous high school class is ready for Graffiti Summer. The legendary class of ’62 was memorialized in George Lucas’ classic film, and now we are polishing our chrome, revving up the engines and putting the shine on our Modesto summer. You see the cars, Elvis singing karaoke, the carhops at the A&W and Sonic are doing their thing, and now it is time to enjoy.

The film that started it all is showing at the fabulous historic State Theatre on June 6. Every Modestan needs to make sure to see this movie sometime. Take your kids and your friends.

Graffiti Summer is for everyone: There is a “Grease” singalong, and there are costume contests and activities that the whole family will love.

The big news is that the big American Graffiti Car Show will be held at the Modesto Municipal Golf Course this year, with more categories of cars, more vendors in a great new setting. The annual Cruise Parade will be starting at the Lucas statue at the Five Points intersection. This will be the classic intersection this year as the cruise loops the cruise route downtown and then cruises up McHenry. This will be a great time for all!

The Cruise Route

Tenth and 11th streets are where it all began and are your starting point for your Modesto Graffiti experience. The Historic Cruise Route features 25 markers, each with a wonderful story on our local Graffiti and musical history experience. Each marker has a video featuring one of our colorful “Legends of the Cruise” stories, accessible with a QR code. You will enjoy the stories. There are two special markers featuring the George Lucas history on 11th Street between I and J. We welcome our visitors to Modesto to experience all of this.

We are very excited to be expanding our soon-to-be-world-famous Legends of the Cruise Walk of Fame. These are the people and the groups that inspired Lucas when he was a teen in Modesto.

Walk of Fame Class of ’15

George Lucas wrote his film “American Graffiti” about the lives and times of people in Modesto during the classic cruising years. This film was a great story about people that we all know. It launched Lucas’ career and led to so many other incredible films, many of them also based on his childhood experiences here in Modesto. We wanted to continue to tell these stories. We want the world to get to know the people who were behind the characters and the legends. They are our Legends of the Cruise.

The Walk of Fame is the latest addition to the Historic Cruise Route. Permanent sidewalk markers honor each of our “legends.” The very first cruise marker was presented to Lucas during his appearance in Modesto for the Kiwanis Cruise Parade in 2013. In 2014, nine other markers joined his in a new, specially designated Walk of Fame, which begins in Tenth Street Plaza and will extend each year as new inductees are honored.

These are our own hometown heroes. They shaped the lives of today’s generation, and thanks to them Modesto is known around the world for being the birthplace of “American Graffiti.” This is just the beginning and the Historic Cruise Route is just getting started. More events, Legend inductees, monuments and visitor experiences will be added each year for Graffiti Summer, and new designs for a “retro” 10th Street are being developed to make our Graffiti Story and benefit our local economy. We hope to soon have a Graffiti Museum as well.

The 2015 Legends of the Cruise Walk of Fame will be unveiled on June 10 during the Mid-Valley Chevy Club car show in Tenth Street Plaza. The car show starts at 5:30 p.m. and the presentation event will begin at 7. The 2015 inductees are the late Gerry Ramirez and Bennie Furtado along with Wendell Reed, Dennis Wilson, Charlie Reynolds and the speed-shattering car club, the Century Toppers, represented by Gene Winfield, Bart Bartoni, and Pete Hischier.

The mission of the Walk of Fame is to highlight the character and history of Modesto and educate and illuminate residents and visitors alike. The 2015 markers were donated and created by Chris Murphy, ModestoView, Sierra Pacific, and the hard work of Colin Sparkman and the DecoStone Concrete team along with United Signs and ColorCoat.

Take a walk on the “Walk of Fame” and enjoy the Historic Cruise Route.

Founding Legend of the Cruise inductees:

▪ Leroy Applequist

▪ Bart Bartoni

▪ Chuck Billington

▪ Candy Clark

▪ Pete Hischier

▪ Bo Hopkins

▪ Paul Le Mat

▪ George Lucas

▪ Terry McGrath

▪ Gene Winfield

More information: www.modestocruiseroute.com, www.graffifisummer.com, www.modestoview.com/category/graffiti-modesto/

This story was originally published May 23, 2015 at 4:30 PM with the headline "What’s new since ’62?."