Dave Baker was an upper classman at Great Bend High School and his brother Kent was a fifth grader at St. Patrick School when their family left Great Bend. This past week, the brothers returned for the Pontiac Attack Car Show at the Great Bend Expo, traveling from Bella Vista, Arkansas, in classic autos.

Dave drove his 1966 Grand Prix and Kent drove his 1963 Bonneville.

The brothers follow what other Pontiac clubs are doing, so when they saw there was a show in their boyhood town they decided to make the trip. While some of the exhibitors brought Pontiacs in on trailers, the Baker brothers enjoyed the drive in their sturdy behemoths, built in the days when full-size American-made cars dominated the highways.

“They kind of glide down the road,” Kent said.

“We’ve never driven this far for a show,” he said, noting the trip was nearly 400 miles.

Kent Baker said he arrived in Great Bend early and found much had changed. He drove by the house that his family lived in years ago.
“It was really neat to get back here and see things,” he said. “The house hasn’t changed much at all — it just looks a lot smaller.”

Saturday’s car show was part of the 27th Annual Pontiac Uprising, with all-Pontiac drag races at the Sunflower Rod and Custom Association’s dragstrip west of Great Bend. Car show judging was sponsored by the GR-RRR8’R Wichita GTO Club.
Car enthusiasts who missed the show can watch for classic Pontiacs in Great Bend on Sunday. Kent Baker said he planned to spend the night Saturday, and other drivers will probably do the same. “There’ll be a lot of these cars around town,” he predicted.