After more than five years, Jim T's Cruise Nights is ending - Kansas City Star
8, Jim T’s Cruise Nights at The Pavilion at Hartman’s Heritage Center in Independence hummed along like any other Saturday during the spring, summer and fall for the last 5½ years. Every week, said cruise organizer Jim Tormena, he sees 10 to 15 cars he has never seen before. The cruisers come from Independence, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Pleasant Hill and points around the Kansas City area. “We get people here from Mission, Overland Park,” said longtime cruise attendee Danny Brown of Grain Valley. From May to the end of October, for four or five hours every Saturday evening, Jim T’s Cruise Nights at Hartman’s Heritage Center has grown into the place to be for car enthusiasts in Kansas City. “It is just a lot of nice people, nice atmosphere,” said Ken Vaughan of Independence. Those two reasons are why the cruisers are soaking up as many memories as possible the final few Saturdays in August. They learned at the start of August that the final Jim T’s Cruise Nights at Hartman Heritage Center will be Aug. “I am just ready to cry,” said Marian Schaaf, who brought her 2006 Cadillac CTS-V to the cruise. While many of the regulars are sad by the recent development, they are not bitter, said Brown. Some thought the increasing number of businesses at the Hartman’s Heritage Center was a contributing factor. Source: www.kansascity.com
