Bloomington family's demo derby tradition continues at Monroe County Fair: What to expect
Mel Crane's demolition derby days go back to the 1960s, when he'd travel around to southern Indiana county fairs, sit in the grandstands and watch beat-up, stripped-down cars drive around in the mud and crash into one another.
Despite a few engine fires and hard driver's-side hits, drivers rarely got hurt and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun out there.
Back around 1985, an acquaintance who knew of Crane's affinity for watching people crash cars in real-life bumper-car fashion said he had a surprise.
"There was a guy I worked with that had an old early 1970s Plymouth that was in bad shape," Crane recalled. "One day the guy gave me the car and told me to go crash it.
And from that point on ..."
Let's just there have been a lot of demolition derbies since, sometimes three a year, with Crane's name on the drivers' roster. Along the way, his older son, Matt, started wandering out to the garage to see what his dad and his friends were up to.
The family passion grew, and it wasn't long before the father and son were seeking old cars on solid frames to convert to demolition derby contenders.
Surgeries on his neck in the mid 1990s took Crane out of the demolition derby business for awhile. His son was less involved, too.
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"I guess it was seven or eight years ago, and Matt said, 'Dad, we ought to get back into the demolition derbies,' and, well, that was the wrong thing to say."
He searched for and bought a few cars, and the tradition started back up. Then his younger son, Aaron, joined in. "That's when I decided we needed a place, so I started looking for some land to build us a barn on."
Three years ago, they found an acre for sale out on Louden Road and built a 30-by-60-foot pole barn big enough to hold four or five cars, assorted parts and equipment for dismantling and remaking derby cars. "We've had seven cars in there at one time before," Crane said.
Since he's partial to Mopars, Crane is always seeking old Plymouths, Dodges and Chryslers. "They're getting hard to find, and when you do find one, they want a lot of money for them. So the other day, I bought my first Ford, a 1997 Lincoln."
Where do these cars come from? All around.
I went to Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, Illinois and here in Indiana," he said. "You just kind of find them. There's a network of people and derby cars online."
They currently are working on three cars for the Monroe County Fair's July 2 demolition derby. Crane said his sons' vehicles, 1976 Chryslers, should be ready in time. Both are past demolition derby champion cars.
Saturday afternoon, Aaron was modifying the motor in his 1976 Chrysler New Yorker. Nearby, his younger brother Aaron put finishing touches on his 1976 Chrysler Cordoba. Both cars, with sturdy chrome bumpers and wrecked on all sides, are covered with splashes of impasto in the form of long-dried mud.
Their father's 1972 brown Chrysler station wagon, parked right there in the pole barn, likely won't be derby worthy until the fall, when he'll compete in the the Apple Butter Festival event at the Owen County fairgrounds. The floorboards are completely rusted through; they have steel panels to bolt over the gaps.
Crane, who's 70, said that old Plymouth he drove in his first derby, at the Monroe County Fair, didn't survive long. "It might have lasted 10 or 12 minutes before an engine mount broke and I couldn't get it to go from there. It wasn't ready, wasn't set up the way it should have been."
After that, Crane started taking more seriously his new hobby, the finding and modification of cars he then destroys. "You can play around, or you can try to win," he said. "I'm not playing around. It's too much work for that."
Look for the Crane brothers out there in the mud at the fair on Saturday night. The Herald-Times will follow their progress and report back about how their 46-year-old cars performed.
Admission, prices at the fair
Tickets are $3 per person or $10 for a weekly pass for adults; $2 and $5 for ages 6-12; free for age 5 and younger.
Carnival
June 28: $30 armbands for unlimited rides starting at 6 p.m.
June 29: 2 for 1 armbands ($30) starting at 2 p.m.
June 30: All rides 1 ticket ($2 per ticket/12 tickets for $20) starting at 6 p.m.
July 1: Carnival opens at 5 p.m.
July 2: $30 armbands for unlimited rides starting at 2 p.m.
July 3: All rides 1 ticket from 1 to 5 p.m.
Events, entertainment at the fair
June 27:
5 p.m. Baby contest at the auditorium. Registration begins at 4 p.m. Tickets: $10 adults, $5 for age 12 and younger.
6 p.m. The Rowdy Bunch at Family Free Stage
7 p.m. Supercross/Carnicross racing at the grandstand
7:30 p.m. Derrick Weidner and Olivia Doyle at Family Free Stage
8 p.m. Grace Scott Band at Farm Bureau Music Stage
June 28:
Noon-3 p.m. Senior Citizen Day at the auditorium
7 p.m. Endurocross racing at the grandstand
7 p.m. Small animal auction at Family Free Stage
8 p.m. Ma Upchurch at Farm Bureau Music Stage
June 29:
Noon-3 p.m. Touch a Truck at the grandstand
12:30 p.m. Silly Safari at Family Free Stage
1-8 p.m. WTIU Kids Day at the auditorium
7 p.m. Mini Excavator Rodeo at the grandstand
8 p.m. Cook & Belle at Farm Bureau Music Stage
June 30:
6 p.m. Soul Harbor at Family Free Stage
7 p.m. Three Bar J Rodeo at the grandstand
7 p.m. Just For Fun in the auditorium
8 p.m. Coey Cox at the Farm Bureau Music Stage
July 1:
7 p.m. Mini Sprints at the grandstand
7 p.m. Jim Hayden & The Country Boys at Family Free Stage
7 p.m. Micro Wrestling in the auditorium
8 p.m. No Fences, The Garth Brooks tribute band at the Farm Bureau Music Stage
July 2:
7 p.m. Demolition Derby at the grandstand
7 p.m. Night Riders Band at Family Free Stage
More info on this year's fair
For more information about this year's fair, from where to find your favorite exhibits and what the entry rules are for various contests to what food is available, go to bit.ly/mocoapp.
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.