Event organizer Nick James said he got a big response to a Facebook page he started.
"You have people here who cruised in the 60's, 70's, all the way through the 90's so you have a wide variety of people for sure," James said.
James said riding along Pearl Nix, once known as the 'West Bypass', in the cool of the evening, was once a favorite weekend past time; he said he found a lot of people missed the 'good old days'.
"I kind of missed the culture and the life style," James added. "Within two months I had 3,000 members. Everybody usually started up here about seven o'clock in the evening on the weekends and they would go until three or four in the morning. It was not unusual to ride up and down, pull over and meet with friends, get something to eat, it was a real social gathering."
Former cruisers once in their teens, now in their 30's and 40's, lined up along the Pearl Nix Parkway side of the Mall. Several street rods and customized cars recalled the days when owners showed off their vehicles.
According to James, cruising fell away as Gainesville became more commercialized.
"You had a lot of people who owned individual 'Mom and Pop' local restaurants and we used to support those restaurants," he said. "When Gainesville got more commercialized and the big chains came in, the Mom and Pop feeling fell away and the cruising disappeared."
James hopes to hold another cruisers reunion in the fall. The Cruisers also gathered canned food and school supplies for needy families.
Former cruisers once in their teens, now in their 30
Former teenagers from the 1970's, 80's and 90's gathered on the Pearl Nix Parkway side of Lakeshore Mall Saturday evening
Cruisers Reunion welcome tent
Several street rods and customized cars recalled the days when owners showed off their vehicles
http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/7/251196