One of the youngest members is quickly become a driving force for the Lakers Car Club in Williams Lake.
Katelynn Morrey, 28, became the vice-president after spending a year as a member observing how the club operated.
“The president Matt Kennedy asked me if I would want to do it, nominated me, and somehow I was voted in,” she said. “I think I’m the youngest vice-president they have had.”
It was during a house hunting trip to the Cariboo in May 2022 that she learned the club’s Annual Show and Shine and Spring Roundup was happening.
“I’d never been to Williams Lake, but I said to my husband ‘we’ve got to go see this.’ My husband loves old trucks, that’s how we connected.”
They had been camping at Green Lake near 70 Mile House so they left a day early and made the trip to Williams Lake. While touring the town, they went to the car show which they really enjoyed.
“Everyone was so great and there were way more cars than we thought there would be,” she said.
Immediately her heart was won over.
“We thought, this is cute, it’s a great town, it’s got a club, it’s got a show, we’re set,” she explained.
The following year they moved to Williams Lake, and reached out to the Lakers during one of their cruises.
“They were like - open arms - whoosh - and took us in and haven’t let go. It happened like that. They’ve been great and super inviting.”
Katelynn and her husband, Mark Morrey, have two vintage trucks. His is a 1969 F250 4x4 highboy, he’s had since he was 16-years-old.
“When I met him, it was a frame and had a motor sitting in it, but nothing else so I watched him build it up.”
Together they have travelled in it on adventures to Tofino, Merritt and Manning.
“That truck’s driven everywhere and it’s never let us down,” she said.
Hers is a two-wheel drive 1969 F250 Camper Special that is about halfway through its restoration. She hopes it will be ready to show in 2026.
When they found her truck, it was sitting on a farm covered in brambles, yet they were pretty excited. She bought it for $400 from a farmer, but because it had no papers she spent about another $600 going through a broker to get ownership sorted out.
“Its floors were like Swiss cheese, so we had to get that metal work done,” she recalled. “It cost $3,000 just to do the floors. It’s expensive to restore and that is why it is harder for the younger generations to get into it.”
When asked what she’s learned so far, she chuckled.
“No matter what you might think, everything will always be rusty and everything takes longer than what you think. Taking off a single bolt might take half an hour because you have to heat it up and put in lubricant because it is so seized from 50 years of sitting in a bush.”
Katelynn and Mark worked at Brikers in the Lower Mainland, she for three years. It was there, doing body work on heavy machinery, she gained the experience and confidence to restore a truck.
For as long as she can remember, she has been going to car shows and credits her grandpa for instilling that passion within her.
He collected old cars and has a 60s Studebaker, had a 1939 McLaughlin Buick with the suicide doors that was his wife’s before she passed, and still has a 1926 Chevrolet Touring that turns 100 years old next year.
“It is almost completely original. It has the original motor that’s been rebuilt a couple of times,” she said.
Old vehicles have always appealed to her, especially the smell, she admitted.
“The smell of old cars versus new -there’s a drastic change in the smell and it’s just addicting. It immediately brings me back to all the car shows with my grandpa. We used to go to Vancouver Island and go to shows with him."
Working with Lakers president Matt Kennedy has been awesome, she said.
“The club is very open. We raise a lot of money for charity and some of our biggest discussions are about making sure it goes to the right place.”
Landing in the Cariboo has also been very positive for her and Mark.
“We have a rancher with a nice backyard, just out of town, for way less than anything would have been sold in Maple Ridge.”
Katelynn has worked at KIA Collision Centre since they moved to Williams Lake. Mark works at a Tolko mill.
Aside from cars and works, she enjoys crocheting, gardening and raising chickens.
“I love my girls. I even have a tattoo of them on me,” she said of her chickens. “They’ve been a great escape.”
Mark has built a big greenhouse and a big vegetable garden and they are planning to add an orchard with some fruit trees and berry bushes.
“It’s paradise,” she said.
Show and Shine
This year’s Show and Shine and Spring Roundup, take place May 24 and 25.
Proceeds from the club’s annual raffle will go toward KidSport in Williams Lake.
Tickets are already on sale and there are some great prizes including a generator and a barbecue.
“This year we are actually doing the raffle draw at the show versus months later. While it does shorten our span to sell the tickets, we hope it will encourage people to show up at the show and possibly go home with one of the prizes,” Katelynn said.
Early bird registration is open online at www.lakerscarclub.ca for the show and shine until Saturday, May 18.
Everyone who registers is automatically entered to win $100.
Registration will also be available in-person on Saturday, May 24, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Tourism Discovery Centre and on Sunday, May 25, at 8 a.m. at the show and shine in downtown Williams Lake.
