Father, son show off artistic side at Cadet-O-Rama pinewood derby

In a crowd filled with uproarious cheering, a group of kids in Calvinist Cadet uniforms watch five-ounce model cars speed down a track.

The boys survey the ramp full of wooden vehicles. In a four-second race, the kids soon learn if their months of effort researching, designing and building the perfect, aerodynamic, speed demon was worth it. As soon as the wooden blocks cross the electronic finish line, one kid squeals in joy while the others begin planning for next year.

Although this is a common scene at the Cadet Hawkeye Council’s annual Cadet-O-Rama in Pella, several cadets focus their attention on another competition, where the cars are judged before they are released down the track.

“My first year, I designed my car to go fast,” 10-year-old cadet Joel Brown said. “This year, I made a shark.”

According to Joel and his father, Austin Brown, several cadets design their cars without a focus on speed. Instead, they choose to transform their block of wood into something that is truly unique.

“Some fifth graders did cars that look like cars that you buy in a really fancy hobby shop,” the 10-year-old said. “It is shiny. It looks like metal. It is hollow inside. It has fancy seats inside. It has everything.”

The two said cadets do this with hopes that they will walk away with a trophy for best design.

“It is kind of fun and a challenge to take a square block of wood and do something that doesn’t look like a square block of wood anymore,” Austin said. “That challenge is kind of fun.”

For the last seven years, Austin has placed in the best design competition in the counselor/adult division at Cadet-O-Rama. The cadet counselor said designing creative cars has always come natural to him and his family.

“I have never been able to really find that fine, technical point to get that great speed. I went back to what I know, which is making cool stuff and making it look nice,” he said. “I never really bothered with speed.”

This upcoming Cadet-O-Rama will be Joel’s third competition. Despite this short amount of time, the cadet spent most of his life watching his dad design creative cars. He said he enjoys building pinewood cars with his dad.

“It is really fun,” Joel said. “It is fun to learn new stuff about carving.”

The two said cadets typically start designing their vehicles after they receive their approved kits in December. The participants then have a little more than two months to design, build and tweak their vehicles before they are put to the test at the Cadet-O-Rama.

“It can be a bit frustrating,” Joel said. “I actually broke one of my shark’s fins while I was working on it. I had to take a coping saw and cut what was left of it off. I couldn’t cut all of it because that would be risky. I had to get some sandpaper and sand it down as close as I could.”

Despite the hard work, the two said they enjoy the time they spend together designing their wooden cars.

“I remember my dad helping me do them in the garage. We pretty much did the whole thing with a belt sander,” the father of three said. “I enjoy getting a chance to teach them a few things on what I do know about woodworking, and encouraging them to pull off incredible things.”

Austin said no matter how they place this year, they are excited to see the other artistic woodwork in the upcoming competition.

“It is pretty competitive. There is some really impressive stuff there. I never feel bad about losing or getting second. I wouldn’t even feel bad about placing third or not at all. They are that good,” Austin said. “You would be amazed what people are pulling off with a small piece of wood. It is pretty mind-blowing.”

This year’s Cadet-O-Rama will begin at 6 p.m. March 10 at Vermeer Museum and Global Pavilion in Pella. The car races are March 11.

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@myprairiecitynews.com