Some area car clubs are large, with hundreds of members. These clubs have an annual show and a regular schedule of events. There's usually a nice website as well, perhaps offering clothing with club logos. Then there's the Street Shadows club, with a grand total of 20 members. But, though it's certainly small, the club is also a real-life version of "The Little Engine That Could," because it's actually the driving force behind three annual shows.

Created in 1995 when its founder tired of the "people problems" in another club, the Street Shadows are the creation of Marietta Mullenaux. "I thought a car club was supposed to be fun," says the "grandma" of the club that she's led as president since its launch. "So that's what we try to have."

The fun includes social outings and occasional cruises to, for example, check out the fall colors. There's also a newsletter that's become more occasional as the club got smaller. Then there are the club's three shows. The first, in early June, is a free show Inver Grove Ford asked the club to do as part of the dealership's customer appreciation day. The second show, on the last Saturday in June, is part of South St. Paul's Kaposia Days festival. The third show, called On the Road Again and always held on South St. Paul's Southview Boulevard on the first Saturday in October, is one of the year's last outdoor shows. The final two shows, which feature participants choosing trophy winners, draw 200 cars when there's good weather.

The club only breaks even on its shows, so why do so many? "Because we have an interest in cars, especially show-quality cars," Mullenaux says of the club's members. She's the proud owner of a customized blue, purple and pink 1989 Ford Probe with the licenses plates "BLUE TOY." The car has neon lights, ground effects, fairings, teardrop opera windows, rear-window louvers, low-profile tires on Rikin wheels and more. "I just wanted a little puddle jumper when I got it new," Mullenaux explains. "When my husband saw a customized Probe on a magazine cover, he asked if I wanted mine to be like it. I said yes, and we're still working on it 20 years later." The car was a World of Wheels best contemporary street machine and earned one of that show's six special awards, beating $250,000 cars.

If you think you might want to be a Street Shadow member, call 651-452-8988.