Photo by Deb Gau Chuck Freiss and Jim Swartz looked under the hood of Freiss’s Datsun sports car during Thursday’s Shades of the Past Roll-In event in downtown Marshall.

MARSHALL — Classic vehicles lined Marshall’s Main Street on Thursday afternoon. And the people gathered downtown weren’t just sharing their cars — they were sharing stories, too.

One of the fun things about showing cars was, “You get to see history,” Lavern Eick said.

Eick had brought a 2017 Corvette C7 to the Shades of the Past Roll-In event on Thursday. He said it took four hours to get the Corvette polished up for its first roll-in.

The Roll-In was a free event, where people parked classic cars, trucks, and even motorcycles downtown. Visitors could check out the display, as well as food vendors and specials at downtown businesses.

Lots of the vehicles and visitors at the Roll-In had their own stories to share.

Marshall resident Ralph Hale said he was hoping to see some Dodge or Plymouth vehicles Thursday. Hale shared memories of his own favorite car, a Dodge Charger R/T SE that he had when he was serving in the military as a young man.

“I just liked that it would go fast,” he said.

Chuck Freiss said his Datsun 2802 sports car tended to stick out, as one of the few Japanese vehicles at area classic car events. He said he once took the Datsun to a show in South Dakota, and the organizers weren’t sure where to display it.

Freiss said he bought the Datsun about 35 years ago, in Sioux Falls.

“It’s all original, basically,” Freiss said.

Freiss said he got interested in Datsun sports cars partly because a friend of his brother’s had a Datsun 240. Freiss said that, while his brother was more into hot rods and muscle cars, “I always liked sports cars.”

Royal Hettling said he had bought his Ford Torino GT as a used car back in 1972, when he was in the military.

“I’ve had it ever since,” Hettling said.

He said the Torino’s body style was one that was only made for a couple of years, as Ford began producing smaller cars,

Hettling said he has done some restoration work on the Torino over the years, but he kept the look of the car the same. It was bright red, just like when he bought it.

“She lives a life of luxury now,” Hettling said of the car.