CLASSIC CAR CRUISE IN

by
Maryann Miller

A couple of hundred car enthusiasts visited Winnsboro on Saturday, August 30th for the 4th Annual Classic Car Cruise In, and the Depot parking lot was filled with vintage cars with a cumulative value of of over three and a half million dollars.

They were a sight to behold.

The Cruise In was organized by the Winnsboro Rotary with help from their many sponsors, students at the Winnsboro Schools, and a host of volunteers.

Winnsboro High School students were selling raffle tickets and manning the concession booth. They are members of Interact, a youth program sponsored by the Rotary International that helps young people develop leadership skills, learn the value of hard work and responsibility, and advance international understanding and goodwill. Interact is one of the fastest-growing programs of Rotary service, with more than 10,700 clubs in 109 countries.

The Winnsboro club is new this year, but members, (L-R) Deana Knight, Layne Bright, Rusdon Mills and Holly Stone were enthusiastic about belonging. "The club is about community service," Layne said. "So part of our service today is selling the raffle tickets and concessions."

The foursome was selling some tickets to Ronnie McComic, and he was telling them the history of his car, "Lady in Red." Ronnie, who lives in Yantis, came last year with a '56 Chevy, and decided to bring the "Lady" this time. She is a 1936 Dodge.

There were over 70 cars registered, up just a bit from last year, and organizers figured there were at least ten cars on the parking lot that weren't registered. Apparently, some owners just like to come to see the other cars and don't sign up to compete in the various judged categories. The majority of cars came from cities in a hundred mile radius of Winnsboro, but there were a few from West Texas, San Antonio, Houston, and one from Arkansas.

The Cruise In is a major fundraiser to support the volunteer fire department, provide scholarships, and support other civic organizations. Ken Ragsdale, treasurer of the Winnsboro Rotary, didn't even want to project how much the event would raise, but he did say that they plan to provide funding to some of the places they did last year, as well as the Trails Country Centre For The Arts. "I don't even remember exact figures from last year," he said. "But we gave $2,000 to the firemen. $2,000 in scholarships. $800 to the WES Singers. Dictionaries worth $250 to the fourth grade. And $1,000 to the police department for some equipment."

He paused to see if he could think of any of the other donations. "I may have left something out," he said. "It's hard to be precise without the books here. But I can say that the most rewarding part of being the treasurer for this group is writing out those checks. The rest of what I do as treasurer is work. But giving the money to benefit the young people and the others... well, it's beyond words."

Ken was equally enthusiastic about the Interact club starting this year, and did say that some funds will go to them. The Rotary will also use some of the funds to send two kid to Rotary Youth Leadership Camp. He was also excited about what he referred to as "collateral benefits" of the Cruise In. "We've brought hundreds of people to Winnsboro," he said. "Some of them have spent money here in the restaurants and stores. And a lot of them will come back after seeing all the town has to offer."

One of the most interesting people at the Cruise in Was Heather Kleiner from Marshall, TX, who was exhibiting her 1970 Plymouth GTX. It was fun to stand back and listen to her talk about the fine points of rebuilding an engine with the men who stopped to admire her car. She explained that she rebuilt the car with some friends and her ex-husband, but recently rebuild the 6-pack herself. I have no idea what a 6-pack is, unless it's in a cooler, but I hated to show my ignorance of all things mechanical by asking. Plus, she was having such a good time visiting with everyone, I hated to stop the flow of conversation.

When she had a moment to talk to me, I was surprised to find out she is a research scientist and an assistant professor at Louisiana State University . "Yes, I've got a Ph.D," she said with a chuckle. "But you aren't the only one to be surprised to find that out."

She went on to talk about the cancer research she and the rest of the research team are doing, and she had as much enthusiasm for that as she does for the cars. "I have my own research lab," she said. "And I teach and train students from high school on up. It is the most rewarding work I can think of."

Members of the Longview Rotary Club brought the 1985 Spartan II that is being raffled to benefit polio research. The car is production #4 of approximately 300 that were designed by R.E. Sparks and custom built in California. It is built on a Nissan Chassis, with a Nissan V-6 engine. (and the only reason I know this is that they gave me a flyer with all the information.)

The drawing for the car will be May 16, 2009 in Paris, Texas, and one lucky winner will receive the car and 1oz of gold. Tickets will be available until the day of the drawing and can be purchased from any Winnsboro Rotary member. This raffle is part of a larger effort to raise money to eradicate polio world wide. For more information click HERE