By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
For a classic car owner such as Jimmy Barrow, it’s hard to put a price tag on sentiment.
Barrow has been offered $50,000 for his rare 1969 Scrambler Rambler, and he has it insured for $70,000.
But selling the car seldom crosses his mind.
He purchased the Scrambler in 1972 ó the first vehicle he ever bought. He paid $1,250.
Barrow drove the Scrambler regularly until 1984 when he parked it away. In 2005, he brought it back to life and these days drives the Rambler 4,000 to 5,000 miles a year, polishing it up for events such as Saturday’s 13th Annual Nazareth Children’s Home Benefit Car Show.
The first show years ago had eight vehicles.
Saturday’s show attracted 132 entries and has become a significant contributor to the home’s annual Fun Fest fundraiser.
“It’s the biggest one we’ve had,” Jerry Putnam said.
Putnam’s Carpet Sales and O’Reilly Auto Parts served as major sponsors, allowing entry fees to go directly to the home. The show awarded prizes to the top 40 in the open show and also handed out special prizes for best interior, motor, paint and best in show overall.
As with Barrow’s Scrambler, every car and truck on display carries a special story for the owner.
The 1971 F-250 Ford truck Terry and George Ann White brought with them from Midland used to be a farm truck at two different dairy operations.
White’s son saw it sitting in a shed one day and bought it for a couple hundred dollars..
“One thing led to another,” said White, who eventually took on the truck’s restoration. Now it’s a head turner and something the Whites proudly sit with at various auto shows.
George Ann says attending the shows allows them to meet different people and make new friends. They also get to socialize with old friends, such as Camille and Tom Brown of Charlotte, who brought their Chevrolet Bel Air to Nazareth Children’s Home Saturday.
“We’re professional amateurs,” Tom Brown said in describing the restoration skills he and White possess.
“You have to have a good son-in-law,” White added.
As they sat under their sun umbrella Saturday, George Ann and Camille said they simply liked talking with the other car buffs, “which you wouldn’t be doing if you weren’t here,” George Ann said.
Nazareth Children’s Home’s shady campus reduced Saturday’s heat and made it a great day for the annual Fun Fest. The day included music, food, crafts, trolley rides, rubber-wheeled train rides for kids, games and drawings for great prizes.
“This year, I made it a point to get up and come,” said Carolyn McGee of Salisbury. Some health problems prevented her from making it last year, she said.
McGee said she enjoyed being in the crowd, getting out of the house and socializing at the Fun Fest.
“I missed it last year,” she said.
While it has gone through many changes over the years, Saturday’s festival was the 103rd anniversary of the event.
“This is totally a group effort,” said Cheri Peterson, the home’s assistant director and event coordinator. “There’s no way this could be done by one person.”
Peterson said the car show has grown to the point where it might have to offer categories in coming years.
Nancy Barrow’s 1957 Metropolitan would have to go in the “cute” category.
“The kids love that thing,” Nancy said of the tiny orange and black car which sat next to her husband Jimmy’s Scrambler.
As a counselor at East Rowan High School, Nancy Barrow said she has sometimes used the Metropolitan as a way to reach students, who almost always are interested in cars.
Jimmy’s son, Chad, parked his 1969 Chevrolet truck behind the Scrambler at Saturday’s show. His fondness for classic vehicles comes naturally.
“I was sucking gasoline out of the bottle instead of milk,” Chad said.