Weather tosses a wrench in Cruise In

No one was happy with the weather Sunday night in North Granville.

The 23 brave car enthusiasts who defied the weatherman and came to the annual North Granville Engine and Hose fundraiser car show had few cars other than their own to look at.

Firefighters were kicking themselves for switching the dates of what is typically a Saturday show with a Sunday back up date and for the weather that did not come as advertised.

While just a 30-minute ride away reports were coming in that rain had been falling for hours, North Granville remained dry and at times, even sunny.

While the weather was good in Granville, forecasts painted a bleak picture and likely kept the majority of people away Fire Chief Scott McCullen said.

The mixed turnout left fire fighters in a quandary. Had the day been the forecast rainout; they could reschedule.

Had the weather simply been good, the turnout likely would have mirrored the 75-plus vehicle turnout of the past few years.

Without sponsors D & K auto and Telescope Casual Furniture, McCullen said the car show would have lost money.

As it is, when everything gets totaled out at the end of the night, the chief was hopeful for breaking even.

“It’s a gamble with the weather,” McCullen said. “But I think what we’re going to do is go back to last year’s dates and stick with that.”

Also impacting the turnout were three other area car shows within driving distance of Granville, but the bottom line fire fighters said is people who spend so much time on cleaning their vehicles don’t like to have them out in the rain.

 

The People’s Choice winner was Tom Fox of Granville for his 1972 C-10 step side.

 

Fireman’s Choice winner: Bill Jones of Pawlet, Vt. for his 1968 Roadrunner.

 

The top 10 vehicles, which did not win one of the above awards weer, in no specific order, David Putnam, 1969 Chevy Camaro; Amanda Willetts, 1965 Ford Mustang;

Ken and Laura Knipes, 1969 Chevy Chevelle; Doug DeKalb, 1946 Ford

Bennett Mettison, 1970 Dodge Charger; Gordie Gordon, 1953 Chevy BelAir

Laurie Mattison, 1969 Plymouth Barracuda; Mark Stannard, 1970 Oldsmobile F85; Stephen Fernett, 1947 Chevy 3100 pickup; and John McGraw, 2003 Chevy Corvette.