Mega car event benefits from fair weather forecast
PENN TWP — Organizers of the Mega Cruise at the Butler County Airport Saturday considered the fair weather to be a little bit of divine intervention.
“We asked our chaplain for a weather prayer,” said Kent Shoemaker, a lead organizer of the Mega Cruise event. “Seriously, we did.”
The event was sponsored by the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Shoemaker said weather is the most important aspect for car cruises because many of the owners won't take their vehicles out in poor conditions.
“I don't blame them either,” he said. “They put a lot of time and money into their cars.”
Shoemaker said the $2 donation spectators made goes to help the fire department, but he doesn't see the event as a fundraiser.
“It's a community event,” he said. “And I think I can safely say it's the largest event in Penn Township.”
Dan Hartman of Penn Township was at the cruise with his 1967 Shelby GT500, which is special — it was the last one made at the car's original home of California.
“Before I was married, my (future) wife and I were saving up to buy a house, but I took the money and bought this car,” Hartman said. “Needless to say, she wasn't too happy with that. She thought it was a piece of crap.”
Hartman said the car was not in great shape when he bought it in 1974, but he fixed it up himself.
“It needed a lot of work,” he said. “But I finished painting it in 1981, and it has been like this ever since.”
When Hartman joined a Shelby club, he sent in the car's serial number with his application. The club responded — by letter in those days — a couple times asking him if he was sure the number was right.
His serial number ends with the numbers 3225 — representing the 3,225th and final Shelby made in 1967. It was also the final vehicle made at the Shelby American manufacturing plant in Venice, Calif., where Carroll Shelby started the company in 1965.
The company moved its operations to Detroit in 1968 when Ford took over.Hartman's vehicle is a treasure for car enthusiasts. But he doesn't plan to part ways with it.“I've had this car a long time, and I don't plan to get rid of it,” he said.The Butler Old Stone House Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America was displaying the only remaining 1909 Huselton, which was built in Butler. It's owned by the city but cared for by the club.From 1909 to 1915, Edgar Husselton and his employees built 13 vehicles in Butler.“It's one of the nicest running cars I ever drove,” said John Pro of New Castle, vice president of the club. “You could take it anywhere.”Pro said the vehicle runs well at 55 mph.“It was once clocked at 70,” he said.Speed was in the car's past as Husselton used to race the vehicle on Main Street in Butler.“He built the car for racing,” Pro said. “He extended its body later after he had a family so he could use it as a family car.”While the car is more than a century old, Pro said it requires little maintenance.“There are just minor things we have to repair,” he said.Jim Baird of Leechburg, Armstrong County, was showing off his own creation — a 1994 custom built Go-cart that resembles a small Ford F-150 pickup truck.“Me and my brother built it in high school,” Baird said. “It was just a project. It took us about a year or so.”Baird said everything on the vehicle is custom. While it started out as a teen's project, the vehicle now sports everything from custom paint to a computer monitor on its dashboard.“You can't buy this,” he said.Baird said the cart has gone on all terrain in the past, but now is for show only.“It's one of a kind,” he said.While there were a plethora of cars on display, the Mega Cruise also features aircraft.A 1928 Ford Tri Motor airplane highlighted the runway by offering flights throughout the day.Several other pilots had their aircraft on display as well.“It's great seeing old cars, and the food's good,” said Carole Schomaker of Economy, Beaver County.Schomaker said she and her husband fly every chance they get.“Unfortunately that's not too often,” she said. “There's always work or the weather. It's one or the other.”Harlan Simons of Middlesex Township had both of his Bell 47 helicopters on display and in the air.Of his two helicopters, he joked, “You've got to have a spare.”Simons said the Bell 47 is the helicopter used during the Korean War.“It was also the “M*A*S*H” helicopter,” he said. “I think everyone in my generation would recognize that.”
