Ephrata Eagles Car Show small but star-studded
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 1 month AGO
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald This 1943 Ford Jeep, owned by Fred Lindsay of Moses Lake, is mostly original right down to the shovel bolted below the driver’s side door.
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald Attendees check out the cars at the Ephrata Eagles Car Show Saturday.
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald Teddy goes for a ride in the rumble seat of Buzz and Deb Crawford’s 1928 Ford Sport Coupe.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 5, 2018 11:28 PM
EPHRATA — It wasn’t the biggest car show of the season, not by a long shot. But there was no shortage of enthusiasm at the 13th annual Ephrata Eagles car show Saturday.
All in all, 20 cars were entered, according to Deb Crawford, who coordinated the event for the Ephrata Eagles Lodge. Past events have had longer rosters – 40 or more – but several other classic car events this summer drew participants away, Crawford added.
But the cars that were there included some magnificent specimens. Like the 1966 Ford Mustang drop-top that Woody Jacobson entered. Jacobson is either the first or the second owner, he said, depending on how you count it. Originally, he said, it was purchased by a minister who immediately gave it to his son. You can still see a hint of the time, he said, when the young man parked it outside his father’s church and it rolled downhill into a telephone pole. Eventually the realities of family life forced the owner to part with it in 1986, and Jacobson acquired it. “I was supposed to do something with it when I retired,” Jacobson said, but that happened 11 years ago and it’s still a restoration in progress.
Something you don’t see every day is the 1943 Ford jeep (no, “jeep” wasn’t a trademark then) entered by Fred Lindsay of Moses Lake. The World War II-vintage vehicle was mostly original, including a shovel bolted to the side, a jerry can on the back and a folder of lubrication scheduled fastened to the underside of the hood. The car belonged to Lindsay’s father, who died in 1994.
More recent — and with a more poignant story — was the 1998 Harley Davidson painted in shades of pink with memorial ribbons in the design. The bike was the creation of Kurt Devine of Moses Lake and his three daughters, who created the two-wheeled artwork in honor of Devine’s wife Sandy, who passed away from breast cancer. It took about a year, Devine said.
Crawford and her husband Buzz entered their 1928 Ford Sport Coupe, complete with a large stuffed bear named (what else?) Teddy seated happily in the rumble seat. The Crawfords had acquired the car at a museum auction in Arizona and Buzz spent eight to 10 hours a day for five months overhauling it, she said. Deb herself restored the interior and the roof. Teddy merely came along for the ride.
The small turnout meant a lot of prizes to go around, Crawford said. In addition to the trophies and door prizes, she said, there were 38 gift envelopes donated by local businesses. In the end, each entrant received at least two prizes, she said, and some three. In addition, each exhibitor was treated to a free lunch, T-shirt, dash plaque and goody bag. “A lot more than the $20 entry fee,” she said.
A list of winners was not available at press time.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.