In June 14 issue, Russell County News
By Ron Cowell, Columnist

Summer time is upon us. Along with that comes the smell of the outdoor grill cooking up a picnic lunch, Carnivals, and Lakefest in Jamestown. This year plans to be another great year for all.

Along with the vendors set up on the square in Jamestown comes the shows, entertainment and of course the Annual Classic Car Show that’s held at Jamestown Elementary School on July the 5th.  The car show has been headed up by Dr. James Monin for the past 25 years, maybe more. 

In a conversation with Doc Monin, he told me the Antique Car show started at Lakefest about 40 years ago. The very first Antique Car show was held at the Catholic Church and there were a total of 12 cars in the show. The cars paraded around the square for everyone to see and back to the church.

Times have changed for the show as time went on. Now you can expect to see anywhere form 110 to 140 Cars at the show.  They are all parked at the Jamestown Elementary School according to the year of the vehicles.  To be in the show, your car has to be a 1975 or older and be as original as possible. 

Doc explained to me that several have been unhappy with him over the years because of this. He also explained that there are shows all summer for Street Rods and modified, chopped and custom cars so he likes to limit this show to just as close to all original cars as they can be.  eexplained that he knows it is very hard to have a vehicle that is that old and still be 100% original but he likes them as close to original as they can be.

The cars start arriving at the show early and usually there are plenty to see by the time 8:00AM rolls around. The cars are parked in groups according to the year of the vehicle around the school. The judges then start looking the cars over and try to decide just which cars out of all the cars there deserve the trophies. When judging is completed the cars parade around the square in Jamestown with Doc Monin giving a description of the car and a little history of each car as they round the square. Also at that time the trophies are awarded to the winners.

One vehicle that attends the show almost every year is Benny Antle and his Model A.
I have been told that when Benny first got the car and was working on it he always had a few bolts or nuts or something in one of his pockets. When he had some free time he would set around and polish up the bolts to get them ready to put back on the car. He worked hard and long on the car and is very proud of it.

In a week moment Benny sold the car at one time and was sorry he did. A little later on he got the chance to buy the car back again and jumped on the opportunity to do so. He says he will never make the mistake of selling that car again.  In fact Doc Monin told me Benny has been offered big money for the car many times but just smiles and says, “it’s not for sale”.

Something else of interest is the Antique Tractor Show that is held during Lakefest. I am told there are usually 25 to 30 antique tractors on display.

If you are an old car buff you will want to mark this date on the Calendar. Along with Benny Antle’s Model A, there will be many beautiful cars on display from the early 1900’s up to 1975.

Another show going on the same day and during the same time at Lakefest will be Another Level Car show, the Cruise In Against Cancer.  This show will be held at Jamestown City Park. Registration will start at 8:00AM for this show.  There is no set registration fee. Registration will be a donation to the fight against cancer.

All proceeds from this show, 100% will be going to the Cancer Relay for Life. This show will be for all custom machines, low riders etc. The public will be the judges with awards being given to the best Custom, Best Antique Custom, best new truck – 4 X 4 and the best motorcycle, five trophies in all.  Also there will be a DJ on hand to play the music for all attending. This show is for a very good cause and we encourage all to attend and support this worth while event. If you have any questions on this show call 270-343-2149 for more information.

This is a once a year event with a lot of things to do. Don’t forget Saturday night the 5th of July. There will be a concert by a well known country artist and the annual fireworks display right after the concert.. Hope to see you there.

If your Car Club is having an event you would like us to tell everyone about drop me a line with all the information at djron47@yahoo.com. All information on events needs to be turned in at least two weeks before the event.

Also with summer here you may want to have one of the Clubs in the County bring their cars for display at your club or church or function.  Once again drop me a line and I will get you in touch with the Clubs in the area. The clubs of Russell County are more than happy to show off their cars. Till next time, Keep Cruisin'.