1957 Chevy Bel Air is ‘best in show’

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RENOVO - With the 60th annual Flaming Foliage Festival in less than three weeks, the festival committee heads into its busiest stretch of the year.

And one of its biggest fundraisers -the annual car show -was held at the FFF lot Sunday .

The shine of chrome could literally be seen for blocks as the final day of summer proved a perfect one for more than 50 entrants and hundreds of onlookers throughout the day.

By days end over 15 first place awards were handed out covering more than a dozen categories with a 1957 Chevy Bel Air owned by John Tressler of Bellefonte taking best of show honors.

The show manages to provide a dream car for just about everyone. From classics to fresh off the lot new vehicles, they all have some common denominators - each one has four wheels and each one receives a whole lot of TLC from its owner.

Two of the shows finest cars revealed the sharp contrast between them.

In the 1984-2007 Corvette category, there was eventual winner Mahlon "Duckie" Duck of Boalsburg.

Duckie bought his 2001 Vette three years ago. Although he was the second owner, about the only thing that the car has that it had the day he bought was the original color of red. It was totally stock. Duckie has changed that.

From air brush paintings to chrome to a bumped up 425 horsepower engine, the dream machine has it all.

Although it doesn't win every show it enters, Sunday's wasn't the first first-place award that this car has received and Duckie modestly admitted that even when he doesn't win, his car is "always in the hunt."

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Duckie's pride is that it is what is referred to as a "D and D." In the motor world, that means a daily driver.

"I drive it to Snow Shoe just about every morning for coffee," Duckie said. "It doesn't come out in bad weather though."

Fair weather or not, the one of a kind 2001 Corvette is made even more charming when the observer sees the speedometer reads over 50,000 miles. The car has been featured in Vette magazine and Duckie just found out a few days ago that it will grace a nationally published Corvette calendar next year.

The flip-side of the almost daily driven Corvette is a 1933 Plymouth owned by Don Egleston of Lock Haven. Don says his Plymouth is a bit of a local legend in Lock Haven.

"It was completely rebuilt in Lock Haven in 1959, but the owner rarely took it out of the garage" Egleston said.

The current owner is trying to make up for lost time, showing it as often as he can in the four years that he has owned the pink slip.

Each car had a story, and each onlooker who stopped listened to at least one.

Winners

- Best GM Car - First, Brian and Sherry McCloskey of Snow Shoe, 1971 Pontiac GT; second, Robert Etters of Howard, 1979 Cutlass.

- Best Mopar Car - First, Eleanor Hedgeleand of Renovo, 1961 DeSoto; second, Cliff Weaver and Clarry Gill of Williamsport, 1969 Dodge Charger.

- Best Ford Car - First, Jim and Barb Dean of Centre Hall, 1955 Crown Victoria; second, Phil Gottlieb of Flemington, 1966 Mustang; third, Linda Gottlieb of Flemington, 1966 Mustang.

- Best Chevy Car - First, John Daulby of Spring Mills, 1967 Camaro; second, John Tressler of Bellefonte, 1957 Bel Air; third, Doug Ceprish of Drifting, 1969 Nova.

- Best Import Car - First, Elsie Klump of Lock Haven, 1966 Datsun SPL 3L; second, Roxanne Barton of Renovo, 1999 Volkswagon Jetta; third, Shuman Bickel of Lock Haven, 1977 MGB Roadster.

- Best Vintage Car - First, Robert Roller of Lock Haven, 1931 Ford A.

- Best Vintage Truck - First, Fran Mignot of Linden, 1946 Ford; second, Gary Cox of Beech Creek, 1969 Chevy; third, Richard Cline of Woolrich, 1937 Chevy.

- Best 2-wheel Drive Truck - First, Jim Pistner of St. Mary's, 1951 Chevy; second, Ivan Freer of Port Alleghany, 1953 Chevy 3100.

- Best 4-wheel Drive - First, Bob Hartle of Lemont, 1986 Ford F-150; second, Curtis Winkleman of Renovo, 2001 Chevy Silverado.

- Best Corvette 1953-1982 - First, Robert and Mary Deitrich of Mackeyville, 1959; second, Rick Haines of Bellefonte, 1980.

- Best Corvette 1984-2007 - First, Mahlon Duck of Boalsburg, 2001.

- Special Interests - First, Brenda and Guy Walker of Jersey Shore, 1979 Ford Pinta; second, Norm and Jane Smith of Turtlepoint, 1967 Camaro; third, Darrell Mase of Batavia, 1983 Zimmer Gold Eagle.

- Street Rods - First, Tom Batchelor of North Bend, 1932 Ford three-window coupe; second, Gene and Betty Deesie of Linden, 1940 Chevy Sedan; third, Dale and Darla Dutton of Mill Hall, 1931 Ford Model A.

- Best of Show - John Tressler, 1957 Chevy Bel Air.

- Special Pick - Robert and Mary Dietrich of Mackeyville, 1959 Chevy Corvette.