By Joe Olenick<br><a href="mailto:joe.olenick@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Joe</a>
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
June 22, 2009 01:53 am
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Jim Yousett has been around cars for a while.
Yousett has been fixing and restoring cars for about 50 years. One car in particular, a 1929 Ford Model A, took a long time to work on. Yousett started with just a frame.
“I like playing with cars,” Yousett said. “I restored the entire thing. It was just down to a frame when I got it. I rebuilt the whole car.”
There are also three other cars Yousett is proud of, a 1936 Dodge four door, a 1959 Buick Invicta convertible and a 1940 DeSoto. There wasn’t as much work done those vehicles, the Dodge had a paint job while the DeSoto was still in its original color.
Present with his grandchildren, Yousett had four of the near 200 vehicles on display Sunday at Miller Hose Fire Co.’s sixth annual Father’s Day Car Show. The show is an annual fundraiser for the company, that also include a chicken barbecue and an engine blow contest. There was also a Mercy Flight information and give-away booth, a raffle and awards given away to cars separated in over two dozen classes.
Fathers, grandfathers, families and car lovers of all ages walked around the parking lot of Miller Hose Fire Co. on McKee Street. The sun kept peaking out of the clouds every so often as attendees talked about cars.
Newfane resident Lewis Schultz was displaying his 1982 Camaro Z28 Sunday. Like Yousett’s Model A, the Camaro also took a lot of time and work to restore.
“I did everything myself,” Schultz said. “When I first got it, it was a $500 clunker. I spent about two years on it.”
Schultz has been around cars for many years, starting out as a drag racer. Now, with his wife, brother and friends, he travels to a number of events that include about 10 to 12 car shows a year. And it isn’t about winning awards, what Schultz likes the most about car events is showing his vehicle off and meeting new people.
“And about two to three car cruises a week, when it isn’t raining,” Schultz said. “We get together, take off and go to a show. It’s very relaxing.”
At the show there was a variety of cars from a Tijauna Taxi to a Pontiac Bonneville lined with stuffed Elmos from Sesame Street. The car onlookers were also treated to entertainment by Nancy J’s Rock and Roll Survival. Tammy Jo’s Cafe of Newfane sponsored a breakfast that started prior to the car show. The show began in 2004 and in previous years been held on Main Street in Newfane. Last year the show was moved to the fire hall, which was built in 2007.
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