By Stephen Smoot
The Upper Tract Volunteer Fire Department has held its annual car show for only three years, but it has quickly grown into a Pendleton County tradition. Last Saturday, under brilliant blue and cloudless skies, attendees from as far away as Keyser and Virginia and Keyser (or perhaps further!) came to the car show.
“It just keeps going and going as it should,” said Mike Alt, training officer for Pendleton County Emergency Rescue. “We got some people here from Elkins,” he added.
Billed as a car show, the event featured classic automobiles and pickup trucks from across the decades. Aficionados of big trucks did not walk away disappointed, however. “Pretty much any entity in the county with trucks is here,” Alt said.
The fire department relies heavily on the car show to help bring in much-needed funding. “It’s one of the biggest ones that we do to support our operations,” said Alt. He emphasized, however, that it also plays a role in promoting the Upper Tract area.
“We have so much to offer here,” he noted, going on to say that “people really like it here.”
The event brought in two food vendors, Bubba’s BBQ and also Farm to Flame, a food truck from Mount Storm.
Alt praised the “very long list” of vendors and others whose generous donations helped to bring it to life. He also credited Lori Smith from the UTVFD Auxiliary and Lori Trail. “Those are the ones who head things up behind the scenes. They’re the backbone behind all of this.”
He also praised the Pendleton County Economic Development Authority, thanking them for use of the Industrial Park lot.
Eastern Action’s Family Support Center also came to the event as part of its outreach program. The previous night, the group had offered face-painting and other fun options at Warner’s Drive-In. On this day, kids who came up to the booth got to paint the cars and trucks on the lot. They could also select from a selection of diminutive wooden toy cars to take home.
Rachel Loudermilk from the support center shared one of the specific purposes for doing outreach at a car show. “We really want to get dads more involved,” she said, adding that “it’s very stereotypical to assume that moms are always the ones taking kids to events.” Also, this kind of event helps to forge connections within families and with resources that can help.
Edna Mullenax, who directs the center and was manning the booth alongside Loudermilk, stated that “this is a good dad’s day. We’ve seen excellent father turnout.”
Even as state aid continues to build, a critical source of revenue for area volunteer fire departments continues to be community events such as this car show. People coming by to purchase raffle or other chance tickets, as well as supporting the vendors on site, help to ensure that Pendleton County has quality emergency services for years to come.
