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FLORENCE: Classic cars roll into Roebling

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   Stormy weather did not stop a large crowd of spectators from attending the fifth annual Roebling Museum Car Show.
   The Roebling Museum and the Bordentown Yacht Club teamed up to sponsor the show on July 26.
   ”Every time I go to car show I always hear about how fun the Roebling Museum Car Show is so we are really excited to have this,” said Karl Darby, president of the Roebling Museum. “It’s a great way to reach out to the community.”
   More than 250 cars, trucks and street rods dating from 1920 to present day were on display for car enthusiasts from all around the area.
   ”It’s a lot of fun to be here,” Mr. Darby said. “We have the people who come here with the cars as you can see it’s probably not the best day for a car show but we certainly had a lot of cars show up and nobody left so that’s a good sign.”
   He added, “You can bring in a brand new car and you can bring in a car from 1896.”
   The oldest car at the show was the Mercer from 1920 owned by George Ott, of Hamilton Square.
   ”It’s a 1920 Mercer Raceabout,” said Mr. Ott, adding that the car was once owned by the Roebling family.
   He bought the car in 2000 and did not have to restore it, he said.
   ”The car is a 75 mph sports car back in the days of the 25 mph Model T-Fords so it is a very high-end car at the time,” he said, adding that the Roeblings and the Kusers of Hamilton owned the car company at the time.
   The Roebling family once produced the Mercer automobile, manufactured in Trenton, which, according to the museum, was widely considered America’s first sports car. The museum hosts the annual car show as a tribute to one of the lasting legacies of the Roebling Co.
   ”That’s really why we are doing it,” Mr. Darby said. “It was something that the Roeblings did and we’re continuing to do things.”
   Mr. Ott said he has attended the car show every year.
   ”It’s a great car show and a great venue,” he said. “It’s great to come to the Roebling Museum. It’s a great place.”
   The show is a fundraiser for the museum.
   ”It’s a fundraiser for the museum and we share the proceeds and the help with the Bordentown Yacht Club,” Mr. Darby said. “The biggest part is to get the word out about the museum. We want people to know that we are here and we want people to come back.”
   He noted that the museum was also selling T-shirts to help raise money that day.
   New to the car show this year was the addition of fire and police vehicles.
   ”What we are doing this year that is a little bit different is we asked the fire departments to come so there’s a lot of antique fire trucks here today,” he said. “That’s one thing that we have kind of done to promote our people in the neighborhood that are helping out.”
   The Florence Township Fire Department had kids using hoses and putting out pretend fires. Inside the museum, Home Depot provided several projects for kids. They could make a ride-on mower, toolbox, birdhouse, sailboat or a helicopter. In addition, kids were provided with Home Depot aprons as they constructed their projects. This was the first time that Home Depot participated in the event.
   Sean Ruder, 4, of Medford Lakes, was busy painting a toolbox at the Home Depot workshop when his father, Adam, said, “I’m glad that the weather cleared up. It started out a little rainy but it became a really nice day. It’s great that they have things for the kids.”
   Mr. Darby said the highlight of the event is seeing the people in attendance.
   ”Seeing the happy faces,” he said.
   He noted that the vehicles are judged in various categories.
   ”We have over 50 trophies,” he said. “There is first, second, and third in each class and there is 17 classes plus five specialty trophies.”
   This year there was a new trophy class for pick-up trucks, he said.
   ”We are trying to do things that people want and to bring in more cars,” he said. “So every year we try something different. Next year we are probably going to have a fire truck class.”
   Varissa Blair, of Essington, Pennsylvania, was touring the grounds with her daughter Ella-Grace, 2, by the antique fire trucks while taking a break from her job at the museum.
   ”It’s exciting to see so many beautiful vehicles and to have the fire apparatus here too,” said Ms. Blair, adding it was her first time attending the show.
   William Stroup, of Paulsboro, had his 1953 Mack 750 L5-85 GPN Pumper on display.
   ”I purchased it from Madison (Fire Department) in 2000,” he said. “It took me two years to rehab it before I could get it out and take it to shows. It still wasn’t complete yet and I’ve done all the restoration myself.”
   He displays a storyboard that shows the condition of the truck when he first got it.
   ”The fellas up in Madison are very proud of what I’ve done with it and I try to represent their department everywhere I go,” he said. “It’s well respected throughout the antique munsters and shows.”
   He said he was a firefighter for 28 years in Montgomery County in Maryland. For him, the highlight of the car show was being able to bring the truck out and share it with everyone.
   ”I’m kind of proud of it and like to share it with everybody,” he said. “It’s a piece of history and they are all going to scrap mills and it’s a shame.”
   George Trevena, of Kingston, had his 32 Chevy tow truck on display.
   ”I bought it in 1997, restored it and put it on the road last year,” he said. “It’s all original. It’s got the hand crank on it.”
   He designed the hand crank himself.
   ”I did everything myself,” he said, adding it took 12 years to make it a working truck.
   ”It’s a labor of love,” he said. “I enjoy talking to the people explaining to them. A lot of the older fellows, they like things like this. I’ve been coming here since they started. I do like this show. The people here are great. I like the cars here.”
   David Bhrman and his son, Kevin, 11, of Barrington, were attending the show for the first time.
   ”Believe it or not, somebody posted it on Facebook,” said Mr. Bhrman. “A Saturday with nothing to do we got on the Riverline and came up here.”
   He said he was “surprised” at the size of the show.
   ”I didn’t think it would be this big,” he said. “Considering the rain, I didn’t think it would be this crowded. We almost didn’t come. We just decided to go and I’m glad we did.”
   While he noted the “variety between trucks, fire trucks, cars, pick-ups, new, old,” he said his favorite was the Volkswagen Beetle.
   ”I have a soft spot in my heart for those,” he said.