‘BY THE MOONLITE’ CAR SHOW DEBUTS
There were a few other cars just as old or even a little older than the 1931 Ford Model A Lowell “Skeeter” Musselman brought to the July 28 “by the Moonlite” car show at Pennridge High School, but there was a big difference in those, he said.
“This is all original,” Musselman, the former mayor of Silverdale, said of his car.
“Nothing against the hot rods,” he said, “but to me, the original stuff is much neater.”
He bought the Model A about 10 years ago, he said, “did a little bit of work on it, cleaned it up and did a little bit of mechanical work on it.”
Musselman also had a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette on display.
That car is actually less common than the Model A, he said. That’s because the millennium yellow painted Corvette has a light oak interior and roof instead of the more common black interior and roof, he said.
“This is one of 1,600,” Musselman said. “It’s actually more rare than the Model A is, but the Model A gets a lot more looks.”
He said he doesn’t use either of the cars in the winter but takes both out every few weeks in the summer.
“That’s Saturday night go to dinner car,” he said of the Vette.
The Model A is “Sunday af-
ternoon go for a ride car,” he said.
This was the first year for the by the Moonlite car show, which was presented by Good Time Motorvators Car Club and the Pennridge Community Center.
The club started at the former Ametek-U.S. Gauge in Sellersv ille, Er nest Guenst, vice president of the club and one of the originators, said.
The club meets at the Sellersville train station and donates almost all the money it raises from car shows to organizations including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), he said. The one exception is that the about 20 members get a free Christmas dinner for their $10 per year dues, Diahann Schuebel, the club’s secretary and Guenst’s daughter, said.
After a week of rain, the July 28 car show was blessed with good weather, Guenst said.
There were about 112 cars on display, which he said was a little light, but said that’s probably because there were also other car shows in the area that weekend.
In previous years, Goodtime Motorvators and Perkasie Borough partnered for the “Under the Stars” car show that this year will be presented by Perkasie Borough and the Perkasie Town Improvement Association from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18. About 400 cars are expected at the car show in downtown Perkasie.
Ted Heimbach, president of the Pennridge Community Center executive board, said Good Time Motorvators stopped doing Under the Stars because alcoholic beverages are now sold there, which could lead to expensive vehicles getting damaged. Under the Stars information includes a requirement that all beverage cups be covered.
The high school is a good place for the car show, Heimbach said.
“By having it here at the school, there’s a no alcohol and no smoking policy, so that eliminates that issue,” he said.
The school also has a paved parking lot, as opposed to having the car show in a park or other places, which could be muddy, he said.
This was the first time a car show was held at the high school, but he’s heard other car clubs now want to have car shows there, too, he said.
Heimbach said he didn’t know how many spectators were on hand but thought it was a good amount.
“We’ve seen a lot of people just roaming around and looking, he said.
“I’ve seen a lot of families out here,” he said, “which was good.”
Top winners in this year’s “by the Moonlite” were Vicki Rohmer, whose 1967 Fairlane GTA took the Bruce Allen Memorial Award A&T Chevy Trophy; Bruce Kriol, whose 1959 Chevy Impala won the Star-Buick-Cadillac Choice; David Sassman, whose 1968 Mustang took the Pennridge Community Center Choice; and Russel Witmar, whose 1932 Ford Coupe won the Larry Tomkins Memorial Award Motorvators Choice.