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Title: The Sun Shone Brightly on the First Annual Littleton Rotary Appleman Auto Show
Tags: appleman auto show rotary little cars classics contest muffler rap sound dr
Blog Entry: The Sun Shone Brightly on the First Annual Littleton Rotary Appleman Auto Show Jim Barisano - Special to the Littleton Independent It was a perfect last day of summer as the First Annual Littleton Rotary Appleman Auto Show took to the field at Kimball Farm to benefit SEPAC, Littleton’s Special Education Parent Action Committee.  Over 125 cars and thousands of spectators enjoyed a day filled with great music by Mark Crory’s band, the California Dreamers, delicious food by co-sponsor, Kimball Farm, fun raffles and automotive competitions scheduled throughout the day. It was a day to get out in the sun and have some fun.  The thousands who chose the auto show over sitting inside and watching the Patriots get pummeled by the lowly Dolphins were rewarded with a perfect Sunday, some beautifully restored, customized and maintained cars, trucks and motorcycles and colorful entertainment. “We all worked very hard to make this charity event extra special,” said Roger LeBlanc, Littleton Rotarian and show chairman. “The club members, volunteers from SEPAC, members of the Kimball Farm team and even our family members all pitched-in to make the day a lot of fun, and it showed.  It seemed like everyone there was having a ball!  The Rotary Club wants to thank all those volunteers who worked so hard and especia lly Mike Kimball and Kimball Farm for making this a terrific day.” There were three spectator events held during the day.  The first was the muffler rap competition in which each competitor drives up the staging area and on the green flag signal revs up his or her engine until the checkered flag is waved.  Three judges then rate the quality of the sound on a scale of one to five and hold up their scores ala the Olympics.  After much noise, smoke and laughter, the winner of the muffler rap competition was Tom Troville in his 1969 Ford Mustang whose straight pipes threw off an exhaust note and smoke that thrilled the crowd and brought tears to many an eye.   The day’s second competition was the sound explosion in which customized sound systems are blasted at full volume for the crowd’s enjoyment.   Winner of the sound explosion was Ken Chaput of Chappy’s Auto Service of Litchfield, NH, in his partially restored 1956 Mercury Monterey. Chappy won with some very cool and very loud Doo Wap music, beating out various rap, funk, heavy metal and hip-hop demonstrations. The last big competitive event of the day was the slow drags in which competitors duel head to head to be the slowest car or truck down an eighty foot track that passes the picnic tables, main stage and spectator area.  Rules call for no touching of brakes or stopping.  Competitors ranged from a 1924 Ford Model T driven by Bill Thompson and perennial favorite David Neargaard in his 1922 Stanley Steamer to a 2006 Ford GT driven by Ron Savenor and a 1945 Willys Military Jeep complete with decommissioned thirty caliber machine gun.  In the end, Ron Savenor’s Jeep crawled last and longest to the finish line to the cheers of the jovial crowd. For those too far away to attend, the automotive on-line community, WheelsTV.net, did a live worldwide webcast for the full five hours.  During the webcast viewers could actually chat on-line with their comments appearing next to the live video images.  Messages came in from as far away is Singapore and Sweden, making the First Annual Littleton Rotary Club Appleman Auto Show a truly international charity event that showed to the rest of the world that, in addition to the great weather, it’s the people who make our part of the planet such a special place to live. If you missed it this year, that’s OK because plans are already being laid for next year’s show.  As Ken Chaput , “Chappy”, put it, “This was one of the most fun car shows I’ve ever been to! I’m already looking forward to next year!”  And so are we!