With the sun shining down on Saturday, Aug. 8, gearheads both young and old flocked to the Lewis County Fire District (LCFD) 1 station along state Route 508 in Onalaska for the fifth annual Onalaska Volunteer Firefighters Association (OVFA) Car Show.
According to OVFA member Kathy Kassel, there were a total of 104 entries who turned up for the show, which serves as a fundraiser for both LCFD 1 and the many community services it helps with.
This year, the goal was to raise enough money for a new set of Jaws of Life rescue cutters, and though she didn’t know the exact total, Kassel estimated they raised at least $10,000.
In past years, proceeds have gone toward special washing machines and dryers capable of removing smoke and ash from firefighter gear, new gas detectors for the department's fire engines, new automated external defibrillators and more.
Additionally, funds raised at the car show also go toward OVFA scholarships for graduating Onalaska High School students, True Rescue STOP THE BLEED kits for Onalaska School District classrooms, and helping assemble holiday meal packages for those in need in partnership with the Onalaska Alliance.
This year, the Firefighters’ Choice Award went to Chuck Ashley with his custom 1917 Ford Bucket-T hot rod — a project car that he built with his father as a 16-year-old back in 1968.
Aside from Ashley’s hot rod, Bryan Porter’s 1968 Austin-Healey Sprite also caught the attention of The Chronicle, along with a number of fire trucks on display.
The fire trucks included a 1921 International, a 1929 Chevrolet, a 1939 Dodge and a 1942 Ford.
The International just happened to be the first fire truck purchased by the City of Bismark, North Dakota, back in 1922, and the Chevrolet was the first fire truck purchased for Bend, Oregon, according to LCFD 1 paramedic and fire fighter Zach Thorogood. As for the Ford, it originally came from Winters, California, while the Dodge is the first firetruck purchased by the City of Toledo here in Lewis County.
The Firefighter’s Choice hot rod
As for Ashley’s hot rod, he certainly didn’t expect to win any trophies for it on Saturday, as admittedly he didn’t give it the full shine and polish treatment before driving it out from his home in Pe Ell.
“That car, everything on it is painted with spray cans. I don’t know how to use a spray-gun, so that’s all my handiwork with spray cans. It’s funny. I beat out all these guys with their beautiful, expensive paint jobs,” Ashley said.
Ashley, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam as an interrogator, still takes the hot rod out for spins frequently on the rural roads surrounding Pe Ell.
“I even take it up on the Weyerhaeuser roads. You can see that it’s dirty and well-used,” he added. “I can’t keep it as nice as I would like to. I wanted to get it shined up even better but I didn’t get the chance.”
The car’s classic hot rod flame paintjob is an homage to both Ashley’s late father and brother. His father originally painted flames on it back in 1969, and around 20 years ago after Ashley completed a rebuild and painted all black, his brother told him “put some flames on it, you’ll win trophies.”
“Every time I win a trophy now, I think of that,” said Ashley.
The small Sprite
While Ashley’s Ford hot rod certainly was one of the smaller entries, another small entry came from across the pond as well with Porter’s 1968 Austin-Healey Sprite.
Originally produced in 1958 by the British Motor Corporation, Austin-Healey Sprites are small, compact and affordable cars, and Porter just happened to come upon it by chance.
“I actually got it in a trade for work. I own Firehouse Construction here, and this lady, her husband passed away and the car was just sitting in the garage. She had no use for it, so we worked out a deal,” Porter said.
While he has done some work to it including a new clutch, the car was still in great condition when he got it. And though the tiny convertible has the looks of the sports car, its Austin Motor Company A-series inline-four motor produces at most about 75 horsepower.
Given how small and compact the car is, it doesn’t really need much more than that, Porter added.
“It’s a blast to drive. Not a lot of power, but it only weighs like 1,500 pounds, so it gets up and goes still,” he said.
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