International Association of Firefighters Local 24 hosts Meals and Wheels Car Show

Aug 5, 2023

Gregg Stowers backs his 1965 Corvair into a parking spot for the Wheels and Meals car show. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

EAST LIVERPOOL — For Darrell and Lee Dominic of Calcutta, car shows are a chance for them to get out of the house, socialize, enjoy the festivities surrounding the shows and show off their 1960 Chevy Apache Truck.

Craig and Carrie Stowers aren’t huge fans of car shows. They would rather be out driving one of their Volkswagen buses.

For Norm Butler, it’s the thrill of the lights and the engines roaring that draw him to car shows along with the opportunity to show off his custom built, one of a kind wooden truck.

Car shows are an American pastime that give classic car owners a chance to socialize and talk with other car owners who they meet on the car show circuit and show the unique autos they own while sharing the stories behind their cars. But today car shows often serve another purpose and that is to raise money for causes or charitable organizations.

The International Association of Firefighters Local 24 (The East Liverpool Fire Department) hosted the Meals and Wheels Car Show in downtown East Liverpool July 29 to raise funds for Toys for Tots, a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMC) to provide presents for children whose parents can’t afford to buy them Christmas gifts.

Darrell Dominic shows his 1960 Chevy Apache truck at the Wheels and Meals car show. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

Funds were raised from the entry fees paid by the car owners to show their cars as well as East Liverpool firefighters grilling burgers and hot dogs to sell.

There was a patriotic feeling through the downtown area during the car show as cars like Greg Stowers’s 1965 Corvair represented the age of classic muscle cars or Craig and Carrie Stowers’ Volkswagen buses represented a time of peace and love and freedom to travel the open highway. Patriotism was represented at noon with the tradition of playing the National Anthem. The music filled the downtown area which came to a standstill as everyone faced the American Flag.

Car show attendees such as the Dominics, the Stowerses and Butler may all have different opinions on car shows, but they shared a commonality with their attendance at Wheels and Meals. They showed their unique cars and helped raise money for a cause and shared their stories.

The Dominics bought their Apache in 2012 off a fellow who started the restoration work on it and then lost interest. Over a several year period they worked on restoring the truck and then with friends as something to do they started attending car shows with it.

“As something to do we started going around to different car cruises which are very enjoyable, gets you out of the house,” Darrell said. “It took a few years to finish it, but in the meantime, we had fun doing it and driving it.”

Ritchie Ketchum II and his son Ritchie check out a Volkswagen bus at the Wheels and Meals car show. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

Darrell said what he enjoys most about the car shows is seeing all the old stuff and talking to the people that attend them.

The Dominics now attend car shows just for something to do on the weekend. They try to attend one every other weekend unless they have something to do with the grandkids. When they aren’t attending car shows with it, they are driving it to the Dairy Barn in Hanoverton to get ice cream or to the Beaver Creek Pancake Breakfast.

“I’m not afraid to take it any place and drive it,” Darrell said. “You got to enjoy it.”

For the Stowerses, their story began when Craig bought Carrie a Volkswagen Beetle and restored it. After that he decided he wanted a Volkswagen bus. He got one and restored it to match Carrie’s Beetle.

“We used to go everywhere with them together,” Craig said. “The Beetle matched the bus and people thought that was just something else.”

East Liverpool firefighters grill hamburgers and hot dogs to sell at the Wheels and Meals car show which the fire department hosted to raise funds for Toys for Tots. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

Craig didn’t stop there. He would go on to buy a rare Volkswagen Double Cab and many more buses. The double cab he bought off a fellow on Lake Erie who said he was selling it because he was getting married. Craig said he told him that was the dumbest thing he ever heard in his life.

The couple have done a lot of traveling in their buses taking them to the Outer Banks and Ocean City, New Jersey and other places across the country.

The two were married in Ocean City in one of their buses which ended up breaking down on them on their way home. They spent their honeymoon camped out at a car dealership until a parts store was able to deliver the parts needed to fix it. He fixed the bus and they drove home.

According to Craig, the collection of Volkswagen buses has become a hobby which he jokingly referred to as a bad habit. He ended up selling a lot of the ones he had because he couldn’t drive them all and they sat in the garage. To him there was nothing worse than moving three vehicles just to get one out.

The couple are in agreement that they would rather drive their vehicles than show them. They don’t attend a lot of car shows and they don’t see the point of sitting around with them when they could be out driving and enjoying the vehicles.

Norm Butler of East Liverpool shows his custom built one of a kind wooden truck at the Wheels and Meals Car show. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

The Stowerses exhibited seven of their vehicles in the Wheels and Meals car show at the request of their friend, East Liverpool City Council member and retired firefighter Jeff Kreefer, who helped organized the event.

Norm Butler is proud of his custom one of a kind all wooden truck he purchased off a lady whose boyfriend passed away after building it.

The truck is completely made of wood and with fenders, nuts and bolts purchased from a Tractor Supply Store. The airplane which sits on the hood was taken off a lamp purchased at Walmart. It sits on a Chevy S10 Frame.

Butler uses the truck for shows and parades.

“Every show I go to everybody just ohs and awes over it,” he said.

Craig and Carries Stowers show with three of the seven vehicles they brought to the Wheels and Meals car show. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

Butler, who is drawn to car shows by the lights of the cars and roar of the engines, said he typically does about 110 to 120 car shows a year.

While this year’s event didn’t have the turnout it did last year due to the threat of storms in the area, Fire Chief Bill Jones said the turn out was better then he thought it would be.

“Of course, a lot of car shows are dictated by the rain and a lot of these people with cars don’t like to bring them out in the rain, so it’s a little less than what we thought,” Jones said. “But with the weather conditions I think we have a pretty good turnout so far.”

Jones said when it comes to something like this you can’t hit it out of the park every year. He noted that last year was the first time the event was held, and they had an awesome turn out for it. Due to the low turnout this year, he didn’t expect to raise as much money as he hoped for the Toys for Tots program, but thinks they raised a decent amount.

The total raised is not yet known by Jones.

Kreefer said he appreciates the firefighters and appreciates the people coming out each year and they want to make the event bigger and better each year.

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A variety of classic cars were on display during the Wheels and Meals fundraising event held by the East Liverpool Fire Department to raise money for Toys for Tots. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

Josh Carr of Carr-B-Q prepares to slice a barbequed brisket for sale during the Wheels and Meals event. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

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