The Veterans Memorial Senior Center in Redwood City hosted its 10th annual car show fundraiser on Saturday. Proceeds were donated to the nonprofit Swords to Plowshares, which helps struggling veterans through job training and counseling. Vintage cars lined two streets, while visitors stopped to admire them and learn about their histories.
The event connected strangers through their shared passion for cars. Steve Meyer, a longtime car enthusiast who has been fixing cars since high school, found new friends at the event. “Running into people, like a couple ladies I sat down for lunch there. I didn’t even know them, [but they said], ‘Come here, sit down!’ Very friendly people,” Meyer said.
For many enthusiasts, the cars on display represent years of hard work. “It’s been a full-running project between myself and the past owner for the last 30 years,” Meyer said. Car shows provide a place to share the stories behind their vehicles and enjoy the excitement of jovially competing for awards like “Best Paint,” “Best Engine,” or “People’s Choice.” “This Fourth of July, here in Redwood City at the parade, I got an award. It just floored me. I don’t expect it,” Meyer said.
Many cars had fascinating and unexpected stories behind them. For instance, the pristine blue Sedan Delivery at the end of the line was not at all like it had once looked like. “It was in pieces; it was a chicken coop,” community member Kristina Anderson said. “This one here was inside the mud in a dairy farm.” Anderson and her husband have spent years transforming their car.
The car show also highlighted the contrast between cars of the twentieth century and cars of the twenty-first. Many car enthusiasts emphasized their appreciation for car shows in bringing back love for older vehicles that have mostly been replaced with modern-day, futuristic-looking vehicles.
“Tesla trucks have no style at all. You know, the Cybertrucks. It looks like a dumpster with wheels. It’s like you show somebody something like [an older car], and they appreciate it because it’s got lines to it. You know, [my car] is 100 years old almost,” community member Dan said.
The event also featured a “Wall of Heroes,” which included photos of deceased veterans from World War II and the Vietnam War. Rosanne Galban, the founder of the car show, shared that she founded the car show to carry on the legacy of underrepresented veterans. “What prompted me [to start the car show] was that my father was in two wars, World War II and the Korean War, and then a lot of guys that I went to school with were in the Vietnam War. So, I just think that our veterans don’t get paid enough respect,” Galban said.
Young children were also sprinkled throughout the veteran crowds. Many veterans were thrilled with the youth turnout. “We’re getting older and dying off. There’s less and less car shows, so I would say get an old car and start promoting car shows [to all generations],” Dan said.
