The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Jennifer Dance, Quill Staff
On the way to the 6th Annual Fred Gibb Car Show, a bright yellow 1969 Camaro loudly whizzed by "racing" towards one of the fastest growing car shows around. Five hundred and fifty car enthusiasts registered their cars, trucks and motorcycles and many came to La Harpe to see them and join in celebrating the life and career of Fred Gibb, and so much more.
Fred Gibb opened his Chevy dealership in La Harpe in 1948, but was not very interested in racing until 1967. One of his salesmen, Herb Fox, started racing and Fred soon got involved.
His first race car was a 1967 Camaro. The Gibbs had someone who painted Department of Transportation signs on truck doors, letter their Camaro for their first race, according to the Official Fred Gibb site. During one of the races in Rockingham, NC the transmission broke down. The team had the Camaro towed to the Holiday Inn where they were staying, removed the transmission and rebuilt it in the hotel bathtub using the Holiday Inn towels as shop rags! What a beginning!
Of the 550 cars that came to the show, it was hard to choose which ones to focus on. Dale Earnhardt Jr's #8 car, which had recently been purchased by Matt Murphy, President of GMMG, Inc. was even there! The famous car was crowded with admirers for most of the show.
There were many "Participant Voters" walking along, judging each group of the 30 classes of cars.
Alan Norton from Iowa informed that class, originality, and general appearance judged the cars.
Some classes had specific details to assess. For example, the Factory Muscle Cars needed to have the same appearance as when they first came off the factory line. And the Camaros were in a class all their own.
Mike and Linda Pumphrey of Wever, IA brought a 1968 Chevy Camaro for the second time to the show. The 46-year-old car had only 44,000 original miles! The couple enjoys adding about 200 miles a year to the car.
Don and Alice Paschal from Roseville had a beautiful bright red 1957 Ford Fairlane Convertible. They found the car in 1992 in Riceland, IA. The couple started collecting cars in 1987 after raising their seven children. Mr. Paschal and his wife still farm near Roseville and are regulars at the Gibb show.
Charles and Shirley Earp from Kirkwood brought a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. The couple had one exactly like it when they were first married and tried to find the same car for years. In 1975 they found a replica of their first Chevy and enjoy driving it to their grandkids' ballgames and have promised their granddaughter that she could take it to her senior prom in two years.
Spectators were in awe of Mrs. Gibb and the legacy that she continues to foster. Hundreds of fans requested a commemorative photo of three of the Gibb cars; the 1967 Camaro ZL-1, the 1969 Chevy Nova and Mrs. Helen Gibb's 2002 Camaro ZL-1 Supercar be featured on the hill in front of the Chevy "bowtie" which has been the emblem of Chevrolet cars for so many years. A private company was selling the photo, which was placed on a wooden plaque for $20 each. Mrs. Gibb had the three cars moved from the protective tent to the spot on the hill and posed for an unforgettable photo.
Mrs. Gibb was exceptionally gracious in visiting with anyone that stopped to talk. She sat under a tent close to the three Gibb cars and spoke of their history with nostalgia in her voice.
She regretted not being able to walk along the paths of cars, trucks and motorcycles and visit with each person that came to the show, but felt it was more important to be close by the family cars in order to pass on their history.
She wanted to emphasize her gratitude to everyone that came to the show and she also wanted to instill an appreciation of cars to kids. She felt the more time, energy and money young people put into their own cars, the more responsibility and respect they will have for them.
"I would like to thank everyone for remembering Fred in this way. If he were alive he would be so thankful. He loved cars and he loved people," Mrs. Gibb said.
Many fans were standing patiently beside Mrs. Gibb while she talked, waiting for her autograph or just wanting to chat. One man that drove from Fort Wayne, IN knelt down beside her and when she turned to him and said hello he simply stated, "I'm just listening to you talk." Another man said, "I came from Iowa just to see you."
Raleigh Parrish from Gladstone, while walking around admiring the GTOs, stopped and said, "There's not a better one of these around."
One would have to agree with his account. The Fred Gibb Car Show is so much more than a car show! Of course the name would make one think that its purpose is to honor one man and his legacy.
But, it also honors the men and women who are continuing to grow the legend; the people spending the extra time in the garage making their car, truck or motorcycle shine more, improving their engine, or crafting their interior to look more impeccable...
When Mrs. Gibb was asked if she would be attending the cruise in Macomb that evening, she replied, "I want to make sure we get this place cleaned up first, just like we found it. That's what you have to do when you throw a big party."
And that is what Fred's Car Show is... a party, a "celebration" of an old American pastime.
One of the hometown spectators was heard remarking that La Harpe had had its first traffic jam ever earlier that morning. Judging by the enthusiasm of Saturday's car show, next year that traffic jam might resemble I-80 on a weekday morning in Chicago, only the cars will be much finer.
Matt Murphy drives in with his newest show car, the #001 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. NASCAR racer used in 2000, 2001, 2002. It is the only one of that era still in full dress. Seventeen others were stripped down before they were sold, Murphy said. Murphy is President of GMMG, Inc. out of Atlanta, Georgia and had built the Dale Earnhardt Camaro "Intimidator" Supercars as well as the 2002 ZL-1 Fred Gibb Camaro Supercars along with others.
Several ordered plaques of 3 of the "Gibb Cars" with Mrs. Fred Gibb.