The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
The weekend events surrounding the Annual Fred Gibb Memorial Car Show in La Harpe will be even bigger and better this year.
After attending the large cruise night in Monmouth on Friday night, then attending the full day of events at La Harpe on Saturday from 8 to 4, car fans will have come much too far to end their day that early.
So, Macomb car enthusiasts are hosting a cruise night around the Macomb city square with a live band.
What began with an idea of some neat Chevy cars around the La Harpe City Park as ended in an annual event of packed cars along the La Harpe Park District golf course. It has been quite a thrill for organizers Kenny Brown, Mayor of La Harpe, and Jerry Burford, mechanic at Rodeffer's FS.
Burford worked for Fred Gibb at his Chevrolet dealership. He and Mayor Brown own Chevys they purchased during the Gibb racing era and they enjoy showing them.
Burford also enjoys collecting antiques of any sort and bringing them back to showmanship quality. His home displays many items of yesterday, and he enjoys sharing stories about a recent find.
Mayor Brown enjoys showing and seeing the cars and working with the many people involved. Besides saluting Fred Gibb and his accomplishments at his La Harpe Chevrolet dealership and his racing success, he also enjoys the many many people around the U.S. that has been touched by the Fred Gibb story.
The car show has truly been exciting for the two, but with its growth in numbers and enthusiasm, Bob Lionberger of La Harpe has joined the two in helping organize the event. He is responsible for the FredGibb.com web site to keep everyone around the world in tune with the annual car show events.
This year, according to Kenny Brown, they show will have 39 classes instead of thirty as in previous years. There has been an increase in trophy sponsors to make this happen.
Another big change is the addition of Macomb in taking part in the weekend event. Besides Friday's huge Cruise Night in Monmouth hosted by Steve Albert and the Maple City Street Machines, Macomb will be featuring another cruise on Saturday night. Brown said it will be held around the Macomb's city square where there will be a live band and good restaurants nearby.
One extra attraction Brown said, is the showing of one of Dale Earnhart Jr.'s NASCAR Budweiser race cars. And, Brown added, "There is the possibility we will have dragsters from the past and today."
Brown said there will be some Berger cars, the show cars in the big tents and Doug Marion will return to do magazine coverage for Chevy Rumble magazine.
The weekend begins in Monmouth with a cruise starting at 6 P.M. around the square and down many streets of its city. Then La Harpe will have the annual Fred Gibb Memorial Show starting at 8 A.M. Saturday with trophies awarded at 3 P.M. The show will end Saturday night in Macomb with a cruise and live band and time for visiting around the public square downtown.
The public is invited and encouraged to take a trip back in time and enjoy the beautiful show cars and trucks, and some famous cars of today.
Relax, enjoy the food and visit with many who were involved in the race era of the late Fred Gibb.
Meet his wife Helen Gibb of La Harpe and his daughters Nancy and Connie.
Meet owners of some of Gibb's famous race cars, Bill Porterfield with the #1 1969 Zl-1 Camero that broke all records and his new #1 2002 ZL-1 Camero Supercar that is an updated replica with 600 hp engine. It will blow you away. There are several tents that will be full of more Gibb show cars and super cars. Come out for a day of free fun thanks to a lot of volunteers. (see ad)