Rods and replicas: Hurricane show restores memories for auto enthusiasts

Written by Haven Scott
April 1, 2024

HURRICANE — With plenty of revelers, revving cars and phone cameras capturing it all, the Hurricane Valley Rotary Club Easter Car Show saw large crowds and congested streets despite the overcast skies.

The 39th annual Hurricane Valley Rotary Easter Car Show had modern and classic vehicles on display in Hurricane, Utah, March 30, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

Downtown Hurricane was once again packed with classic cars, mopeds, drifters, motorcycles, trucks, campers, one Yugo and a tractor for the club’s annual fundraiser.

Rotarian Marvin Marcus said the 39th showing of the largest car show in Southern Utah had 290 vehicles registered. As far as attendees, the final numbers had not been counted.

“The crowds just keep coming,” he said. “It’s looking like we’ll get close to 10,000 attendees again.”

One of those attending took a detour from touring the altered car racing circuit on the East Coast. Raised in California, Becky Sylvester grew up in a drag-racing family watching her grandfather and then her father.

Becky Sylvester drove 1,600 miles from the east coast to display her altered car at the Hurricane Valley Rotary Easter Car Show in Hurricane, Utah, March 30, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

She learned how to service the vehicles, the dangers of high-speed racing, preventative maintenance and the importance of maintaining lane control. Then her father retired in 2003 and she has been in the driver’s seat since.

Powered by a 573 cubic-inch Chevrolet engine, she can go a quarter mile in 6.5 seconds.

“Girls can do it, too, not just boys,” she said. “It’s a man’s world, but hey — girls can do it too.”

A 6-cylinder Chevrolet Apache truck purchased by the Arizona Department of Transportation in 1959 was also on display. Gregg McBride, public safety officer for the department, and representative Robert Griffiths said the truck is still in service in the Phoenix, Arizona, area.

“It has been in our fleet this whole time,” McBride said. “Obviously it’s been restored, new paint and all that.”

Mark Brothers made the drive from Roosevelt to show off his 1963 Ford Galaxie. A lifelong fan of automobile racing, he made a replica of a “Moonshine Hauler” driven by one of the fastest drivers of the time.

Mark Brothers made the drive from Roosevelt, Utah to show off his 1963 Ford Galaxie at the Hurricane Valley Rotary Easter Car Show in Hurricane, Utah, March 30, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

“His name was Robert Murphy and he was working at a dealership in Valdosta, Georgia, when he got his car running,” Brothers said. “He set a national record in 1964. I’ve been a car guy since I was 5 years old. We built this one just like he had his.”

Hurricane Mayor Nanette Billings said donations from this year’s car show attendees will be used for a town Veterans Memorial Park.

Along with a donated 150-foot flagpole, locals have already raised $260,000 of the estimated $600,000 needed for the military tribute.

“All six branches of the military,” Billings said. “We’ll have Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Space (Force) at this memorial.”

Billings added residents can visit the city offices and scan a QR code to donate funds or request a military veteran to be added to the monument.

For the last two years, funds raised from the Easter Car Show in Hurricane have gone to the newly opened all-abilities playground at Dixie Springs Park.

The 39th annual Hurricane Valley Rotary Easter Car Show had modern and classic vehicles on display in Hurricane, Utah, March 30, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

“Those who attend are making donations that help make Washington County a wonderful place to live, work and do business,” Hurricane Valley Rotary President Clint Lawton said.

The Hurricane High School Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, Hurricane High Interact Club and Hurricane High School athletic teams, along with the Hurricane Valley Lions Club, assisted at this year’s car show.

Marcus noted that Hurricane Valley Rotary Club members are a group of local, dedicated professionals who share a passion for community service.

There are more than 46,000 Rotary clubs worldwide, with more than 1.4 million members dedicated to the motto “service above self.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Haven Scott was born in Provo and moved to Cedar City in 1987. A member of Cedar High School’s Class of 1994, where he fell in love with journalism at The Cedar Post, he then earned his bachelor’s degree in media studies (2015) and a master’s degree in professional communication (2018) from Southern Utah University. His hobbies include correcting his children’s spelling on social media, spoiling his grandchildren, camping, spending time outdoors and watching local sporting events.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @HavenWScott@STGnews

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