Peoples Bank hosts classic car cruise-in

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The Peoples Bank and Trust parking lot in Manchester looked a little different than usual Saturday, Sept. 23, as a host of classic cars filed in for a its inaugural “Community Cruise-In.”

Rob Clutter, who handles marketing and events for the bank, said a classic car cruise-in seemed like a fun thing to do for the community.

“We just like to do things for the community, fun stuff to do in Manchester,” he said, “(Peoples Bank President) Phillip Calahan and I and some others, we like old cars and we thought well we have this beautiful parking lot and it is a nice time of the year, let’s have a car show.”

The event also served as a fundraiser for area nonprofits, with the funds raised benefiting the Dusty Elam Foundation and the Dennis Weaver Foundation.

“We are both car guys, we like Jeeps and of course the Roadrunners and Chevelles and the 1955 Chevys,” Calahan said. “We hope this gets bigger and bigger every year and we just want to give back to the community and support these nonprofits.”

Donna Brown was out with her family and their 1926 Ford Model T originally restored by her dad during the 1970s.

“My dad got it in about 1970, he got it and it was just pure rust,” she said. “He got it fixed for Old Timers Day back in 1979 and had my daughter and my nephew in the parade with my mom.”

Brown said after he father’s passing, the car sat in her mom’s garage for a time before her son had his turn behind the wheel.

“It was in storage in a garage and as our son became a teenager, he was so wanting it, so mom let us bring it to our house and we got it back running,” Brown said.

When it comes to driving duties, Brown said she lets her husband and her son handle those duties.

“There is no accelerator on the floor,” she said. “Our son learned how to drive it on YouTube and he taught his dad how to drive it.”