In the middle of October Fred, one of our members of Cruisin For
Heroes, got a lead that a Senior center in Fredericksburg, VA was looking for
someone to provide some classic cars for their residents to interact with on
Veterans Day. Fred gave the lead to Lou
then Lou & I set up a hasty meeting with the managers of the Greenfield
Senior Living facility on October 19th. We
met with the managers, Gerry & Caroline, to work out the details that
included a donation to The Fisher House Foundation. Time was short as we only had 23 days to put
a meaningful display field together so we both began to strategize on the
people we would invite.
Cruisin For Heroes has been providing displays like this for 8
years so we knew what we had to do.
Usually the people that contract with us for the display will tell us
what kind of vehicles they would like but sometimes they just leave it to us to
pick the ones from our volunteer list that we think would be appropriate. Given
the nature of the people we were doing this for, we kept the vehicles to 1960
or older. The one exception was Ron’s
orange ’69 Camaro but the rest of the field ranged from Bill & Debbie’s
1923 Ford Speedster to Bill’s ’57 Chevy.
We wanted vehicles that the residents of the home could relate to,
something that would hopefully rekindle a fond memory.
The event would be on Veteran’s Day which was a Friday this year
and getting volunteers to commit for an event on a weekday is usually
problematic. This would not be as
difficult because some would have the day off anyway. We ended up with a field of 16 very special
rides AND the very special people that brought them out. Since our events usually call for us to stay
near our vehicles to interact with folks that have questions about our rides….we
have to be selective about who we invite.
Some have very nice vehicles but are not too social….for this event we
had to strike a balance that leaned toward the owners being social. I think we hit it!
I roamed around taking pictures of the residents interacting
with the owners and the rides. I usually
focus on the vehicles, not the spectators….this was different….this time the
residents would be the focus. I listened
to the comments and stories as I moved around like the one resident that was
present on the USS Missouri battleship during the signing of the surrender of
Japan that ended WWII. There were a lot
of folks and each one had a story to share.
It was a little chilly but sunny….I guess you could describe the weather
as crisp. The residents wandered around
and enjoyed the vehicles till about 3:30 then they retreated to the warmth of
their home. We had a check presentation
with the folks from Greenfield then everyone dispersed shortly after. It was an awesome afternoon with some very
special folks that make up the fabric of America….I’m so glad we were able to
bring a little of the past back for a few people that Friday.
Be sure to check this link for the pictures….some
are very special.
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