Vehicles of all eras were represented at Prosperity’s Cruise-In on May 16, pictured here is a 1955 Chevrolet BelAir.
Rush L. Workman | For The Newberry Observer
Prosperity Town Councilperson, Allen Gallman, poses with a 1930s Ford.
Rush L. Workman | For The Newberry Observer
Left to Right, 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass, 1955 Ford Thunderbird, 1967 Chevrolet Nova.
Rush L. Workman | For The Newberry Observer
PROSPERITY — On Saturday, May 16, 100 antique, classic and hot rod cars, began to cruise into the Town Square in Prosperity.
The cars represented all classes of cars and trucks, from Henry Ford’s early models, to humble VW beetles, to fine American sedans, to a couple of true, fire-breathing hot rods based on Ford’s original designs — there was even a “money was not a concern Mustang,” with an estimated value of $200,000. Chevrolet Corvettes were represented from the very first model in 1952 to current mechanical masterpieces.
The event was sponsored by the Town of Prosperity, and other local businesses. Prosperity Town Administrator Karen Livingston, Robert Martin and Tom Mack were the organizers of the event.
The Town sponsored and promoted the cruise-in, as part of their annual Prosperity Hoppin’ event. The event had an extra attraction, Tom Mack recently opened a Tom Mack’s Classic Cars indoor sales antiques/classics showroom in the old Town Square Antique building. It housed another dozen cars that people could view along with some antique automotive memorabilia on display.
The event ran from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., and it was estimated that about 500 people came through to look at the cars. Exhibitors and spectators were the young, and the not-so-young who had owned some of the cars since they were new in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
“The town wanted to give people a chance to get out and have some fun after being under COVID-19 restrictions for the past 18 months. It was part-two of Prosperity Hoppin’, one day for all the arts and crafts people, and one day for all the gearheads. We don’t have enough room to do both on the same day,” Livingston said. “Look for another cruise-in to happen in late September. And we can use more volunteers for the event.”
“Thank you to all the people who helped, and I was very impressed with the top quality of cars we had for the event. People really love these automotive classics, and I appreciate owners bringing them out for others to enjoy.” said Robert Martin, one of the promoters of the event and a proud owner of a very nice 1964 Chevrolet Impala.
Newberry’s Steelhorse mobile kitchen was on hand to serve people their classic pork sandwiches. The local merchants along Main Street were also served food, drink and a cool place to rest. DJ Ronnie Lybrand, kept the rock and roll going all day.
“We really enjoyed spending the day with the car guys and gals last Saturday as well as showing our collector car collection to the public for the first time. Restoring this building and becoming a part of downtown Prosperity has long been a dream of ours,” said Tom Mack and his wife Sherry.