| Aug 15, 2018


Back in 1995, the economic picture in Verona wasn’t quite what many thought it could be.

“We’d lost the GM dealership and some stores,” said Ed Asselstine.

That’s when he and fellow antique car enthusiast Larry Teal got an idea.

“We thought we should be doing something to promote the area,” Asselstine said. “That’s when I said to Larry ‘I think we could do a car show.’”

And so, they did.

Asselstine said they had 54 cars on display that year and it was held at the public school for its first 10 years. In subsequent years, it began to outgrow the schoolyard and moved to McMullen Park (5-6 years).

It outgrew that venue too, with about 180 vehicles on display.

Now, in its 23rd year, it’s held annually at the Lions compound and regularly houses more than 270 antique vehicles (actually, there were exactly 270 this year, down slightly from 278 in 2017).

Entrants compete in 24 vehicle classes including Production Cars, Modified Cars, Production Trucks, Modified Trucks, Special Interest Vehicles, Foreign Vehicles, Military Vehicles, Best Paint, People’s Choice, Kids Pick and Best in Show. There’s also entertainment, door prizes, food and demonstrations (vehicle extraction, etc.)

After 20 years, Asselstine handed the reigns over to John and Julie Nizman.

But he is still an antique car person.

“I only have two left,” Asselstine said. “The ’51 Chevy and a a ’31 Model A truck.

“I guess I’ll have to keep the truck because my wife had a picture of it engraved on our tombstone.”

The Chevy isn’t going anywhere either. He talks about it the way a guitar player talks about a favourite axe.

“When I was in high school, I worked at the filling station,” he said. “An American came up to get gas in a ’51 Chevy and I knew I had to have one.”

It took him some 41 years, but he got one.

These days, he still admits to being an antique car person, but has left the heavy-lifting of the car show to others.

“Old car people are great people,” he said. “They’re good, solid people.

“I’m still the chief judge and available to break ties, but other than that, I’m kind of a consultant for the Nizmans.”

Asselstine is proud that he was part of creating a solid foundation for the car show to continue and thrive, and he predicts that it will be around for many years to come.

He may not be as active a collector as he once was, but he does admit his arm could be twisted if the right vehicle came along.

“I could get interested in a ’60 Pontiac two-door hardtop or an ’80 Oldsmobile,” he said.

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