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Father, son are 'dukes' of benefit car show in Struthers
By Bob Jackson
STRUTHERS
You might say Michael Macias and his father are the dukes of classic cars around here.
The father and son from Lowellville built a replica of the popular car known as the “General Lee,” which was featured in the long-running TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard,” as much for the enjoyment of others as they did for themselves.
Their car, a restored 1969 Dodge Charger, was one of more than 100 classic and antique cars on display Sunday during a car show sponsored by the Struthers Police Department. Proceeds from the event will help fund the department’s annual Shop With A Cop program, which provides money for kids from low-income families to do Christmas shopping.
“Last year, we took 88 kids from Struthers shopping,” said Capt. Pat Bundy of the Struthers PD. This was the second year the department had a car show to raise money for the program. “In our job, we see a lot of kids who need the help, and we love being able to do it,” he said.
Bundy said the department has sponsored its Shop With A Cop program the past three years and will do so again this year. The number of children who are helped has doubled each year, he said.
Last year, the department spent about $9,000 to help kids shop, with nearly $8,000 of that coming from the 2013 car show. He said the department didn’t have a fundraising goal for this year’s show.
“We hold [the show] and hope for the best,” he said, noting that proceeds come from $10 fees for people to enter their cars in the show, sales of concessions, raffle tickets and other sources.
The cars on display comprised a wide range of styles, makes, models, ages and conditions. Most were there only for display, but some were for sale if the offer was right.
But Macias said the General Lee he entered was there sheerly to entertain those who remember the “Dukes” and wanted to reminisce about the show. And there’s no “look, but don’t touch” policy — visitors were welcome to sit in the driver’s seat to have their picture taken, he said.
“We didn’t build this just for a show car,” said Macias, who spent 10 years helping his father, whose name also is Michael, restore the car. “We like using it to lighten people’s days, to brighten kids’ days. It’s one of the most-recognizable cars in the world.”
Macias said he and his father drive the car everywhere, even when just doing routine errands, because of the response it gets from people who see it. He said people have been known to flag them down on the street just so they can ask about the car or have their picture taken in or beside it.
“You see people with these old cars, and they just don’t do anything with them,” Macias said. “We want to have fun, and to let other people have fun with it.”
He said they took care to recreate the car that was used on the TV show with one exception.
“The doors aren’t welded shut,” he said, laughing. “So you don’t have to climb in and out through the window.”
Macias and his father also had a white 1976 Plymouth Fury on display next to the General Lee. That one is a replica of the Hazzard County Sheriff’s cruiser, also popularized in the “Dukes of Hazzard” TV show, and most often driven by bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, with his sleepy dog, Flash, in the passenger seat.
Seven-year-old Connor Anderson of Youngstown wasn’t even born when the Dukes ruled the TV ratings, but said the General Lee and the sheriff’s cruiser were his runaway favorites of the car show.
“We just started watching the show not too long ago, and he loves it,” said his mother, Amanda Anderson.
Greg Boland of Struthers had brought his 1953 Buick Special out for display, and said it always draws interest from car enthusiasts, especially people who were buying their first cars during that era.
“A lot of older people come by and start talking about their first cars,” said Boland, 50, who said he bought the car in the spring. He said it has less than 50,000 original miles on it, and was in good-enough shape when he bought it that it needed no restoration.
“I’ll guarantee you it has the only straight-eight [cylinder] engine here,” he said.
Boland, who works for The Purple Cat, said his father got him interested in cars as a child. He enjoys taking the ’53 Buick out for drives locally and entering it in car shows.
“People love it,” he said. “When they see my wife and me out riding, they’re always honking their horns and waving. It’s great.”