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Journal
- Photo by Jeff Green
Shelton resident Lee Asche sits comfortably behind the wheel of his restored 1970 Chevy
Malibu at Sunday's car show in downtown Shelton.
- Photo by Jeff Green
A group of men inspects the engine of a muscle car as throngs of people turned out for the
ninth annual Mason County Historical Car Show.
Annual car show draws throngs to downtown Shelton
By JEFF GREEN
The ninth annual Mason County
Historical Car Show turned down-
town Shelton into a time capsule
Sunday as hundreds of vintage au-
tomobiles, muscle cars and others
were on display.
"The crowd is fantastic," said
Annette McGee of Shelton's Yes-
teryear Car Club, which sponsors
the show that benefits the Ma-
son County Historical Society.
"It's wall-to-wall people from
First to Seventh Street."
There were 375 cars reg-
istered for the show, plus at
least another 50 that weren't
registered, McGee said. And
unlike last year's inferno that
did all but blister paint along
Railroad Avenue, the weather
Sunday was perfect, warm but
not hot and no rain.
"The word must have gotten
out. We've seen cars out there
we've never seen before, which
is good," McGee continued. 'TCe'll
come close to last year as far as
profit is concerned." She estimated
the profit from the show will ex-
ceed $7,000 this year, which will
all go to the historical society.
Shelton native Lee Asche, who
graduated from Shelton High
School in 1973, had his red-and-
black-painted 1970 Chevy Malibu
on display on Fourth Street. "I did
it all myself. I'm kind of proud of
that," he said of the car's restora-
tion.
"I drive it on a regular basis.
When the weather's nice, the car
comes out," Asche said. He's owned
the rig for six years. "It was just
something I liked, I wanted."
He admitted that he probably
paid too much for the car, but then
"This is what it's all
about right here.
People come out with
their ideas and start
taking to other people
and mingle."
sometimes dreams cost a lot. "I
could probably sell it for what I've
got into it.
"I've had a hot rod ever since I've
had a driver's license," he said. His
first car was a 1957 Chevy Bel Aire.
"I never got a speeding ticket," As-
che said. "I burned a lot of rubber."
Around the corner on Railroad
Avenue, David Weaver, a 1975
SHS grad, proudly displayed his
electric--blue 1970 Chevy Chevelle.
He said he's owned the car for
almost 20 years and spent 15 years
restoring it, doing most of the work
himself. He said he likes exhibiting
it at shows like Sunday's.
"It's a driver," Weaver added.
"It don't sit in no garage or on a
trailer."
He likes his car's styling. When
he was in high school, he said,
he always liked Chevy Novas.
"I never had a car when I
was in high school. My par-
ents bought my first car (a
1966 Ford 500) when I gradu-
ated," he said. He felt kind of
left out because he didn't have
his own car, but said he had
a lot of buddies who gave him
rides and let him cruise town
with them.
"It makes me feel real proud
of what I did," Weaver said, as
people stopped to gape at his
car. "I can't say it's a hobby.
I just wanted something nice and
something I did myself."
It's the first car he ever restored
and he used whatever money he
could scrounge up to pay for it. His
car didn't run when he bought it.
A friend had gotten it for helping
somebody else move, then sold it to
Weaver.
"It took me a long time to find
See They've on page B-5
Union man sails
on a mission of mercy
in the Caribbean
By JEFF GREEN
The misery of the people in Haiti is something Rob
Voynow won't soon forget.
The Union-area resident this spring volunteered for a
two-month deployment aboard the USNS Comfort, a hospi-
tal ship that provides emergency, on-site care for U.S. com-
bat forces and civilians in foreign countries.
Voynow, a former electrical engineer who now works as a
nurse at Shelton Health and Rehabilitation Center, joined
the Comfort at the end of February in Norfolk, Virginia.
"I was pretty much the only civilian then," he said. He
underwent t r ainin g
and spent three days
in Miami, ,, ggl where 100
other civil- The stru es ians came
aboard the these people ship.
D u r ing his two
months on IL LOJ L ve °ZS 4" the Com-
fort, the ship visited
Haiti, the tE tE.ttJ t TPT*DfhlDt' Dominican
R e p u b 1 i c, Saint Johns,
Antigua and Cartagena,
Colombia.
Haiti posed the biggest challenge because of the lan-
guage spoken there, which is Creole. Two military pharma-
cists, who spoke the language, were flown in from Germany
to help.
"They were the most impoverished people I saw on the
deployment," Voynow said of the
Haitians. They were fighting for
their lives on a daily basis, he added.
There is very little medical care
in Haiti, and the people began lining
up to be treated aboard the Ameri-
can hospital ship. Thousands of Hai-
tians stood in line for days just to be
seen, the Shelton nurse said. Unfor-
tunately, there wasn't time to treat
them all. All told, the ship spent 10
days there.
"The struggles these people have
is just incredible," Voynow said. "It's
always good to give back, I think."
His job was to work in the pre- Rob Voynow
op wards, getting patients ready for
their operations and letting them
know what to expect and what their recovery periods would
be like. The patients were brought on board the night be-
fore so they could get a decent meal and be hydrated before
their operations.
Voynow's team averaged 10 to 12 operations a day, and
the ship has 12 operating rooms. Patients were treated for
cleft palettes, clubfeet, hernias, orthopedic fractures and
more. There were a lot of femur fractures, he said, explain-
ing that the most popular form of transportation in Haiti is
See Haiti on page B-5
State patrol adds extra
troopers for holiday
County to have two additional troopers
To many Americans, the
Fourth of July is a special
time to join friends and
family in celebrating the
nation's birthday. Unfortu-
nately, summer also repre-
sents the deadliest time of
year on our highways.
The Washington State
Patrol is preparing for the
upcoming holiday weekend
by placing additional troop-
ers along the Olympic Pen-
insula to target those driv-
ers who choose to speed and
drive impaired.
"Motorists should expect
to see heavier traffic vol-
umes along the peninsula,
as we anticipate an increase
in motorcycles over the
holiday weekend," Trooper
Krista Hedstrom reported.
"The peninsula has always
been popular with tourists
and motorcyclists because
of its spectacular views of
the mountains and water."
Captain Steve Sutton
noted, "Choosing to drink
and drive could easily turn
a holiday that is meant
to be enjoyed into a trag-
edy. Have fun with family
and friends but please be
responsible and make the
right decisions."
The main highways run-
ning along the Olympic Pen-
insula consist of two lanes
with narrow shoulders.
The patrol offers the fol-
lowing tips for a safe Inde-
pendence Day.
Be aware of motorcycles.
The motorcycle is a vehicle
with all of the privileges of
any vehicle on the roadway.
Give the motorcyclist a full
lane of travel.
If you or one of your
friends has been drinking,
don't drive! Call a friend,
a taxi or a tow truck to get
home. While this may be
inconvenient, it may save a
life.
Think and plan ahead,
allowing yourself enough
time to get where you need
to go so you don't need to
speed to get there.
Take your time and slow
down, especially if the driv-
ing conditions warrant it
and be sure to wear your
seatbelt.
If you are on the road and
come across someone who
you suspect might be under
the influence, or is driving
dangerously, immediately
call 9-1-1. If a trooper is in
the area, he or she will be
able to stop the vehicle be-
fore it has a chance to cause
injury to someone else.
"The state patrol has
dedicated itself to pub-
lic safety, and throughout
this holiday weekend, we
will be working around the
clock to ensure safety on
our roadways," Hedstrom
said. "Please do your part
this holiday weekend in
helping us with this effort."
Remember that taking a
few extra minutes to slow
down or demand that some-
one who has been drinking
not drive can mean the dif-
ference between life and
death. Driving impaired is
simply not worth any of the
pain you can cause yourself
or someone else, she com-
mented.
Thursday, July 2, 2009 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page B-1