FLEETVILLE – After Calli Irene Walker passed away in 2003 of leukemia at the age of 13, her parents, Jeff and Vicki, have organized an annual car show to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This year is no different. The Walker continue to have the support from the community which helps them run the event called the Calli Memorial Car Show, held June 25.

The Walters would like to see the show continue under someone else’s organization. As much as they would like to keep running this event,, they admit it is very tiring.

“We’re not getting any younger,” said Vicki. “We hope to do something on a smaller scale.”

Jeff and Vicki’s other daughter, Stephani O’Hara, a lymphoma survivor and a mother of four children, helps the car show by advertising and registering the cars displayed by people whom the Walkers have known a long time.

“We have this awesome community,” O’Hara said. “On the surface, it’s a car show but to us, it’s so much more than that.”

The car show had antique and vintage cars displayed by owners who shared stories about their vehicles. Chris Cewards, who lives in Deposit, NY, found a 1974 Corvette Stingray abandoned in a carport for 28 years. He said when the owner of the vehicle passed away in 1986 while in the middle of tearing it apart, his children left it in a carport and it hadn’t been driven since.

“The tires were sunk into the pavement,” Cewards said.

While working as a truck driver in York in 2015, Cewards found the car and felt that it was capable of being restored and driven again.

“I hate to see cars go because they don’t make them like this anymore,” he said about the car that features handmade fiberglass. “Anything I can save, I would save it. No two cars are exactly alike.”

Cewards rebuilt the original engine, painted it orange and installed an L88 hood on it, making the car look new. He calls it his “Barn Find,” even though he found it in a carport.

Joe Quinnan, of Clarks Summit, whose vehicle was displayed at the car show, also did a makeover to his car. He made his 1965 Ford Thunderbird Custom X-65T into a 1950s motif by installing spotlights on the hood, lake pipes on the bottom, and chopping the roof to make it lower. He has been in the Calli Memorial Car Show for four years but this was his first time with this vehicle.

“This is a good car show,” he said. “I hope it continues.”

Gary Henry from Carbondale had a red 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S Carol Shelby edition. He mentioned that Carol Shelby made Shelby Mustangs and Daytona Shelbys when Lee Iacocca owned the Chrysler company.

The car show also had vendors selling items under tents. Barbara May, who owns May B Krafts, sold handmade wooden signs, cork key chains and country decor.

“It’s a very nice event.” she said. “It’s for a very good cause.”

Barbara’s husband, Ken, displayed a Monte Carlo for the car show.

Old World Fan Birds from Lake Ariel vended birds made of a single iece of wood.

The Fleetville Fire Co. had its chicken BBQ, which was separate from the car show.

Although they might not run it next year, members of the Walker family hope the show will continue in future years and the community continues to show its support.

“It’s been a great healing process for us,” said Vicki. “Calli would’ve been 18 years old this year graduating from high school. This is all for the children.”

Joe Quinnan, of Clarks Summit with his 1965 Ford Thunderbird Custom X-65T, which he customed into a 1950s motif.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_20170625_130854.jpg.optimal.jpgJoe Quinnan, of Clarks Summit with his 1965 Ford Thunderbird Custom X-65T, which he customed into a 1950s motif. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Visitors view the many cars displayed at the car show.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_20170625_131219-2.jpg.optimal.jpgVisitors view the many cars displayed at the car show. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Inside the hood (with Alf and Shrek on each side) of a 1986 Dodge Daytona Z C/S Carol Shelby edition owned by Gary Henry, of Carbondale.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_20170625_132538.jpg.optimal.jpgInside the hood (with Alf and Shrek on each side) of a 1986 Dodge Daytona Z C/S Carol Shelby edition owned by Gary Henry, of Carbondale. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Handmade wooden signs by designer Barbara May of May B Krafts, one of the vendors at the car show.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_20170625_135610.jpg.optimal.jpgHandmade wooden signs by designer Barbara May of May B Krafts, one of the vendors at the car show. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Chris Cewards, of Deposit, NY with his 1974 Corvette Stingray, which he found and restored after it had been abandoned for 28 years.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_20170625_141359.jpg.optimal.jpgChris Cewards, of Deposit, NY with his 1974 Corvette Stingray, which he found and restored after it had been abandoned for 28 years. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

By Ben Freda

For Abington Journal

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