WOODRUFF, Utah — The Woodruff Classic Car Show has been going strong for six years, and this year was no exception. 

The car show, which was held Saturday, June 17, was an opportunity for families and car enthusiasts to spend time around old, new and fabricated cars for a good cause, as the show funnels all the money raised into a charity cause. This year, the donations are going to be given to Kris Limb, an Evanston resident who is battling cancer. 

Although donations are still coming in, the most recent tally on Monday was $7,000, which fell short of the $10,000 goal. 

Jared Huffaker said the car show started six years ago with about 20 cars, and it has grown each year to the point that this year featured around 75 cars. 

Many of the vehicles — and, of course, their owners — have stories that span decades. 

Evanston resident Kelly Easton has owned his 1955 Chevy Bel Air since high school.

The Easton family — particularly Kelly and Doug Easton — were well known to many for their long involvement in car and motorcycle work. The two operate Easton Brothers Motors in Evanston, an auto repair shop. 

Kelly Easton said he bought the car in 1969 when the owner blew out the motor and needed to sell it to get back to North Carolina after having been discharged from the military.

“He told me the story and said, ‘I need $250 to get a bus ticket to get back to North Carolina because I just got out of the service and I’m broke,’” Kelly Easton recalled. “Well, at the time — this was during the summer — I was washing dishes at the Jolly Roger for 65 cents an hour.” 

So he went to his mother to ask for a loan, but she instead offered to buy the car for him for graduation. 

“So there’s a lot of sentimental value here,” Kelly Easton said. 

It’s a multipurpose car that he uses not only for everyday driving but for drag racing and showing. He’s tinkered with it ever since he first got it as well, to the point that the only original part on the car is the body. It currently has a small block Chevy 355 6-inch rod motor, he said, although he would like to build a higher-horsepower engine for it. 

“I want one that really gets my adrenaline going and makes me feel like I’m 19 again instead of 67,” he said. 

“My way of looking at life is, I like the old hot rod look and not the new modernization,” he added. “... I kind of like it the way it was and not the way it is.” 

Kelly Easton said he enjoys coming down to the Woodruff car show every year, not only because he knows and likes mingling with the people he knows in Woodruff and Randolph, Utah, but because the car show benefits people in need. He especially commended car show organizer Jared Huffaker, who he described as having a “heart of compassion.” 

Kelly Easton was also one of those recognized at the military and Boy Scout appreciation ceremony. He is a Purple Heart recipient from his time in the Vietnam War. He was drafted into service two months after he married his wife, Kathy. They have been together 47 years.

His nephew Broc Easton was showing a car as well, a 1969 Chevy C10 that he has worked on for the last seven years. 

Several vehicles earned awards at the car show and had stories of friendship, marriage and lifelong passion to go along with them. And almost without exception, the owners are proud of every part of their projects.

Craig Johnson showed his truck, which was originally a long-bed but has been changed to a short-bed. Over the course of 7,000 hours poured into the project, it is completely different, from the custom hand-painted designs to the frame. Johnson also wants to put in a special paint job that will be as shiny as glass — which will take three years to dry once applied. 

He also had two child-sized cars that he custom-built out of pedal cars for his kids. One, which matches the full-size car he was showing, was created for his son’s first birthday; the other was created for his daughter’s first birthday. Both are steel-built and have completely customized shapes. Johnson has also begun a business in Evanston that allows him to do what he loves — Crazy Kids Crazy Paint and Customs LLC. 

The Tullys showed a rat rod that they have worked on for a little less than a year, yet their work raked in awards at this, their first show. The vehicle, a 1934 Chevy rat rod, won the President’s Choice, a Top 5 award, the Other Car Club Guys Club Choice, Best Carburation and Most Horsepower. 

Arieon Tully said they found the car last August in the desert north of Kemmerer, full of bullet holes, and they’ve worked on it ever since. They hope to get it road legal in future. 

“She cleans it; I build it,” Michael Tully said. 

There were several other award-winners as well.

Vickie Eubank’s 1979 TransAm won the People’s Choice Award. Gary Hart of Willard, Utah, won two Top 5 awards for his 1968 Mercury Cougar; the other Top 5 winners were Kelly Easton’s 1955 Bel Air and Danny ‘Putter’ Putnum’s 1951 Ford. 

The show also featured a hamburger sale and pinewood derby races for kids.