More than a year after a bittersweet move from their hundred-year old firehouse, the members of Liberty Hose Fire Company return to White Street once more this Sunday, for the annual Red Bank Firefighters (a.k.a. Doc Holiday) Car Show. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By TOM CHESEK
It was a center-of-the-street faceoff worthy of the original Old West legend Doc Holliday – one that didn’t play out in favor of Red Bank’s Liberty Hose fire company, which had to “get out of Dodge” when the borough auctioned off its century-old White Street firehouse in 2014 (as reported here on redbankgreen).
Undaunted, the past and present members of Liberty Hose, since relocated to the First Aid building on Spring Street, reconvened in front of their historic headquarters last July for the continuation of a local summertime tradition: the annual Red Bank Firefighters Car Show – also known as the Robert “Doc” Holiday Car Show, in honor of a fondly remembered volunteer responder of bygone decades.
The tradition continues this Sunday, July 12, for a 13th consecutive year, when a most impressive display of vintage sheetmetal, antique wood, atom-age rockets, fins, mouseholes, butterfly windows, ornamental nacelles and bodacious Dagmars commandeers the prime real estate of the White Street municipal parking lot for one of the genuine must-see collector-car events of the season.
Having drawn more than 300 beautifully restored vintage vehicles to past editions, the event rivals the best of the regional circuit. It’s also an easily navigated, conveniently situated stroll through motoring history, with stops at the spoke-wheeled era of the Model T, the mid-century ascendance of automotive culture, and the postwar explosion that saw a dizzying parade of Detroit dream machines (and plucky import cousins) redraw the map of American life.
Included among the crowd-pleasing favorites (Ford T-Birds; Chevy Corvettes and Bel-Airs) have been opportunities for a relatively rare up-close look at a Shelby Cobra, a Kaiser Darrin, or a Pontiac GTO Judge – and the display is further distinguished by a selection of active-duty firefighting equipment.
It all goes on between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm, with food and beverages available, and all proceeds dedicated as always to college scholarship funds named for Holiday and Liberty Hose. Call (732) 240-6183 for additional info.
