“STEPPING UP TO SERVE”: IS A MISSISIPPI-BASED INITIATIVE TO SHOWCASE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE GOING THE EXTRA MILE TO GIVE BACK. THIS SEGMENT IS MADE POSSIBLE BY:
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“Stepping Up to Serve” – The Car Club of Mississippi: Using Model-A Cars to Drive Nostalgia
As time passes, it is easy to lose certain pieces of history. Newer, shinier thing are produced; older items are left sitting under blue tarps in 100-year-old barns. One of those pieces of history are sometimes Model-A cars that have been long-forgotten by younger generations.
The Car Club is a group of about 30 people in Mississippi who work hard to keep these timeless pieces of machinery refurbished, renovated, and ready to take on another 100 years.
Mr. Wayne Hilliard, who has been the president of The Car Club for seventeen years, said that the organization started in October of 1962 and was then called the Mississippi Model-A Ford Restorers Club.
Hilliard says that the whole reason for the club is to help people enjoy the car.
Through this work, The Car Club is able to provide the older generations with a gift that is sometimes hard to find: nostalgia.
“We had a guy that we surprised who was turning 100, and he got to ride in a friend’s car,” said Hilliard. “It was a 1914 T-Model, and he was born in 1914. He was so excited that he was able to ride in a car that was the same age as him. We try to do that when we can.”
Hilliard joined in 1984 and has been an active participant ever since, owning three of these antique cars himself: a 1929 Pickup, a 1929 Two-Door, and a 1931 Speedster.
All of the members of The Car Club own Model-A cars, which were first released in 1928.
Hilliard and other members of The Car Club also donate their time and resources to get broken down Model-A’s restored to mint-like conditions.
“There was one guy whose car has been sitting there for 25 years, and we ended up getting it up and running. And he used it in his daughter’s wedding,” said Hilliard.
The Car Club members want to encourage the younger generation to realize the value of these momentous cars.
“It’s a part of history… It’s getting to be over 90 years ago that it was built, and people just want to keep that going.”
The Car Club finds its members by word-of-mouth. If you would like to get in touch with Mr. Hilliard please reach out to Nicole at Darkhorse Press.
