A fundraising drive

BURBANK—One of Nancy Garrow’s last wishes was to ride in a Chevrolet Chevelle again.

After battling cancer for 10 years, Nancy wanted to buy back the car that she had after she was married in 1971 till the 1980s. So her husband Gary bought and restored a 1965 bright yellow Chevelle and named it “Sweet Nancy” in her honor.

Gary Garrow was one of 200 car owners who pulled into town for the John Burroughs Arrowhead Club’s 21st Annual Car Show Fundraiser on Sunday at Johnny Carson Park.

“My wife Nancy passed away in 2006 and never got to see the car, but her spirit is still in it; she rides with me,” said Garrow, who takes the Chevelle or his 1957 Chevrolet Nomad to about 25 car shows a year. “This is the first time I have been to this particular show, and it has great energy. I was also in the Burbank High parade last week, so I had to do something for Burroughs. I can’t play favorites.”

The longtime event helps raise money for the Burroughs High football team, such as covering transportation costs to away games and equipment for team dinners, said chief organizer Christian Hope.

“We chose the car show because so many people in Burbank are involved in car culture,” Hope said. “And we were pleasantly surprised this year because people kept saying we’d be down because of the economy, but we have 50 more cars than last year. It shows how generous and helpful the community is.”

Melanie Rockwell brought out her car-loving son, Ethan, 6, to check out the vintage vehicles. “We were supposed to meet a friend for breakfast, and he called us and said that we should check out the car show, so we did and are having a lot of fun,” Melanie Rockwell said. “He loves the movie ‘Cars,’ so he is already pointing out all the ones that look they like belonged to different characters.”

The crowd is the perfect opportunity for the Burroughs cheerleading squad to debut its 2008-09 calendar, which features squad members with different collectible cars, said Debbie Christie, president of the Cheer Boosters.

“Burbank is such a tight-knit community; people have lived here forever, so it is always a big event each year and helps us sell at least 75 of our calendars,” Christie said.

While most of the cars were simply for show, Clark Bauman drives his 1969 black Chevrolet Camaro everywhere he goes.

“I come to this show every year because it is close by, and it is a chance for me to give back to the high school, where my two children graduated from,” Bauman said. “It just feels kind of like a party because you get to spend the Sunday with your friends and neighbors.”