CRESTVIEW — Crestview High School junior Trevor Vaughn appreciates a fine old car.
Though his 1971 Mustang Fastback is well known on campus, he was drawn to Holt resident Jerry Cunningham's newest acquisition.
Last fall, Cunningham bought a 1951 Buick Eight Special on eBay, sight unseen. It joined his fleet of 1940s Buicks and a 1941 Dodge pickup truck. He exhibited some of them March 15 during the Okaloosa School Nutrition Association's second annual car show at Crestview High.
See photos from the Crestview High car show here>>
Despite occasional rain, organizers of the scholarship benefit were pleased that 59 vehicles — 14 more than last year — registered.
"Even though with the bad weather and all, we had a good time and everybody else had a good time," Crestview High cafeteria manager Lynn Rogers said. "It turned out pretty good, I think."
Total tallies weren't available as of press time, but Rogers said the group expects to at least match if not exceed last year's $1,200 totaltoward its annual scholarship.
Vehicles of all shapes and sizes
Charlie Beck, a Pleasant Home School sixth-grader who lives in Laurel Hill, escaped a drizzle behind the wheel of the '51 Buick.
"It's real comfortable," the 12-year-old said. "I like the seats."
Nearby, Clyde Fahie's 1955 Volkswagen Beetle attracted appreciative looks. The bubblegum pink — it's not "Pepto Bismal pink," Fahie said emphatically — makes the car unique.
"I thought about changing the color three times but everybody told me, 'No, it'll just be another VW,'" Fahie said.
Fahie, an Air Force veteran from the U.S. Virgin Islands, said the car "was my retirement present to myself. It's my pride and joy."
Vehicles ranged from a 1920s Ford hot rod, classic 1940s and '50s cars and pickup trucks to several monster trucks so towering that Justin Hall, 9, and his family could, and did, shelter from the rain beneath one.
Also displayed was a 1966 Mustang Coupéto be raffled off April 27 during Pandora's Annual Children's Invitational golf tournament.
Raffle ticket sales benefit Okaloosa County special education schools, Richbourg E.S.E. School teacher Karen Wooten said.
"One hundred percent of our ticket sales go back to Richbourg School," she said. "We get a portion of the grand total sales, too."
Raffle tickets may be purchased at the school for $1 each or 6 for $5, Wooten said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Car buffs admire classic vehicles at CHS car show fund-raiser