More than 800 visitors filled the grounds of Salem EC Church, Lenhartsville, on Saturday, Sept. 17, at the 8th annual Pig Roast and Car Show.
Oldies tunes, played by a live band, Roy’s Gym, greeted visitors who came to browse the vehicles at the front of the property. In the back of the building, diners enjoy fresh-pulled pork before bidding on silent auction items or signing up to donate blood.
Twin brothers Grant Scatchard of Auburn and Gordon Scatchard of Hamburg entered their motorcycles in Saturday’s show and sat on a nearby grassy area to enjoy the sunny, moderate temperatures and watch the crowds. They have been riding motorcycles since they received their first mini bikes at age 12.
“But this is my first show,” said Grant, who entered a 2005 Yamaha Road Star bike. “I just did it for giggles.”
He heard about the show from his brother. Gordon was a first time participant in Salem’s show, although he has been entering – and winning – motorcycles shows for years. He brought his classic 1940 Indian Chief to Salem’s event.
“I got it right when I got out of the military in 1975,” Gordon explained, recounting fond memories of restoring the motorcycle over the years with the help of friends. He noted the paint job, featuring a bright blue offset by light gray, is more than 30 years old and still in great condition.
In all, 74 cars, trucks and motorcycles were entered in this year’s show. Ten entrants won a bucket filled with car-care supplies. Prizes were also awarded in five categories. Winners for Best Engine were Carl Hess (2011 Harley Motorcycle), Diane Grim (1957 Dodge truck) and Brian Zerby (2001 Mustang car). Best Paint winners were James Schadler (1930 Chevy Coupe car), Diane Grim (1957 Dodge truck) and Gordan Scatchard (1940 Indian motorcycle).
Top three trucks were, in order, Diane Grim (1957 Dodge), Nevin Heinzelman (1956 Ford) and Tim Yezik (1956 Chevy Apache). Top three motorcycles were Carl Hess (2011 Harley), Grant Scatchard (2005 Yamaha) and Jen Lengle (2010 Harley). The Top Cars were Erv Steinly’s 1957 Chevy Bel Air; Brian Zerby’s 2007 Ford Mustang; Gordon Degler’s 1958 Chevy; James Schadler’s 1930s Chevy and Richard Zerr’s 1967 Ford Shelby.
Adjacent to the car show was a tractor display, featuring many antique vehicles from nearby farms. People were invited to vote for their favorite farm vehicle, and the winners were a 1932 John Deere GP, owned by Logan Hartman, in first place and a 1951 John Deere AW model, owned by Kevin Hartman, in second.
A small display of hit-and-miss engines ran next to the rows of tractors. The public was also invited to enter a hay-bale toss contest in the afternoon. Winners by age category were Riley Moyer (7 to 12 years), Ethan Long (13 to 17 years) and DJ Gromlich (18 and up). Each received a Cabela’s gift certificate.
Roger Kuhns of Edenburg entered his 1940 2N Ford tractor in the show. Kuhns has attended the church’s show and entering his tractor for years. He was raised working on a farm, and said he acquired the Ford tractor from a friend about eight years ago.
“And I’ve been working on it ever since,” Kuhns said. “It needed a little repair. Every year, I work a little more on it.”
Kuhns spent most of Saturday sitting under a canopy and chatting with friends including Brandon Smith of New Tripoli. Smith brought his own tractor, a 1951 Ford 8N he restored with his father, using an after-market flat-head V8 engine.
Also outside during Saturday’s event was a touch-a-truck display, sponsored by VJ Wood’s Towing and Recovery of Hamburg and Duane Miller Trucking of Kutztown. Owners of both businesses attend Salem and brought their vehicles to the church. Youngsters were invited to climb into the big trucks and push buttons, pull levers and dream of driving a big rig one day.
More fun awaited the children inside Salem’s gym in the “Pig Pen,” a corner of the gym decorated with a barnyard theme. Here, kids could create a farm-animal craft project, enter prize drawings and help themselves to freebies: coloring books, pork recipe booklets and pig-shaped erasers.
Youngsters and adults shot arrows at archery targets in a separate booth. This was sponsored by Centershot, Salem’s archery program which will start classes this fall. Also in the gym were tables filled with silent auction items and a table highlighting the Miller-Keystone bloodmobile set up outside.
Bob Chafin and Bob Schmitt encouraged visitors to sign up to donate blood. Both men have worked the bloodmobile event at Salem for several years, and they hoped to collect 20 to 25 units of blood by day’s end.
“Only six people signed up ahead of time,” Schmitt said. “The rest are walk ins.”
“So far it’s been a good day,” Chafin said about midway through the drive. “But we still have a long way to go.”
As they talked, a woman added her name to the donor’s list. She said she would return after eating her pig roast meal, served from the back of the church property in the fellowship hall. That room became so crowded during the lunch hour that additional tables were brought into the already stocked room.
By the end of the day, just over 800 meals were sold. In addition, Pastor David Long said, 80 meals were delivered to local residents as a donation.
“The pig roast is a great event for our church,” he said, “and is only possible due to the dozens of church members who volunteer to prepare and serve meals, run the car show, help with parking and assist in many other ways.”
“It’s a great way to invite a friend to come to church and get to know us,” Long added. “We want to show Christ’s love to our neighbors. That’s one reason we started donating some of the meals.”
Church member and local farmer Otto Schick spearheads the annual car show and pig roast.
“Our church really comes together for this event,” he said. “We work well together for God and for our community. We had beautiful weather and the outreach and fundraising both went extremely well.”
All proceeds from Saturday benefit the ministries of Salem EC Church, 2150 Old Route 22, Lenhartsville. The church meets weekly for worship services Sundays at 9 am, followed by Sunday school for all ages at 10:30. Study groups, activities and youth programs are held throughout the week and month as well. Visitors are welcome to drop in or contact the church for information: 610-562-5033 or wearesalem@comcast.net.
