CAR SHOW ATTRACTS ALMOST 200 ENTRIES

Hundreds of spectators packed into Cape Girardeau's Capaha Park Sunday to view some of slickest automobiles in all of Southeast Missouri.

The vehicles were on display at the 21st annual Car Show sponsored by the River City Rodders. The show is held every year in Cape Girardeau's Capaha Park on the Sunday following the SEMO District Fair.

This year's show saw 189 cars entered in 31 different classes, plus 15 cars brought to the show by members of the sponsoring club. Those who brought their cars were also competing for trophies in their classes.

The award for club participation went to the No Limit Miniz club from Poplar Bluff, which brought 11 cars to the show. The club walked away with seven trophies Sunday afternoon.

Merle McBride of Winona took a trophy home the farthest. McBride, who traveled 162 miles from his home, won the special "long distance" trophy for coming farther to the show than any other exhibitor.

But the big winner of the day was Bill Johns of Kennett, who took home the Best of Show trophy for his 1936 Ford sedan, named "Peaches and Cream."

The award, which is also known as the "Boyd's Pick" award, was presented to Johns by Crystal Morton, daughter of the late Boyd Morton for whom the award was name.

Boyd Morton was one of the charter members of the River City Rodders, helping to found the club 21 years ago. Morton died in 1993. Since that time, the club has honored his memory by giving the Best of Show trophy in his name.

Morton was fond of street rods, a type of car that has been modified greatly from the original design. It is not uncommon that the winner of the Boyd's Pick award is a street rod.

Johns' car is a street rod that has seen a lot of modifications. It has a tilt steering wheel, automatic transmission, disc brakes and air conditioning. The car sports purple neon running lights and shoots fire through the flame throwers in its tail pipes.

It even has a small color TV and a VCR mounted on its dash board. The two-tone paint job -- in peach and cream, from which the car gets its name -- is not close to the original.

And, of course, hanging from the rearview mirror is a pair of fuzzy dice.

Johns has owned the car for two and a half years. It took him and his family six months to get the car in shape after they first got it.

"It was in rough shape," he said.

He was aided in the restoration process by his wife, Phyllis, and his 16-year-old daughter. Now the car is worth an estimated $30,000.

Johns, 41, has been rebuilding cars for 23 years. He estimates that he has rebuilt over 30 cars of his own in that time.

He drives his sedan every day to work, which is unusual among many who exhibit their vehicles at the car shows. Many of the exhibitors keep their vehicles in garages and take them to the shows on trailers.

"If mine is on a trailer, call 911 because it's been stolen," Johns said.