Fun on the Fourth

Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Wash and Shine Car Show helped draw crowds to the park.

Carl Miller Park was filled Saturday with area residents attending the annual Fourth of July celebration organized by the El-Whyhee Business Association.

More than a dozen vendor booths were set up, offering food, crafts, raffles and information, and the park featured the annual Wash and Shine Car Show, a small "Art in the Park" exhibition and contest, as well as bouncy houses for the kids. In the cook shack area, Don Goodwill had set up a huge G-gauge model train layout.

The park was festooned in red, white and blue. The huge Silver Wings American flag flew over the park and small plastic American flags (made in China) where handed out to youngsters throughout the day.

The highlight of the event was the annual Little Miss El-Whyhee pageant, which this year featured a Hawaiian theme. Young girls, most of them in preschool, took their turns on stage, answering questions from emcee Jesicca Smith and many performing dances or songs. Some oversang musical CD numbers and others sang a capella tunes, such as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," the ABC song and "High Hopes." Some reveled in performing for the appreciative crowd, while others became suddenly shy as they came on stage. The event concluded with all the entrants -- all of whom were declared winners -- performing the "Chicken Dance" on stage.

Winners for the Wash and Shine car show are:

* Mayor's Choice -- Doug Mayne (1935 Studebaker).

* Work in Progress --Barry Nye (1985 Chevy El Camino).

* Best Classic -- Tanner Wing (1953 Chevy Bel-Air).

* Street Rod -- Sid and Kim Wing (Ford Roadster).

* Best Bike -- Kristin Porter (1966 H-D Sprint).

* Muscle Car -- Airbase Road Napa (1968 Chevy Camero).

* Best custom -- Zachery Wright (2001 Ford Mustang).

* Best truck -- Willy Heckathorn (1970 GMC).

* Mini Truck -- Jason Lekvold (1987 Mazda B2200).

* Best 4X4 -- Rob Montgomery (1979 Ford Crew cab).

The winner of the Arts in the Park contest was Steve Gabriel, for his wooden relief works.

The high school cheer squad also performed during the day and a four-wheel drive demonstration also was held, with the vehicles driving over some gutted cars, crushing them.

Later that evening, the Mountain Home Fire Department staged a huge fireworks display that lasted well over half an hour at the golf course. Hundreds of people sitting in lawn chairs and blankets lined the first hole fairway and nearby yards, as well as commercial parking lots in the area, to watch the show.

Although there were few fires reported on the Fourth of July during the day, just as the show was about to start firemen were called out to a small fire on the Aguirre property on Frontage Road. The fire trucks that had staged at the golf course moved at a crawl with lights flashing through the crowded 18th Street area to reach the blaze. A second small brush fire, later that evening was put out by firemen on Reservoir Road.

Both fire were sparked by illegal fireworks.