Day of 1st for two families and their rides at Hib Reber Memorial Car Show in Byron

BYRON – It was a day of firsts for two families Saturday at the 33rd annual Hib Reber Memorial Car Show.

First, it was 10-year-old Kinsey Ward of Byron who brought her own ride to the show after tagging along with her dad and his 1985 Camaro to numerous shows.

So, what does a 10-year-old bring to a car show? Her 1998 restored Peg Perego Gaucho Jeep, complete with new paint and plenty of little rubber ducks.

“We totally restored it,” Kinsey said. “We gave it headlights and taillights, and we fixed the horn and second gear. It used to be an ugly red and yellow color, so I picked out all the new colors.”

The restoration of the 12-volt toy Jeep started two months ago when Kinsey told her dad she wanted to bring it to a show.

“She’s been coming to shows with me and my Camaro,” Mark said. “She picked all the colors and did the painting herself. When I saw the colors she picked, I was asked her if she was sure and she said she was and wow, it turned out great.”

Kinsey chose a bright yellowish-green for her Jeep and baby blue seats as an accent color. The restoration took a couple of months, she said, and was delayed when parts failed to arrive.

“We had it for so long and it was so much uglier, so I wanted to restore it and make it pretty,” she said proudly.

She topped off the restoration with a selection of little rubber ducks that lined up across the Jeep’s dash.

Two rows to the east, Dave and Shelia Dean of Polo camped out behind their 1961 Pontiac Bonneville Safari station wagon at its first show.

“Dave bought it from a friend. He had been after the car for four years and he kept asking and finally his friend said OK. And he didn’t even ask me,” Shelia said laughing. “But I knew it would happen eventually.”

Their tan Pontiac that screams 1960s family road trip spent several years in California, which helped preserve its body from the harsh winters of northern Illinois.

“We have all the manuals and books, and that’s really cool,” she said. “We think they only made around 3,000 of the Safari editions originally and there are not that many left today.”

The Deans have added metal coolers and picnic baskets as part of the car’s display. And the wagon even sports a nifty chrome roof rack. “I can envision a surf board on that,” she said .

Luke Sheely of Adeline was showing his grandfather’s 1955 Ford Thunderbird that he recently restored for his dad, Roger, of Oregon.

The turquoise beauty belonged to Luke’s grandfather, who was nicknamed Banty and lived on Pines Road, near White Pines State Park. “I remember him taking me for rides in his T-Bird through the park,” Sheely said. “He bought it new in 1955 at the Bemis Ford dealership in Oregon.”

Sheely recalled the time his cousin was driving the two-seater to his prom in 1985 along Illinois 2 when he came across another vehicle in the ditch and ended up giving the car’s driver a ride to the hospital. “He took the guy to the hospital in this car,” he said.

The car was sold to a friend who took it to Florida for a few years before Roger bought it back and Sheely began the eight-month restoration.

“I’ve been working on cars since I was 13 years old,” said Sheely. who took automotive classes at Highland Community College after serving in the Marines from 1989 to 1992.

The T-Bird’s odometer shows 84,000 miles. “My grandpa only drove it some times,” Sheely said.

The 2024 show, held during ByronFest, had 213 vehicles participating.