The parking area at Putnam County Bank’s Loan Center adjacent to I-64 in Hurricane was the site of numerous vintage vehicles on display at the Cops-N-Rodders’ cruz-in on Saturday, May 15.

The owners can relate when and why they came to possess their classic conveyance and tell of their investments in restoring and preserving their treasures. Each owner has a love affair of some sort or the other with his or her vehicle.

Bill Kirtley’s relationship with his 1936 Ford has been ongoing for 25 years. Kirtley, an Ona resident, purchased the then 60-year old vehicle shortly after it suffered a rear end mechanical failure. The previous owner, a Montgomery resident, determined that he could no longer finance a love that required his continual giving.

Kirtley referring to his vehicle as my “money pit,” stated that he would have had to end his affair with the ’36 Ford in the same manner as the gentleman from Montgomery if he had not been able to perform all mechanical repairs beneath the shade trees at his home. Body work expense has been a different story. Kirtley was able to keep a lid on expense by employing the skills of a friend. The friend, however, has since relocated to Lewisburg.

Kirtley hesitates to test the long-distance durability of his 85-year old pickup and relies upon local events as the Cops-N-Rodders Cruz-In to show off his love. Kirtley did make one exception to his self-imposed distance limitations to participate in a car show at Lewisburg while visiting his friend who helped make the vehicle what it is today.

More stories will be in the offering on the third Saturday of every summer month at the Loan Center.