Western Pennsylvania’s ninth Veterans Anything with Wheels Show was held Sunday at the Cooperstown Events Center grounds in Latrobe, drawing hundreds of showy vehicles amid the scorching heat.
Ranging from vintage to modern-day, automobiles of all makes, shapes and sizes were on display for spectators, veterans and sponsors to judge in more than 40 classes for over 120 trophies.
Attendees also could enjoy food, craft vendors, raffles and a pinup girl contest while listening to oldies tunes blasting through the grounds’ speakers.
But what has become a well-attended and anticipated yearly event began with just one “little teenage girl” — Kelsey Sleasman of Ligonier.
Now 25, Sleasman originally decided to “raise awareness” and money for veterans 11 years ago while in JROTC and the American Legion Auxiliary throughout high school in Ligonier because she “really wanted to get people’s attention.”
“I wanted to start a car show for veterans because I looked into it and I (saw) how (badly) a lot of our veterans were treated and how much assistance they needed … and I noticed a lot of veterans in our area specifically were hurting for a lot of things,” she said.
She cited needing medical care, readjusting to civilian life and suffering from PTSD as a few of the areas requiring assistance.
The show started with about 160 cars, she said, and it was organized through local nonprofits before being dubbed the Veterans Anything with Wheels Show.
“It was just super small. People didn’t know who I was,” Sleasman said.
Once her shows began to gain traction, she enlisted the help of her father, Tom Sleasman, because it became “too much for one person to do.”
She grew up at dirt tracks, race tracks and drag strips and went to car shows and car cruises in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, she said.
“I’ve always been passionate about cars,” Kelsey Sleasman said. “I’ve been a ‘car girl’ since I was a little kid.”
All of the show’s proceeds go “directly” to local veterans through PA Hero Walk, Tom Sleasman said.
“We try to keep it as local as possible with the PA Hero Walk, but it usually goes statewide — for any veteran for any reason that needs help,” Tom Sleasman said.
Any money that isn’t donated to the walk is given to veterans the show finds who need assistance, Kelsey Sleasman said.
This year, attendance for the show was “a little low,” which Tom Sleasman attributed to the intense heat. Usually attracting about 650 total vehicles, this year’s event only totaled around 430 cars and 30 bikes, Kelsey Sleasman said — the “smallest” for veterans she’s ever hosted.
“I think the heat is keeping people away,” Tom Sleasman said. “It’s just so hot.”
Both agreed the people, some of whom come from multiple states, make all the organizing worth it.
“You get to meet so many new people… you get to hear all the stories from how their parents owned this car, or how they helped their parents build this car or how they started building this car when they were a teenager and just finally finished it,” Kelsey Sleasman said. “After so many years, you get so many people, and they become… like a car show family.”
One of those family members is Sally Bane, who has come to Kelsey’s shows for all 11 years.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Bane, of Latrobe, said. “It’s like a family, everybody… is glued.”
Bane brought her 1990 Chevy Corvette to the show, which she “waited 50 years” to acquire. After going through a divorce and losing her job, Bane paid off her bills and finally decided to buy it.
“I had wanted a Corvette from the time I was probably 8 years old,” Bane said.
Roy Crownover said he was egged on by his friends to bring one of his six cars out to the event this year. He decided on his 1965 Dodge Coronet 440, which he said hasn’t been out in almost two years.
Crownover, of Ligonier, said his cars are joined by six trucks, seven motorcycles and a boat in five garages back home.
“It’s just fun to see… all the different makes, models (and) all the shiny chrome,” Crownover said about the show. “My motto is, ‘If it don’t shine, it ain’t mine.’”
Another car junkie, Richard Cannon, said he owns about 30 cars spread over different states — mostly older cars from the ‘20s.
“Car collecting started with my father, he had a (1929) Nash,” Cannon, of Ligonier, said. “I was trying to put his back together.”
Now, Cannon said he has the completed collection of 13 different 1929 Nash cars.
“I just like to see the local stuff, a lot of times they never drive (them), so you never see what’s in people’s garages,” Cannon said about the event. “(At) bigger shows like this, you get to see stuff people take out a couple times a year.”
Tom Sleasman said at the Veterans Anything with Wheels Show, attendees can see vehicles that may not be seen at most shows.
“Some of these cars only come out once a year and that’s to this show,” he said. “Anything that you want generally is here… everything that we can possibly bring in.”
Kelsey Sleasman said cars at the show can range from a couple of dollars to $500,000, and the event has even seen cannons, army trucks, tractors and lawnmowers come out.
“You have so many different people, and they all come together for this one great cause,” she said. “Everything about this show is for veterans, so it’s helping someone who served our country in need — that’s something I’m very passionate about.”
Megan Swift is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-2810, mswift@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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