Landon Anderson, 3, and his grandfather, Frank Yeigh take in the classic cars at the Rod Run & Doo Wop on Thursday afternoon.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There were more cars lining Kanawha Boulevard at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon than Rod Run & Doo Wop volunteer Cindy Moffatt believes she has ever seen before.
“It’s been pretty smooth, really,” Moffatt said of the more than 800 cars parked along the river.
In years past, cars have lined up–a mix of pre-registered and day-of registrants–to get a spot for the four-day event. But this year those who registered before the car show could start arriving as early as 7 a.m., which has been met with “a lot of positive feedback,” Moffatt said.
Among those classic cars was a spooky scene just before the Interstate 64 bridge, heading west on the boulevard. The Cemetery Knights Hearse Club has on display two hearses (a 1972 Cadillac and a 1994 Fleetwood Cadillac), four coffins, green smoking barrels labeled “MCHM” and a skeleton roasting on a spit.
Dave Rose, of South Charleston, said the group has been showing its ghoulish grills at every Rod Run since the event began in 2006. While the Knights used to put up a haunted house, Rose said the logistics have gotten to be too much and a pared down display is more manageable.
Along with the hearses, the group also has a “zombie killer”– a 1936 Ford two-door slant back outfitted with flamethrowers and a 30-caliber machine gun. Next to that was a 1923 Ford t-bucket towing a coffin with a mostly-dead vampire inside.
“A lot of people, they come to the car show and after they walk through it a while they get bored and want to see something different, so that’s what we do…