BREWTON, Ala. — The Brewton Ribs and Rides Car Show brought members of a Florida Corvette club back to downtown Brewton on Saturday, though Hurricane Isaias kept some of their cars at home.
Stephen and Cindy Noble of Navarre, Fla., who belong to the Playground Corvette Club, marked their fifth trip to the annual show, hosted by the Greater Brewton Lions Club. The club makes the drive from the Fort Walton Beach area each fall, and the Nobles have no trouble explaining why.
“This is the best car show we attend,” Stephen Noble said. “The people, the town, the location – it’s just great.”
Downtown and the trains are part of the draw
For Cindy Noble, the setting matters as much as the cars. She said she enjoys the view from the show site every year.
“The beautiful building fronts in downtown are just so pretty,” she said. “And, we get to see the trains pass by up-close. The people here are always so nice, too.”
Stephen Noble credited those running the event. “The staff, the Lions Club people – they make this show wonderful and really do make it a good show,” he said.
The couple’s ties to the town extend past the show weekend. “We come to Brewton every now and then to eat at Camp 31 and we just love this community,” he said.
Storm trims the club’s turnout
As many as a dozen other club members typically join the Nobles, but this year’s group was smaller. Stephen Noble said the hurricane was the reason.
“We would have had a bigger group with us this year,” he said. “But, some of our members couldn’t get their car out to bring because of the storm (Hurricane Isaias). Our group is a little light this year because of that.”
Other club members at the show came from Niceville, Shalimar, Freeport and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Isaias made landfall near Destin, Fla., on the evening of Oct. 9, then moved north into Alabama. Brewton Mayor Frank Nalty has called the city the hardest-hit community in the state, and debris cleanup continues there.
Organizer pleased with the turnout
The Lions hold the show every fall, and organizer Glen Freeman said this year’s event went well for the club.
“This was a really good show this year,” Freeman said. “We never know what attendance will be like for the show, but this year turned out great.”
