Craig White had a good vantage point for the 35th D.W. Poppy car show and school fundraiser on Sunday, May 5.
He put some plywood and a carpet in the bed of his classic 1975 Chevy pickup truck, and set up a reclining car and footstool with a view of the many classic cars on display.
It was the first D.W. Poppy car show for White, a Glen Valley resident, who said he originally bought the pickup for $600 in 1994.
“It was rusty,” he recalled.
“Then I fixed it up in 2000, did a frame-off restoration.”
“It’s all original,” he commented, “a good old Canadian truck with the block heater and everything else.”
It was also a working truck, one that he used to for general contracting work, hauling a horse trailer he’d converted into a mobile tool shed.
Then, he “got a day job doing a project management, so I am not a contractor anymore.”
Even though it’s been 24 years since any work has been done on the Chevy, and it hasn’t been babied, it’s in remarkably good shape.
White said his daughter likes to enter it in events like the Aldergrove Good Times Cruise-In.
“We just drive around and go to car shows,” he smiled.
D.W. Poppy principal Jonathan Harris called the car show a “huge legacy event” that brings together staff, students and community.
Metalwork teacher Brian Jackson said the show was originally started started “to raise funds to spruce up the shop a little bit.”
It has since grown to become the school’s biggest fundraiser of the year, one that helps the shop program and computer education departments, as well as school teams and dry grad.
Last year, the car show raised approximately $30,000 for the school with the support of more than 500 cars and 2,000 spectators.
This year, more than 400 vehicles registered for the 2024 edition.
Funds raised will help purchase a tire mounting machine, a new countertop in the metalwork room, air fryers in the foods rooms, and replacement shelves in the library.
Over the year’s D.W. Poppy’s success, has prompted others schools to hold similar events, something Harris and Jackson applaud, because it benefits students.
“But we’re always going to be the original,” Jackson added.
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