It's official: Fair crowns county's ugliest pickup truck
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 11, 2015 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Randy Smith, first place winner, rides around the arena in his rusted 1977 Chevrolet Silverado at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair on Saturday.
At the Wayne County Regional Agricultural Fair on Saturday, the weather was not the only thing that was ugly.
So were the pickup trucks.
Leonard and Michelle Gurganus were plenty proud of their 1988 Chevrolet S10, although some people might choose to sell it for scrap.
While it isn't certain how well the truck runs, one thing is for sure -- it is definitely ugly.
The red truck's body is dented and banged up, one of the tail lights is broken, the rear tire of the driver's side is the wrong size, the seats that were once made of leather have been ripped and worn down to the foam cushioning, and trash is scattered all throughout the floor board -- and an empty pack of Marlboro cigarettes was stuck on the antenna for good measure.
"I had an '02 Ford Ranger that got burnt up by some teenagers four years ago, so I took the money and bought this," Gurganus said. "It might be ugly, but the thing's been a Cadillac since I bought it."
But unfortunately -- or, perhaps, fortunately -- for the Gurganuses, their truck wasn't quite ugly enough to be named the ugliest truck at the county fair this year.
That honor went to Randy Smith, who rolled past the judges in a rust-eaten 1977 Chevrolet Silverado that looked like it might once have been a light blue color when it was new.
There were thick cracks running through the dashboard, showing signs of sun-induced deterioration over the years. The windshield was coated with dust and debris, and the bed of the truck had plenty of trash inside of it. Wires hung down from the undercarriage, and the body of the truck appeared to be held together only by a wish and a prayer.
Second place at Saturday's ugly truck contest went to Tom Drew, who entered his Winnebago into the fray.
The Winnebago had been modified to have the back of it converted into a flatbed, while the front of it had been made to have an open back where Drew climbs in and out instead of using a door. An array of random items and trash was piled heavy into the bed of the Winnebago, and what remained of the Winnebago's body showed signs of serious rust corrosion.
Third place went to Adam Newcomb, who drove up in a 1983 Chevrolet Silverado that was painted three different colors, was rusted out and had a large cage around the bed of the truck. The back passenger's side fender was red, the passenger door was green, the front fender of the passenger side was black, and the hood of the truck was red.
Newcomb's tires were cracked from the wear and tear of old age and sun exposure, and one thing was clear about each truck as they wobbled and rocked past the judges and elicited screams of excitement from the crowd that braved the rain and gathered at Saturday's contest -- they were very, very ugly.
And, of course, they wouldn't have it any other way.
"Why not? It's a ton of fun," Mrs. Gurganus said. "We like the truck, and we entered because we figured we wanted to do whatever we could do with the truck."