1st-Love Bug | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Hastings woman aims to inspire at Fly-In & Classic Car Show

Becky Stone is the proud owner of a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle she has restored from the ground up.
Positively Putnam FL

Becky Stone’s 1974 Volkswagen Beetle makes her proud. The Hastings VW enthusiast rebuilt and restored her shiny yellow bug - nearly all of it with her own two hands - and aims to show off her pride and joy Saturday at the 11th annual Fly-In and Classic Car Show.

Stone’s effort to restore the car was a labor of love.

“I had one when I was a teenager and was forced to sell it,” said Stone. “I always said I would find another one and restore it myself.”

So, she did.

She bought her little yellow bug 10 years ago up in North Carolina and brought it home to Hastings where Stone and her husband, Taft, live.

But the little car needed some major work.

“The car was in really bad shape and I did a complete restoration from the ground up,” she said. “I also did all the upholstery work and, with a little help from my husband and late uncle, we got all the body work done in seven weeks.”

Stone added she also sent the engine off to a local shop to be rebuilt.

“I think she has done a wonderful job with the car and the attention to detail,” said Taft Stone, who is president of the local car club, the Azalea City Cruisers.

Becky Stone wants everyone who looks at her car to realize that if she can do it, they can too.

“I think it’s unique because it’s 90% built by a woman,” she said.

Stone said her interest in mechanic work is personal for her, adding her dad was a mechanic and that motivated her to take mechanics class at St. Augustine Technical School.

“I don’t work on other people’s cars, only my own,” she said. “There was a time when there was only me to fix my car. I’ve been around mechanic work my whole life.”

Stone plans to show her car Saturday in the 11th annual Fly-In and Classic Car Show at the Palatka Municipal Airport, 4015 Reid St., Palatka, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Highlights include warbirds and classic airplanes on static display, large numbers of “fly-bys” throughout the day, classic cars, face painting and skydiving demonstrations from Skydive Palatka and the Round Canopy Parachuting Team, a group of veterans dedicated to honoring the courageous history of the “Airborne” war heroes.

Larra Wallace is the event planner for this year’s Fly-In and Classic Car Show that will include five food trucks for lunch options and three for desserts. Vendors include Velchoffs, Smokedogs BBQ, Taco Gringos, Arepa Life, Yamo Italian Street Food, Kona Ice, Cool Bus and Ringo’s Donuts.

Special guest for the day will be Orestes Lorenzo, a pilot who defected in a Russian-owned Mig fighter jet from Cuba in 1989. Orestes will be leading his seven member jet demonstration team, “The Banditos” and is expected to arrive at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

This year’s Fly-In and Classic Car Show is sponsored by Friends of the Palatka Airport. Admission for the weekend show will be $10 per vehicle with proceeds going toward helping participating pilots offset the cost of fuel. Any additional money will go back to supporting the airport to encourage aviation interest in the community.

Stone admits she’s already won several trophies and plaques at different shows with her yellow Volkswagen Beetle.

“My first trophy was with the Azalea City Cruisers at the Palatka Riverfront before I was a member,” she said.

The Azalea City Cruisers meet every Fourth Saturday at Pizza Boys in downtown Palatka.

“We are open to all who have an interest in cars,” he said. “The show on Saturday will also have a lot of people who enjoy cars, trucks and airplanes and the camaraderie of it all.”