Of Lions And Legends

Steve Wantek joined the Berlin Lions Club 18 years ago. “I wanted to do something for my community. I wanted to give back, and the Lions are the largest service organization in the world. We’re all volunteers. We have no paid employees.”

When Wantek, a Berlin resident, joined the Connecticut Street Legends, he saw that the ideals of the car club were much in tune with the Lions’ dedication to charitable work, so bringing the Lions and the Legends together was a no-brainer.

“Sunday’s Connecticut Street Legends’ Second Annual Car Show was a club venture in conjunction with the Lions,” Street Legends club member Bob Serra said of the event, held at the Berlin Fair Grounds. “Once we tally the gate receipts, half will go to the Lions and the charities they support.”

The Street Legends’ July 17th Toy Run raised $4,600 and 4,000 toys for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Their October 9th car show will benefit the Rocky Hill Food Pantry. 

The resurgent vanning community was represented by a quartet of outstanding show vans, including Joe “Rooster” Kenney’s “Neverending Story” themed van. Muscle cars, hot rods, classics and antique cars were also well represented.

Street Legends’ member Tony Dellafiore had his 1965 yellow Chevy Malibu SS on display. Tony has owned the heavy Chevy for four years after buying it in Orange, CT. He described its condition as “awful” when he bought the car.

Les Harris made the drive from Cheshire in his 1932 red Ford Hi-Boy Roadster. “I bought this car 18 months ago, and finished it the way I wanted. I used to build hot rods and belonged to the Connecticut Street Rod Association years ago. I drive it a lot and ended up putting 4,000 miles on the car in 2010.”

Bristol resident Brian Beals put his 1956 Desoto Adventurer in the show. “This car is one of only 996 built and sold. You could only buy it in white/gold or black/gold. It has factory power steering, power windows and power seats. It’s the kind of car you see once in a lifetime.”