Silverhill,Alabama is a quaint town located 35 miles southeast ofMobile. It is about 10 miles east of Mobile Bay at the cross roads of highway 104 and 55.
A little background: Silverhill was founded in 1897 by Oscar Johnson, C. O. Carlson and C. A. Valentin, of Chicago, Illinois. Scandinavian settlers came from virtually every state in theUnion and began the development of what is now the Silverhill district. The last census records show just over 600 residence.
Those numbers change on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend though.
On that Saturday the city hosts “Silverhill Oscar Johnson Memorial Library Car Show”.
This car show has been going on for 8 or 9 years and is a wonderful time for all.
The show donates all proceeds to the local library fund.
For those reading this and are not familiar with the show or Silverhill, let me explain.
The center of Silverhill is a cross of the two highways. Each corner has a large grass area and that is where the car show is held. One corner has a pavilion which is the area for registration and award activity. The other corners have the City Hall, a church & bank with the fourth corner grass and some parking for adjacent businesses. So this show is actually downtown and in grass with trees. A lovely location and it was full with over 160 cars & trucks participating, add guests, friends and spectators and the city population on this day rose to close to a thousand or more.
About the car show. The show is supported by many sponsors in the area. Goodie bags are given out and the local groups and churches setup to help with food and drink being available. The show is spearheaded by Frankie Kucera with the help of local car club The Gear Jammers of Baldwin county. Sponsors donate money to pay for trophies and anything else needed as again all proceeds go to the library.
Awards consisted of a top 40 selected, more than 30 specialty awards and numerous participation trophies given away. They also gave out memorial awards for those of the area that are no longer with us. A very touching idea for those that have supported the show and hobby. Other things were a 50/50 pot drawing, a raffle for some large items such as a grandfather clock and rocking chair to name a couple and door prizes.
With the help of sponsors on this weekend many American flags were given away.
Enjoy the images and make plans for being a part of this Memorial Day weekend next year.
