Donald Shirley, left, and Perry Mentzer, stand beside their vintage cars at the cruise-in car show hosted by Shepherdstown Fire Department on Friday night. Toni Milbourne

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Whether they came to view the rows of beautiful cars parked along the grassy bank beside the fire department building, to enjoy the pulled pork and other tasty dinner fare or to bid on a cake or pie in the annual bake auction, supporters of Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department turned out Friday evening to support the company.

Braving the extreme heat, vintage and specialty car owners gathered to show off their prized possessions. Perry Mentzer, who owns two vintage cars, brought his 1970 El Camino to the show.

“There are not many of them left,” Mentzer said of the car. “It’s a ‘car/truck’ and I can enter into shows either way.”

Parked next to Mentzer’s black ride was a bright yellow 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air belonging to Donald Shirley.

“I’ve owned it since 1981. I had air conditioning put in,” Shirley said mentioning he likes to ride in it, not to simply let it sit.

Fire Chief Ross Morgan, right, smiles with four-year-old Hunter Reese, whom Morgan assisted into Company Three's ladder truck. Toni Milbourne

“We like old cars and the people that go with them,” Shirley said, when asked why he comes to cruise-ins and car shows like the one at the fire department. “We were the young kids that drove these cars back in the day.”

The two friends were joined by others who often attend similar events together around the region. Karen Carroll, of Berryville, Va., brought her 1963 Impala she lovingly named “Peggy.”

“it’s about the camaraderie,” Mentzer said. “We like driving the cars and we go to a lot of shows together.”

After walking past the cruise-in entries and into the building, attendees found tables of homemade baked goods ready for bidding, as the 6:30 p.m. auction time drew near. Auctioneer Eric Mason was assisted by several volunteers from the station, as he showed each item and opened the bidding. Bids ranged from $10 to $500, as pies, cakes, candy and cookies were targeted by hungry buyers.

The highest-selling cake, as was similar in past years, was a hot milk sponge cake baked by Kenny Barron, which sold for $500.

Another item up for auction at the event was a handmade peddle car, which was donated to the auction. The car sold for a high bid of $775 to Kara Day. Day then asked if Treasurer Dennis Barron if the members of the company would like to display it at the station. In addition to putting the car on display for the next year, the couple will offer for it to be resold at next year’s event.

Adding to the bounty of the evening were the highest bids on silent auction items, ranging gift certificates to collector coins.