Carter County Car Club holds last cruise-in of the year

ELIZABETHTON — The Carter County Car Club held the last cruise-in of the year on Saturday with a return to downtown Elk Avenue for its annual Halloween Trunk or Treat celebration.There were lots of classic cars and lots of boys and girls in imaginative costumes collecting candy and smiles. Many regular participants said they were glad to be back on Elk Avenue instead of the alternate location on E Street, which is a parallel street to Elk Avenue, just a block to the north. The club started holding most of its weekly cruise-ins on E Street at the request of the Elizabethton City Council.Carter County Car Club President Jim Bass said the changing locations for the cruise-ins and the uncertainty caused by the closure of the Broad Street Bridge has made 2025 a very difficult year for the club."We are still trying to get caught up, right now," Bass said. "It has been a challenge for us. Getting the bridge reopened has helped."Bass said the club is especially disappointed that its collections for its list of children's charities will be down this year. Last year, the club lost an entire month when Hurricane Helene tore through the community on Sept. 27, causing all the Elk Avenue cruise-ins to be cancelled because of the closure of the Broad Street Bridge due to flood damage. The club did have its annual Trunk-or-Treat cruise in, but it was held in the parking lot of Elizabethton High School.Hurricane Helene's impact continued to be felt by the car club this year, as the Broad Street Bridge continued to be closed until the 4th of July weekend. The club did hold its cruise-ins back in the parking lot of Elizabethton High School., but because it had to wait until after school was out for the summer. That meant the first cruise-in of the year for 2025 was not held until late May. That meant the loss of nearly two months from the club's traditional 7-month cruise-in season.When the club finally was able to return the cruise-ins to downtown after the Broad Street Bridge reopened in July, there was another problem. There has been some controversy with some citizens about having the cruise-ins on Elk Avenue every Saturday during the warm weather months. The Eizabethton City Council attempted to resolve the controversy. It decided to allow the club to hold its cruise-ins on Elk Avenue once a month. For the other three of four Saturdays of the month, it ruled the club should hold the cruise-ins on E Street.Bass said the club tried to make the E Street location work, but it has not been as popular a location. He said some members simply did not attend the cruise-ins on E Street. He said the collections for the club's children's charities were only about 25% to 30% of the amount they took in weekly on Elk Avenue. Bass said he tried to keep a schedule of where the cruise-ins would be held each week, but a lot of the visitors from other states continued to be confused about the changing locations.The result of all this is that the collections for the children's charities is at a low point at a time in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene when the demands on the charities is at its greatest.Bass said the club will be meeting on Nov. 10 to get a final figure for how much money was taken in for the charities. The members will also decide how the money is divided between the various charities. All of the proceeds from the weekly cruise-ins go to the charities.The club will present the money to the charities during a special meeting at Elizabethton City Hall at 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 20.