SOMERS - Though the temperature was more than 90 degrees, many of the cars in Somers Sunday afternoon didn't have air conditioners.
The third annual Somers car show drew in cars of all ages from the area - some built long before air was an option.
The oldest at the show was a 1927 Model T Ford owned by Don Borland, of Gowrie. A close second was Borland's Model A Ford; this one a 1929.
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Annie Peterson and Jerry Garretson, of Fort Dodge, examine the motor on Garretson’s 1990 Corvette convertible. This car won the Best Chevrolet trophy.
"The Model A has the original engine," Borland said. "It's a lot of fun to drive."
The Model T has a more colorful history.
"I found that one by the river, by Woolstock," he said. "It needed a lot of different parts and quite a bit of time."
Borland later won a trophy for the Best Unfinished car.
Jerry Garretson, of Fort Dodge, had a similarly water-themed story for his 1990 Corvette convertible.
He's had the car "approximately 10 years," he said. "I rescued it out of Des Moines, the Birdland Addition before the big floods. It would have been toast."
Garretson won the Best Chevy award.
Paul Gregerson, of Knierim, had a simpler story.
"I've owned this since it was new," he said of his bright green 1970 Dodge Super Bee. "Four or five years ago I started fixing it up. Otherwise, it was either let it go to the junkyard or sell it for nothing."
Nathan Gentry, of Rockwell City, gets to plenty of car shows.
"I usually go to one show a weekend," Gentry said. "This is what I do for a living. This is advertising, and I meet people."
Gentry restores cars and builds hot rods, like the one he brought made from a 1934 Ford Pickup.
Gentry's car won the Best Street Rod trophy.
Gentry also brought a friend to the show.
"I didn't know they were having one here," said Mike Licht, also of Rockwell City, who brought a shiny black El Camino SS.
He said every part had been taken off the car and worked on. He also added wood to the bed.
"The wood changes the whole appearance of the truck," he said. "Makes it unique."
Rod Scott, the show's organizer, said there were 19 cars at the show.
Six or seven motorcycles were on display, a big improvement from the single bike last year.
As in the past two years, all proceeds from the car show go toward the new Somers library building. The library moved to its new location in October 2011.
"It will go to pay off the bills from building it and refurbish some things. We want to get more books and some new computers," Scott said.
Scott and his wife, Shari Scott, were judging the event and gave out eight trophies at the end of the day. Some of the categories were flexible.
"We were going to have a tri-five trophy, for cars from '55, '56, and '57, but none showed up," he said. "We're going to give a trophy for Best Patriotic car instead."
That trophy went to Ron Jones, whose white Chevrolet Camaro had a giant bald eagle and American flag across the hood and a message of support for the troops on the side.
When the winners were announced at 3 p.m., Licht was grateful that Gentry had brought him along; the Best in Show award went to Licht's El Camino.
Licht said he hadn't expected to win.
"No, there are a lot of nice cars out there," he said. "Once in a while you get lucky."