Kruzin for Kids makes Albany pit stop | PHOTO GALLERY | VIDEO

ALBANY — A cavalcade of steel and rubber memories rolled Saturday into the Salt Lick Sausage Co. on Dawson Road, an Albany pit stop on the group’s trip from La Grange to the Georgia Sheriffs’ Boys Ranch in Hahira.

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The idea was for the owners of these cars and trucks, many of them antiques, to have a chance to socialize with others who share their interest, put some highway miles on their classic vehicles and, more importantly, help support the children of the Georgia Sheriffs’ youth homes through money raised by the first Kruzin for Kids Event.

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“We saw this as chance for car enthusiasts in the state to get involved and raise funds to give these kids a second chance in life,” said Buddy Hollomon, a member of the Georgia Street Rod Association and an organizer of the event.

According to Hollomon, as cruisers gassed up or grabbed a snack at the Salt Lick, a second set of classic cruisers were driving down from Macon on a different route. The two groups were to meet Saturday afternoon at Hahira.

“I love cruising, and a lot of our club members don’t leave town that often,” said Richard Runnalls, a member of the South Georgia Classic Car Club in Valdosta. ” So I got up bright and early and traveled 130 miles to meet this group going to Hahira. Some of these folks I see just once or twice a year.”

Runnalls, driving his 1932 Chevy two-door sedan Saturday, said his club has two events each year benefiting the youth homes, including one around Christmas when members provide gifts for the kids and cook a dinner for them.

Hollomon said the cruise was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Harold E. Holloway for his years of involvement and contributions to the sheriff’s youth homes. A brief ceremony was planned in Hahira later Saturday for the presentation of a plaque to Holloway’s children, Jason and Lynn Holloway, in appreciation of his work.

The cruisers also planned for an outdoor hamburger and hot dog lunch, Hollomon said, where they would get to know the 25 or so boys and girls at the Boys Ranch while also listening to some Bluegrass music by the Sumter County group Lonesome Road.

“The kids will have a chance to pick five of the cars to receive trophies,” Holloway said on Saturday. “One of those will be the Hard Luck trophy for someone who had a flat tire or something. There’s also a trophy for traveling the longest distance to Hahira.”

Cruisers from around the state paid $25 per vehicle to participate in the Kruzin for Kids event, Hollomon said, with the fees benefiting the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth homes.

Officials say the youth homes were established to give Georgia’s most at-risk children the love, safety and stability needed to help them grow up to be mature, successful adults. In 1960, sheriffs opened the Georgia Boys Ranch near Hahira, where the children were taught how to overcome adversity, learn personal responsibility, teamwork and acceptance of authority, as well as hygiene and manners. Today, the Boys Ranch is one of five sheriffs’ youth homes in Georgia.