RIPON (NBC 26) — David and Debbie Hahn, owners of Hahn Transport are finishing up preparation for their annual car and truck show on Saturday—in a brand new facility.
A fire completely destroyed their building in Februaryand they also lost four trucks and equipment.
Debbie Hahn described it as “horrific.”
But watching the Hahns work, most people would have no idea they had just suffered such a loss.
That’s because the Hahns made a promise to Ripon.
“The night of the fire, numerous people asked me if we were still having our show,” David Hahn said. “And I told them we will have a new building by July 15. And it came true.”
David Hahn said last year the show drew 400 people and 100 cars and trucks, a number he hopes to top this year.
“Families of little kids come, and they’re all excited to look at the forklifts and the tractors and the semis,” David Hahn said.
One highlight: visitors can check out parts of Ripon's history with local memorabilia housed in a gas station from 1948.
“We’re trying to collect and display some of the period stuff that would have been here,” David Hahn said.
The car and truck show will demonstrate both the history of the Ripon community and its present impact on the Hahn family’s business.
“The community was a huge support,” David Hahn said. “We used all local contractors again that we used in the past, and they all stepped up and did a fantastic job in less than four months. And then a lot of community concern and support that we got, people, wanting to know if they could help or do anything. So that made a big difference.”
The car and truck show will be this Saturday starting at 9:00 a.m., in a building that has a few extra precautions…
“[There’s a] huge firewall that the other building didn’t have, haha,” Debbie Hahn said.
