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<p>HAZLE TWP. &#8212; Kerry Henrichs stood by his baby and beamed.</p><p>Henrichs, of Catawissa, brought his first generation Corvette &#8212; a sparkling &#8220;jewel blue&#8221; 1961 edition with white trim and a white convertible top &#8212; to the annual Hazleton Corvette Club show.</p><p>More than 200 Corvettes filled the parking lot at Fairway Chevrolet on Route 309, and hundreds of adoring fans walked through to check out row after row of America&#8217;s favorite sports car.</p><p>Henrichs has owned the &#8216;61 beauty for 30 years. He said he loved the color combination and the two 4-barrel carburetors of the high-performance &#8216;Vette.</p><p>Asked if the car helped him impress women over the years, Henrichs smiled and said, &#8220;Well, I was already married with two kids by the time I bought it. So, no, that wasn&#8217;t an option.&#8221;</p><p>Henrichs then said the car could be sold for the right price. So what would be his next purchase?</p><p>&#8220;Probably a recliner,&#8221; he said, noting that he&#8217;s been showing the car for three decades, winning many awards and prizes along the way.</p><p>Jim Corazza, owner of Fairway Chevrolet, said he&#8217;s been hosting the Corvette show for 20 years.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s always a lot of interest in Corvettes,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And this is a good get together time for the community. What other car could you do something like this?&#8221;</p><p>Steve Rhodes, treasurer and membership chairman of the Hazleton Corvette Club, said General Motors is producing the seventh generation of Corvettes, which were first produced in 1953.</p><p>&#8220;Back then, they made only a couple hundred the first year,&#8221; Rhodes said. &#8220;And most of them went to celebrities.&#8221;</p><p>Rhodes said the cars will be judged on originality, specialty features and modifications. Trophies would be awarded for the best in each of the generations &#8212; C-1 through C-7. One car will be awarded &#8220;Best in Show&#8221; &#8212; the Carl Kotch Memorial Award.</p><p>In 2015, the top award went to Charlie Conrad of Larksville and his 1966 Riverside Red Sting Ray.</p><p>&#8220;This car has won a lot of awards,&#8221; Conrad said. &#8220;We go to shows almost every week.&#8221;</p><p>The Bozek brothers &#8212; Phil of Mountain Top and Bernie of Hanover Township &#8212; had their Corvettes on display. Phil&#8217;s is a 1963 red convertible that he restored himself. Bernie has a 2014 yellow with brown trim &#8212; a rare color combination, Phil said.</p><p>&#8220;Bernie&#8217;s might be the only one in existence with that color combination,&#8221; Phil said.</p><p>Phil and his wife, Lisa (who brought her 2005 Corvette), said they&#8217;ve owned several Corvettes over the years.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the all-American car,&#8221; Phil said. &#8220;Our dad was a coal miner, so we were pretty poor. We used to see Corvettes on the road and we always wanted to own one.&#8221;</p><p>Phil flipped through a photo album that showed the car from the time he purchased it, through all stages of its restoration and the final product.</p><p>&#8220;It took me about 100 days to complete it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I did it all in my garage. I sandblasted it and I painted it too.&#8221;</p><p>Jody Busch and Mary McAndrew were walking through the Corvettes with their dog, a Golden Retriever named Cooper.</p><p>&#8220;We like to see how people take care of their cars,&#8221; Busch said. &#8220;And they sure do take good care of them. They are all beautiful.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bernie Bozek cleans and inspects his 2014 Corvette during the Corvette show at Fairview Chevrolet in Hazle Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061916corvettes1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bernie Bozek cleans and inspects his 2014 Corvette during the Corvette show at Fairview Chevrolet in Hazle Township on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061916corvettes2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Peole gather at Fairview Chevrolet in Hazle Township for the Corvette show on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061916corvettes2-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Peole gather at Fairview Chevrolet in Hazle Township for the Corvette show on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061916corvettes3-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A sea of corvettes floods the lot of Fairview Chevrolet for the Corvette show in Hazle Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061916corvettes3-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>A sea of corvettes floods the lot of Fairview Chevrolet for the Corvette show in Hazle Township on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061916corvettes4-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kerry Henrichs closes the hood to his 1961 first edition Corvette at the Corvette show at Fairview Chevrolet in Hazle Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061916corvettes4-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Kerry Henrichs closes the hood to his 1961 first edition Corvette at the Corvette show at Fairview Chevrolet in Hazle Township on Saturday. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Corvette facts</strong></p><p>&#8226; So far, there have been seven generations of Corvettes.</p><p>C1 1953-1962</p><p>C2 1963-1967</p><p>C3 1968-1982</p><p>C4 1984-1996</p><p>C5 1997-2004</p><p>C6 2005-2013</p><p>C7 2014-?</p><p>&#8226; The first Corvette rolled out of the Chevrolet factory in Flint, Michigan on June 30, 1953.</p><p>&#8226; The most recent Corvette was built today in the dedicated Corvette manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky.</p><p>&#8226; In between those two cars, about 1.5 million Corvettes have been made in America and sold around the world.</p><p>&#8226; The Corvette was invented in 1951 by GM designer Harley Earl, who was inspired by the great European sports cars of the day and wanted to create an American sports car that could compete and win at the race track. The name &#8220;Corvette&#8221; was borrowed from a line of small, fast navy ships used in World War II.</p><p>&#8226; Each of the first-year Corvettes was a white roadster with red interior.</p><p><strong>(Source: www.corvetteabout.com)</strong></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Hundreds flock to check out Corvettes in Hazle Township