By Glenn Rolfe

The story has been updated.

MILLSBORO — Roads across Delmarva will serve as a staging ground for a unique fundraiser supporting the Millsboro Fire Co. next month.

The 23rd annual Pumpkin Run, hosted by the North East Rally Club, will be held May 17-19.

The rally is a competition of skill, navigation, calculation, teamwork and the ability to decipher precise instructions.

“It’s a timed, speed, distance-endurance rally,” said Bob Bryan of Millsboro, who started the run more than two decades ago.

As of mid-April, entries hailed from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Vermont, Florida, Maine, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.

Seeds for what became the Pumpkin Run — named such because, for many years, it was held in autumn — were planted shortly after Mr. Bryan moved to Millsboro.

“The Great Race cross country (rally) used to hold a regional in Millville, New Jersey. I was in it, and one year, we crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge. We stopped at the (Delaware) State Police Museum, and then, we had a pit stop in Millsboro, at the Dairy Queen. Then, we got on the ferry and went back to Millville, New Jersey,” he said.

While in Millsboro, rally participants marveled about the town, he added.

Bill Shook, who owned the Dairy Queen at that time, even “hired a disc jockey, and he gave everybody free ice cream and just went all out,” Mr. Bryan said. “And everybody kept saying, ‘We want to rally in Millsboro! Why don’t you do one in Millsboro?’”

So, he then went to Mr. Shook, offering to start a rally — on one condition.

“The Great Race did it for profit. I said, ‘I will only do one if it’s for charity.’ I had just moved to Millsboro. So, I said, ‘Bill, who do I get?’ He said, ‘Go to the fire company. They will help you, and they need the money.’ So, I got hooked up with John Hall.”

Mr. Hall, a lifetime fire company member, worked with Mr. Bryan to bring the rally to Millsboro.

And the rest is history.

Fast-forward 22 years and the Pumpkin Run has donated more than $150,000 to the agency.

“The people that come, all of these out-of-staters, they love the Millsboro Fire Co. The Auxiliary cooks all our meals. They do an outstanding job. It’s Sussex County cooking,” Mr. Bryan said. “It’s like a reunion anymore. When they come back, they are all hugging the ladies in the kitchen, and they are glad to see the firemen. They just go all out to make money for the fire company.”

Mr. Hall has been onboard since day one, Mr. Bryan added.

“I sat down with him before I started it. I said I would need checkpoint workers and help. His wife is in the Auxiliary, so we talked to her, and they said they would do the food. All I had to do was pay for the ingredients,” he continued.

Each year, the entry field features many classic vehicles, which take staggered starts from the Donald Collins farm on Mission Road to public streets, usually traveling well below average speeds.

“The majority of the time, we are a minimum of 5 mph under the speed limit, sometimes more,” Mr. Bryan said.

The courses will take the tandems through Delaware and Maryland.

Vehicles scheduled to cruise include a 1932 Ford Coupe, a 1931 Model A, a 1930 Chevrolet Coupe, a 1939 Buick, a 1929 Ford pickup, a 1930 Ford Open-Air Speedster and several Mustangs.

Joe Roche is again serving as this year’s Pumpkin Run rally master.

May 17 and 19 will be half-day rallies, with a full day May 18.

An auction will be held following dinner Saturday. And the awards ceremony will accompany brunch Sunday.