18230 S. E. 3l5th St., Auburn, Washington 98092
The Antique Farm Engine and Tractor Club’s Show at Roy,
Washington, near Tacoma, is always a well-anticipated event the
second weekend in July. This year’s 17th show was no exception.
For the week before the actual event, Paul Pearman, show chairman,
along with Dennis King, club president, and a crew of club members
were busy getting the rodeo grounds, where the show is held, ready
for the event. Ted Anderson with his Oliver 77, and Wayne Brazee,
Gary Ockfen, jr., Fred King, and Tom Dick, with the help of tractor
pull chairman Derrell Cole, groomed the arena for the tractor pull
and parade.
By 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, the Roy Rodeo Arena was full of
tractors, engines, steam and hot air engines, old vintage trucks
and cars, bicycles and motorcycles. The count isn’t accurate,
but at least 150 tractors and as many engines can be verified.
There was a long row of antique trucks and cars as well.
Mary Anne Nettekoven and her crew of workers manned the parking
lot, main and east gates. Helen Pearman and Melanie Caludio, along
with other club members, registered and handled the information
booth for the show.
There were three food concession stands on the grounds supplying
lots of hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecue beef sandwiches, and ice
cream cones to the throngs of spectators and exhibitors. Most
everyone had a basket of fresh Yakima cherries or apricots in hand
that they had purchased from a vendor at the flea market. Men,
women and children could be seen walking back and forth carrying
bits and pieces of everything imaginable–old wheels, magnetos,
pumps, engines in various degrees of readiness, shop rags,
T-shirts, kitchen items, etc. that they had found at the big flea
market which was organized by Bill Ide.
Anne Lambert was in place selling cookbooks that the club had
put together as a fund-raising event. After years of sharing
recipes at potluck dinners, which are a usual part of the
club’s meetings, it was decided to collect the recipes in a
cookbook and make them available for all. Alice Corbin was nearby
selling her hand-crocheted doilies. Helen Pearman, when not
handling the information booth and registering new club members,
was selling her hand-crocheted rugs and hats.
The people who come to view the exhibits are as much a part of
the Antique Farm Engine & Tractor Show as the equipment they
are viewing. It is certainly a memorable time for the ‘old
timers’ to look at the engines and tractors they remember using
as children. It is interesting to see if the children can figure
out how the engines work or why they were even needed. Stories are
exchanged between people of all ages. Mike Moyers and Gene Brady,
who operated a side gate, used mainly for exhibitor’s usage,
shared one story of a family with five children they let through
the gate to the show. The parents offered to pay the donated fee;
however, Mike and Gene thought that a family with five children
could probably use the money for other things and told them to just
go on in and enjoy the show. After a couple of hours, the mother of
the five children came back to Mike and Gene and gave them money
for the show. She told them that her children had enjoyed every
penny’s worth and she wanted to pay so the show would be back
in years to come.
Antique farm engines were well represented with about 150
engines and drag saws on display. Among those exhibited were a 9 HP
Fairbanks T shown by Dale Fye, a 4 HP Mogul sideshaft run by Allan
Elden, a 3? and a 1? HP Stickney exhibited by Wayne and Mary Anne
Nettekoven, a collection of Vaughn Flex Treds displayed by Bill and
Ruth Walker, a 4 HP Bates & Edmonds and 6 HP Witte shown by
Bill Betts, and a 4 cylinder Delco run by Ray Hill. Also on display
were scale models built by Mike Moyers, a collection of oilers
shown by Gene Brady, a collection of wrenches exhibited by Larry
and Janet Hughes, and a collection of kitchen tools displayed by
Corky and Sandy Tennant.
Al Cropley, Joe Chainey, Bill Gilbert, Bill Lermusik, Bob
Cropley, Norman Uhl, Domninick Sebulsky, and Don Lambert attracted
a lot of attention with their steam and hot air engines. Joining in
on the steam and hot air display from California were James Tageman
from Orland, Jim Knox from Moreno Valley, and Jack Haregreaves from
Pasadena.
John Deere tractors were represented with at least 33 in the
line-up. There were John Deere models A, B, BN, BO, D, H, G, GP, H,
HN, LA, M, R, 40, 201G, 4206, 40TN, 430, 435, 60, 620, 730, 80, and
830. Tractors also represented were Ford, Case, Allis Chalmers,
McCormick Deering, Farmall, Massey Ferguson, Gibson, Oliver,
Windolf, David Bradley, La Trac, Caterpillar, Lanz, Volvo, and a
homemade Farmall twin. Others of note included a 1918 10-18 Cross
Motor Case shown by John Neitzel, a 1926 Oil Pull brought by Keith
Baldwin, a 1920 Cletrac ‘F’ exhibited by Tom Smith, a 1942
Ford ‘2N’ presented by Mac McBride, a 1913 Case 20-40
displayed by Ken Christensen, a 1939 General and a Case
‘VAO’ brought by Fred Leenstra, a 1949 Massey Harris shown
by Don Rush, and a 1926 Caterpillar Model ’60’ brought by
Dave Wester.
Represented at the show were the Rainier two-cylinder John Deere
Club, the SW Cylinder John Deere Club, the Sky Valley Tractor Club,
EDGE&TA Branches 13, 21, 26, 36, the Two Cylinder Cascade John
Deere Club, Central Washington Antique Farm Engine Club, Western
Antique Power Association and CEDG&TA.
There was a tractor parade and tractor pull to entertain the
spectators and the tractor owners on both days. John Corbin helped
Derrell Cole with the equipment and manpower to set up the events.
Ray Van Landingham operated a dynamometer both days for the
tractors. Lewis Rohrig handled the ‘Stinger’ weight
transfer sled, Nick Huff was the pull-back-hook man on both days,
Wayne Brazee was the haul back man for the transfer sled, Dixon
Lazares directed traffic for the sled pulls. Mike Willig supervised
assembly of the balance board, and Larry Schwar: parked tractors
for display. Ted Anderson, Gary Ockfen, Jr., Ken Morgan, Art Oen,
and Lynn Anderson with the help of Art’s John Deere M,
Gary’s W-4 McCormick and John Corbin’s fork lift were a big
help in cleaning up the area after the show on Monday.
The American Truck Historical Society, Capital City Vintage Car
Club, Olympia Old Car Club, Olympia Horseless Carriage Car Club,
and the Olympic Vintage Auto Club also were represented at the show
with a nice display of vintage trucks and cars. The oldest car was
a 1910 Maxwell Runabout owned by Bob and Billie Hyland. Also shown
were a 1937 Packard, a 1949 Chevrolet, a 1916 Model T Ford, a 1931
Chevrolet, a. 1935 Ford Roadster, a 1933 Plymouth, and a 1947
Packard Clipper Super 8. Some of the trucks shown included a 1962
B53 Mack Dump Truck, a 1928 Ford pickup, a 1921 GMC, a 1946
Chevrolet Cab-Over, a 1948 White, a 1925 More-land AX 3 ton, a 1961
Mack flatbed, and a 1940 International pickup. In addition, there
was a 1924 Segrave fire truck owned by John Brown on display. Mac
McBride brought a 1942 GMC military cargo 2? ton truck. Robert
Johnson brought a collection of motor bikes and Duayne Jacox had a
Service cycle scooter.
The $1.00 a-chance raffle coordinated by Evelyn Ockfen, had 27
donated prizes with the top prize being a 1926 2? HP
Fairbanks-Morse Z engine. The raffle was held at 4:00 p.m. on
Sunday afternoon with the prize going to Lugenia Hamilton from
Sequim, Washington. The last time the Fairbanks Morse Z was seen,
it was heading out the gate on the back of a pickup with Grandpa,
Grandma, kids and grandkids smiling happily. It wouldn’t be a
surprise to see that Fairbanks engine putting away at the next Roy
Show, July 10 & 11, 1999!