BUCKLEY — Antique contraptions are lined up and belching black smoke in a dusty field west of Buckley, surrounded by a sea of camper-trailers and motor homes.
That means it's time for the Buckley Old Engine Show, now in its 43rd year. More than 1,000 antique tractors, threshers and other agricultural equipment are expected at the four-day event that kicks off Thursday, along with about 50,000 spectators.
"That is a donkey engine. It was made in Erie, Pennsylvania," said Kevin Gunnett, show volunteer in the stationary steam building.
Gunnett pointed to an old skid-mounted engine used to power a mobile sawmill on North Manitou Island, heavy equipment that horses pulled from place to place. He also pointed out equipment used at the old Acme truck plant in Cadillac.
"It's a steam-powered engine that supplied air to run all their pneumatic air-powered equipment," Gunnett said.
Outside in the sun, collectors parked their hordes of old tractors in rows, some shiny and well restored while others were rusty and more weather-worn.
"It started out as a hobby club, but now it's an educational thing. We're proud to teach how things used to be done," said Jim Luper, organizer and trustee for the Northwest Michigan Engine and Thresher Club, the event's sponsoring nonprofit group.
Among the attractions is an old Avery 40-horsepower tractor, an experimental steam-powered machine that remains one of only three still functional today, Luper said.
Another of Luper's favorites is a 1913 Bull tractor designed with one large drive wheel, among the first small tractors developed.
"It's a pretty diverse hobby. You've got people who collect lawn mowers and others who collect old steam engines," Luper said.
The show runs through Sunday afternoon. Tickets are $10 per day or $25 for a four-day pass, while children 15 years and younger are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
The sprawling show grounds about a mile west of Buckley have a display Main Street, set up as a 1900s-era thoroughfare, complete with a cobbler shop, a print shop and authentic general store. Visitors also can help make cornmeal at the working grist mill on Main Street.
"It's seeing the past in motion — and it's not just tractors," Luper said.
Across the street, Roger and Nancy Heffelbower, of Sears, set up their camper on Tuesday trying to beat the crowds and score a prime site.
Roger Heffelbower brought two tractors to show — a 1944 John Deere LA and a 1939 John Deere G — though he said he owns more.
"Anything he sees sitting on the side of the road. It's a disease or a compulsion," Nancy Heffelbower said, laughing. "For him it's the tractors. For me it's the flea market."
Visit www.buckleyoldengineshow.org for more information, or call 269-3669.
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Related Photos
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Dave McCall, left, and Bob Voice talk next to Voice's International Harvester famous engine Tuesday at the the Buckley Old Engine Show, which runs through Aug 22. Jan-Michael Stump/Record-Eagle
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Betty A. Hogarth cleans the seats in a coach car pulled by a 1923 American locomotive Tuesday in preparation for the Buckley Old Engine Show. Jan-Michael Stump/Record-Eagle
Buckley Old Engine Show rolls around
1,000+ antique pieces expected in Buckley area
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