BUCKLEY -- George Groen grew up on a farm in Minnesota, lives in California, has family in Cadillac and is writing a book about his life story.
Groen found his trip Friday to the 42nd annual Buckley Old Engine Show so interesting he might add it to his book. He toured the show grounds off M-37 with camera in hand, sporting several artifacts from his visit. He carried a freshly sawn shingle, hand-branded with the date. And in his pocket, individual saw blades, one for each of his grand kids.
"I like to reminisce," Groen said. "I'm 72 years old, and it was time that I come."
The free souvenir shingles are an Old Engine Show staple, and a favorite of those who attend the event. Many visitors come every year, and get a shingle stamped each time to add to their collection, said Tim Brennan, 15, who has been branding for three years.
"For people that have never been here before, kids are awestruck that we heat up the metal this hot and basically burn something," Brennan said.
How hot is hot?
"I don't know the exact temperature, but you work up a sweat real quick," he said.
Shingles aren't the only engine show tokens that are popular with the crowds. Hard-maple salad bowls are another, pressed out of a six-inch punch press.
"We can't make enough," said Bob Kellogg, a member of the bowl mill committee. Committee members punch 800-900 bowls over the four-day show.
Wood for the bowls is cut green and kept wet, then fed through the press. After the bowls are cut, they are steam cured to force the natural moisture out of the wood.
For visitors who want something in their bowls, Paul Merillat's 1.5-horsepower 1937 John Deere motors churn out vanilla ice cream.
Merillat's attended the show for the past 11 years, and makes 70 to 80 gallons of ice cream each year.
"My dad started it," Merillat said. "He passed away this spring, and we've got to carry on his tradition."
Also carrying on tradition is Robert Voice, of Kingsley, who has been involved with the engine show since he was a boy. This year Voice and his wife Bobbi brought six small engines to Buckley.
Bobbi said her husband and father-in-law built the engines from parts they found in fields and old barns. The parts were collected in bushel baskets, taken home and put together. Some of them took upwards of two years to build, she said.
But the centerpiece of the Buckley Old Engine Show is the tractors. This year more than 1,000 privately owned antique tractors are revving, sputtering and working on the show grounds. One such tractor is a 1929 Model A, Double A tractor with a side conveyor belt, owned by Charlevoix resident Bob Crandell.
Crandell said the conveyor belt is very rare, from Ford Motor Co. that made kits to convert Model-A and Model-T cars to "Doodlebugs" that allowed them to be used on farms.
The show was founded by the Northwest Michigan Engine & Thresher Club, and is entirely run by volunteers. Members are asked to volunteer 20 hours of time during the event.
Member Sandy Hendges, of Mesick, said every year there are people on the grounds from May until the show begins. Hendges works in the Cider Mill, one of the permanent fixtures on the 70-acre show grounds.
Organizers said the Old Engine Show is about preserving history for the younger generation, which doesn't always get to see machines like the ones showcased this weekend.
"It's about seeing history," said Bobbi Voice. "We like history and all these people must, too."
