HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-09-03, Page 36PAGE A-4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3,1997.
Nice people at Reunion inspired one director
CONTINUED FROM A-3
who showed tractors and engines," he says.
Soon he found himself as a committee
chair when he took over the operation of the
flea market from his father in 1990. He
became an executive member in 1995 when
he assumed the treasurer's post.
"Some of the executive members are
younger and bringing in new, fresh ideas
and contacts. It is not the same old show, but
it is maintaining its roots as a steam show,"
he says.
"I like the reunion because you renew
friendships with these people you see once a
year. They are a really good group of people
who make you feel a part of things. They
take you under their wing and take the time
to get involved. It is a lot of work and a lot
of fun."
As for his area of concern, Tiffin says the
flea market items must be 100 per cent
authentic. To qualify as an antique, the item
must be 50 years old or more and a heritage
item must have reached its 30th birthday.
There is something for everyone, says
Tiffin. The collection ranges from antique
tractor parts to steam and tractor magazines,
replica toys, dishes, household items and
small farm equipment such as hand plows,
hoes and racks.
"With 12 to 15 vendors, the displays
attract a good crowd. Fifty per cent of the
vendors are diehards who return every year
and the rest are newcomers or ones who
have attended the event in the past,” he says.
"The displays are great and everyone
should enjoy the show," says Tiffin.
The antique flea market will be located on
Radford's Ball Diamond.
ELDON VINES
For Eldon Vines, a Listowel man who
began attending the show when he exhibited
equipment, it was because of the group of
"nice people helping out" that he decided to
become a member.
Now in his third year as a director and
fifth as a member, Vines says he likes to see
the preservation of equipment, cars and
trucks as the focus of the reunion.
His interest in old equipment stems from a
contraption recreated from a 1917 magazine.
Vines and another man designed a machine
which would "buzz wood off the back of a
Model T." They used a picture from the
1917 magazine as a guide.
That machine is brought to the Blyth
reunion and there are plans to take it to the
International Plowing Match as well.
"We can't let history disappear. It is good
there are people who get involved. Everyone
should," he says.
JACK VAN EGMOND
From a volunteer to his second stint as a
director, Jack Van Egmond of Clinton, has
been coming to the Huron Pioneer Thresher
Reunion and Hobby show for many years.
"When my wife got involved in the show,
I decided I would as well," says Van
Egmond. His wife, Gladys, has been co
ordinating the jamboree, stepdancing and
fiddle competitions for a dozen years.
"I like the history of the show and meeting
and working with the people."
The Van Egmonds have participated in
preserving that history through the collection
of antiques themselves.
Aside from the overall enjoyment of the
show, Van Egmond looks after the
organizing of the evening dances as well as
helps with the setting up and tearing down
for the event.
JEAN FOX
Surrounded by entry forms and photos,
Jean Fox sorts through the mounds of
paperwork to find just the right combination
of arts and crafts to be displayed each year
during the Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion
and Hobby Show.
Involved in the organization of the craft
exhibits for seven years, Fox, a director from
Blyth, says she got started because of her
interest in old things.
"I want to keep the love for antiques
alive," she says.
The craft show has grown in recent years,
hopefully in part because of her
involvement, she says.
Each year, Fox selects approximately 70
of the best vendors for participation in the
show. .
The process has to be juried, she says, to
ensure there are not a lot of the same items.
Once the crafters have been chosen she must
spend her time placing them in appropriate
locations around the arena and outside by the
ball diamond. It is important to keep similar
items separated on the floor, she says.
For Fox, participating in the show each
year can be summed up in one line. "I like
taking care of business."
BILL ANDREWS
"It just gets in your blood," say Bill
Andrews of Auburn, when asked what keeps
him coming back to the show year after year.
"My father had an engine and each of the
kids have a tractor. It is a family tradition (to
attend the show)."
His father, J.W. (Warner) Andrews was
one of the first men involved in the original
thresher reunion and a true thresher. Warner
Andrews once travelled the region, helping
farmers harvest their crops.
The first Andrews steam engine shown at
the Thresher Reunion was a 1911 Case,
purchased by Warner in 1968, which he
restored, with the assistance of his son, Bill.
Bill Andrews has been involved in many
other aspects of the show, overseeing the
tractor pull, transportation, gas engines and
the flea market at various times.
JEFF THOMSON
Each of the executive or directors came to
be members of the Thresher Reunion for a
variety of reasons. For Jeff Thomson, of
Auburn, who was once in charge of the
tractor display, it was the love of antique
tractors.
Thomson, past-president, has been a
member for almost 12 years, due in part to
work he and his father did with tractors,
though now he has moved into the field of
old cars and trucks as well.
He has spent many long hours restoring
antique tractors and knows the appeal the old
gas tractors have for the many exhibitors.
Two of his projects have involved the
restoration of an Oliver and a John Deere
Diesel.
He had to rebuild the engines, fix the
injection pumps, replace the lights and have
metal work done on the tractor's body, put
CONTINUED ON A-5
Welcome to
Huron Pioneer Thresher
& Hobby Association Inc.
36th
niece's ary
From the earliest Model T to the hot rods of the 1960s and 1970s, the classic
and antique car show at the Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion and Hobby
Show will draw many admiring glances.
1911 Case 25-75 Steam Engine
Owned and restored by William Andrews of Auburn
-ro^e
From the staff and management of the
Auburn and Belgrave Co-op
L
AUBURN CO-OPERATIVE
County Rd. #25 Auburn
526-7262
Store Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 - 5:00
Sat 8:00-1:00
BELGRAVE CO-OPERATIVE A
Hwy. #4 Belgrave
357-2711 or 1-800-267-2667
Store Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 - 5:00
Sat. 8:30 - noon J
FRIDAY, 8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Admission: $4.00 per person
Elementary Student Activity Day
Senior Citizens Day
Admission for Senior Citizens $2.00 (Friday only)
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Admission: $4.00 per person
CHILDREN’S RATES FRIDAY - SUNDAY
Children 12 and under: $1.00
Children 12 and under when
accompanied by an adult: FREE
Members must have 1997 membership
Sept. 5,6^7, 1997
Blyth Fairgrounds, Blyth, Ontario