By BRETT McKAY
Michigan Correspondent

BUCKLEY, Mich. — Warm temperatures and the roar of antique engines greeted attendees at the 44th annual Buckley Old Engine Show in Buckley.

The show is on the third weekend of each August and is among of the premiere events in Northern Michigan. The show allows people to witness working machinery from the past, and is expected to have drawn 50,000 people to the four-day event.

The Buckley Old Engine Show got its start in 1967 when a group of local farmers brought their farm equipment together to run on the Joe Rebmans farm. The group of farmers then organized into the Northwest Michigan Engine and Tractor Club.

As word spread throughout the community, the thresher club decided to make it an annual event later becoming known as the Buckley Old Engine Show.
The Buckley show displays more than 600 antique gas and oil engines and more than 900 antique tractors, including a 1960 John Deere model 435 Diesel tractor, owned by Mike Polega of Cadillac, Mich.

Polega’s tractor was only produced from March 31, 1959 to Feb. 29, 1960. It’s rare with only 4,626 ever made and valued between $12,000-$15,000. This was the last two-cylinder produced by John Deere.

Polega has been an exhibitor at the Buckley Old Engine Show since 2007, but he remembered being interested in tractors and engines since he was 5-6 years old.

“I would often ride on the lawn tractor with my grandfather,” he said.
In 1995 he purchased his first tractor and according to Polega, he has been “addicted to old antique tractors ever since.” He has nine tractors in his collection.

Polega, who refers to himself as a “Tractor-holic,” enjoys participating in shows like the Buckley Old Engine Show because he appreciates the history behind antique tractors and enjoys showing off his collection.

Sharing information about his tractors with the public also gives him a sense of connection with his community. Polega has also passed down his love for tractors to his son, Justin.

“He soaks up every bit of this tractor hobby like a sponge. He lives and breaths tractors,” Polega stated.

Also on display at the Buckley Old Engine Show was an 1800s saw mill, demonstrations at the Blacksmith shop, an old-time print shop, a working foundry and a rock-crushing demonstration. The show also boasts one of Michigan’s largest flea markets.