Amazingly it was sunny the first day of the Portland, Ind., swap meet. Put on by the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Assoc., the meet is accurately titled "Swap & Sell," and this year it took place May 13-16.
Vendors set up in a camp area and put out their wares for vendors and visitors to take a gander – and then decide to swap, sell or buy! Vendors kept coming in all morning the first day, and various sizes and shapes of campers and tents were set up, as well as an array of "get-around" vehicles.
Two guys looked to be up to serious business until the name of their vehicle, The Jolly Hauler, was spied. It was painted bright pink.
Besides a motorized bike using a turn-of-the-century (19th century, that is) engine, there were also some wondrous Whizzer Bikes, both being used as get-around rides and for sale. One man had a cool old Harley that sold, first thing.
Innovation and supercharging has been going on for ages and there was evidence in all types of machinery at the Portland Swap & Sell. There was a Flathead Ford V8 in the back of a pickup that begged to be bought and put in a vehicle missing an engine. A more sedate Model T offered a jaunty ride and was a big draw.
One get-around vehicle was an orange Nordskog that the owner, Ed Pratt, said was made up until the 1980s. Ed hails from Knoxville, Tenn.
At this year’s show, though, perhaps the most unusual non-working ride was a Dart truck with wooden wheels, for sale. Made in Waterloo, Iowa, the Dart was built in 1918. Scott Hirshey from Geneva, Ind., said he found the Dart just 10 miles from home.
"I bought it out of Auburn, Indiana, and I have had it about two years. I decided I have way too many projects," Scott said, adding he was afraid the truck would never get completed, so he decided to sell it. "I have never seen another one. I know they made tractors too, with the exact same radiator; I have seen four of the tractors."
The Dart truck has a Buda engine, wooden wheels and both electric and crank start.
Another unusual machine owned by Daryel and Anne Shaffer from Webb City, Mo., had already sold. It was a rare garden tractor, an Ottawa Mule Team model built in 1949. "There were only about 150 of them made in Ottawa, Kansas," Daryel said.
The company built the tractors for about two years until the factory was destroyed when the Marais des Cygnes River flooded in 1951. The factory was never rebuilt and the Ottawa Manufacturing Co. ceased to exist in 1951. The Shaffers have a registry for the rare tractor that can be found on their website at www.raregardentractors.com
One couple had a vintage John Deere Van Brunt grain drill that was bought new in 1928 by the seller’s grandfather. When her father passed away in his late nineties, she found the drill and the original packing slip. The machine was used into the mid-1980s on the family’s third-generation farm.
Besides moving equipment, other items like signs and parts were also available. One vendor who had a wide array of signs was Mike Schwab, who traveled all the way from Bushnell, Fla. He had both new and original signs, such as a large- and medium-sized Cub bear signs that were once the easily recognized symbol for those tractors. He also had an original sign for the Awrey Bakeries, in the image of a windmill.
The Awrey Co. is still in business, owned by Minnie Marie Bakers. History shows the Awrey family moved to Detroit from Ontario in 1910. In an effort to support her family, Elizabeth Awrey began to sell bread, cookies, cakes and pies, all baked in her home’s coal-fired oven.
While not the original income plan for the family, her goods became so popular the family went into the baking business. Since, Awrey Bakeries has gone from a Detroit tradition to an American staple found in hotels, restaurants and even international establishments.
Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.
