VAN WERT — For many farmers and farming families, hearing the roar of the tractor engine was an everyday part of farm life. A farm toy show held Sunday at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds featured replicas so exact that one could not only almost hear the roar of the engine again, but also smell the exhaust and feel the axle grease between one’s fingers.
Held at the fairgrounds for almost 30 years, the show brought together vendors from Ohio and beyond, offering everything from die-cast models to custom builds to plastic toys and accessories.
“We’ve all had tractors, and different people like to have models of them,” show organizer Lowell Morningstar, of Urbana, said. “There are some in here that make a living doing this. Then you have other vendors who don’t make enough to do that.”
While there were older collectibles available for purchase, Morningstar said companies such as Ertl, based out of Dyersville, Iowa, continue to create new farm toys for collectors and children alike.
“There’s a lot of new stuff in here,” he said. “Companies just keep making them. The majority of it is newer, with a lot of customized stuff.”
One vendor who has been able to turn a love of farm toys into a full-time job is Christopher Burnett out of Bedford, Kentucky. The former schoolteacher has made creating custom tractors, trucks and semitrailers his full-time work, traveling to farm toy shows throughout the country.
“School got to be more stressful than it was worth, so I quit teaching in 2009 and went into business full-time,” he said. “We now do about 30 shows a year, and we also do internet sales and custom orders.”
In today’s world of tablets and game consoles, one could be forgiven for considering farm toys a niche market. But for Burnett, that has not been the case.
“We catch people that want a replica of tractors they have on their farm,” he said. “We also get people from the city who want tractors for what I call ‘carpet farming.’ We’ll also have semi truck lines who want replicas for promotions or for employees. Never in the world did I ever think I would have to turn down business, but we have because we’re so busy.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
