The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Toy Tractor Show revives fond memories
Toy tractor show: Hundreds of hobbyists participate in fifth annual event
MADISON >> Collecting toys may seem more like an activity for children, but toy tractor and car collectors can range from young to old, and it was this diverse group of enthusiasts who packed the Madison Central School’s gymnasium Saturday for the Future Farmers of America annual Toy Tractor Show and Chicken Barbecue.
This is the fifth year the orga- nization has sponsored this show. “We started out with just a couple of round tables and now have over 20 vendors participating,” said Julia Hudyncia, advisor to the Madison Central School FFA.
Student chairperson, 11th grader Casey Sykes, directed many of the leadership duties for organizing this year’s show, including contacting vendors, laying out the vending floor and providing overall management for the event. “It was a great opportunity and experience in leadership,” Sykes said
The main draw for the show was the toy farm tractors and scaled farm buildings. Chris Smith, an avid miniature farm builder, had one of his 1/64 scale farms scenes on display for visitors to see. According to Smith, the display featured an angus ranch, machine shop, coop grain bin and corn fields, all to the scale of a typical farm. Smith shares his talents as an advisor to other FFA organizations and is a frequent participant in many toy tractor shows.
“It is a great opportunity to get out and see some of your neighbors and friends and relieve some of the memories as a child of some of the farm toys that we would play with,” said Paul Ranstone of Bouckville. Ranstone has his own collection of Allis Chalmers farm equipment, with his oldest piece dating back to 1940, which belonged to his father. Most of his collection consists of 1/64th scale toys.
Ed Zeeuw of Cincinnatus is a vendor at many of the toy tractor shows in New York and Pennsylvania. “When I was a kid, my brothers and I shared many of the farm toys that you see here today. My parents got divorced when I was only five years old and most of the toys disappeared,” Zeeuw said. His love for the farm toys of the past got him back into collecting later on in life, and now he and his wife are avid collectors and farm show enthusiasts.
In addition to toy tractors, visitors could enjoy looking through old farm equipment manuals, reminisce about vintage farm signs or recall the days of collecting other toys such as Matchbox or Hot Wheel cars.
Jim Troyce of Cherry Valley attended the show to view some of the Hot Wheels toy car vendors had on display and for sale. “I actually started collecting when I was about 10 years old. Back then I had a collection of about 80 or so cars. As I got older, I lost interest in the hobby, then just before I retired I started back collecting again. I started going to some shows and watching eBay auctions. That was the beginning of my new passion for collecting Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars and I am hooked again just like I was when I was a kid,” he said.
For seventh grader John Coleman, the experience of working on an FFA sponsored event like this is second-to-none. “I have never wanted to participate in other school events but FFA has made me want to participate and get involved with things for the school and community,” Coleman said.
According to Hudyncia, money earned at events like this help fund FFA events. “Each FFA member has a thrift account and they earn money through their work at the various events,” she said. “This money can then be used to attend leadership conferences, the state convention or to purchase FFA apparel.”