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Members of the Cooper family pose with some of their tractor collection
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
SCOTTVILLE — In 1973, a group of antique tractor enthusiasts got together at the Fred and Lois Donahue farm on Hesslund Road in Pere Marquette Township and shared their interest in a bygone era. After a couple years of informal shows, the group organized as the Western Michigan Old Engine Club and started a tradition of hosting a show the first full weekend of August.
This year will mark the 50th show (there wasn’t a show in 2020 due to the pandemic), which is held at Scottville Riverside Park Thursday, Aug. 1 through Saturday, Aug. 3.
Bruce Patterson attended that first show. Maybe it was the second or third. He’s not quite sure which one but he remembers the remarkable marketing.
“I was driving down US 31 (now South Pere Marquette Highway) and saw a cardboard box on the side of the road, with the words ‘old engine show today’ written on it. I said to my wife, Genette, ‘what the heck is an old engine show?’ So, we pulled in to the Donahue farm to check it out. I was hooked. Genette and the boys eventually left and left me there.”
In 1976, Bruce and Genette joined the club; 50 years later he is still active.
Joining the club a few months prior to Bruce were his neighbors Duane and Leslie Cooper. Duane’s twin brother, Lane, joined in 1978. That same year, my dad, Dick Alway, also joined the club. The Pattersons, Coopers and Always will all be present at the show this weekend, marking a combined 142 years in the Western Michigan Old Engine Show. In addition to Steve and Debbie Dvorak, who joined in 1977 and Charlie and Margaret Hayes, who joined in 1979, they are the longest serving members of the club and the last of those who joined in the 1970s.
Dick Alway with one of his tractors.
Duane passed away in 2020 and Lane died earlier this year, but the family tradition continues as four of Duane’s sons are bringing 13 tractors to the show in celebration of the 50th. While she doesn’t drive tractors, mom Leslie, the longest serving member of the club, will be there as well along with grandchildren and daughters-in-law. Those four sons have all been part of the show since they were boys. Son Joe, the oldest, said he remembers attending those first shows with his dad in 1976.
Duane had a variety of tractors and engines. Over the years he sold some of those tractors, but the family still has a large collection, mostly John Deere tractors. Their collection of equipment also includes a 1930 Ford Model A car and a Gile gasoline engine, built by the Gile Engine Company (later the Stearns Tractor and Engine Co.), based in Ludington. In addition to displaying tractors at the show, the Cooper family will oversee the popular kids’ pedal pull Saturday afternoon.
Bruce Patterson said he began his participation in the club with gasoline engines and then moved into tractors. Nowadays, he brings his 1929 Doodle Bug. Bruce also serves as the master of ceremonies at the show, announcing the tractors and their drivers as they participate in the daily tractor parade.
When Dick Alway joined in 1978, it was a natural activity to participate in. He had grown up on the family farm in Amber Township driving the old John Deere two-cylinder tractors. He also owned the local John Deere dealership and had taken an interest in restoring old John Deere tractors. Today, his collection includes over 30 John Deere tractors, and a variety of antique implements. His three adult sons also participate in the show.
The Western Michigan Old Engine Club’s show has evolved over the years. In the 1980s, the club moved its show to the Mason County Historical Society’s Historic White Pine Village. The need for more space, due to more permanent displays, meant a need to move to a larger location. In 1992, the show moved to 22 acres at Scottville Riverside Park, where it has been since.
The schedule is:
- Thursday, Aug. 1, 9 am. to 5 p.m.
- Friday, Aug. 2, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 3, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Daily admission is $7 for ages 13 and over. Kids ages 12 and younger are free. Thursday is seniors’ day with people ages 65 and older admitted for $5.
Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is kids’ day and features a pedal tractor pull, valve cover races, scavenger hunt, bird house building and other activities.
Daily attractions and exhibits include antique tractors and equipment, antique lawn and garden tractors, stationary engines, a 1925 American LaFrance fire truck, a Kahlenberg engine, a Fair Banks-Morse “Z” engine, running saw mill with buzz saw, shingle mill and branding, threshing and bailing demonstrations, antique machine shop, Cooper-Bessemer engine, Franklin Valveless engine, corn shelling and grinding demonstrations, dowel making machine, blacksmith shop, drag saw and planer and Wilford power shovel.
Other events include:
- Horse pull, Friday, 5 p.m.
- Garden tractor pull, Saturday, noon
- Antique tractor transfer sled pull, Saturday, 6 p.m.
- Antique tractor pull, Sunday, 10 a.m.
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