Tres Pinos
– The San Benito County Historical Society is holding its fourth
annual Early Days Antique Gas Engine and Tractor show Saturday and
Sunday at the Historical Park.
Tres Pinos – The San Benito County Historical Society is holding its fourth annual Early Days Antique Gas Engine and Tractor show Saturday and Sunday at the Historical Park.
About 45 exhibitors will be showing trucks and tractors dating back to the 1910s, said Peter Sonne, president of the San Benito County Historical Society. Attendees will be able to see plowing demonstrations and antique hit-and-miss engines, named for the sound it makes while idling.
The event is free and offers something different every year.
Two sure to show are Delbert Doty’s 1919 Fairbanks Morse and 1929 John Deere hit-and-miss engine tractors.
Doty said the show is a way for people to see how things were done in the past.
“We get together and show the public what farmers used to do before electricity,” Doty said.
The 70-year-old Tres Pinos resident, who grew up in Iowa, became interested in the antique tractors about 12 years ago. He bought the John Deere from his brother seven years ago, and won the fully restored Fairbanks Morse in a San Benito County Historical Society raffle three years ago.
As a little boy, Doty remembers his uncle’s two John Deere tractors.
“I think they sold those for scrap metal for the war,” Doty said.
Several hundred visitors are expected throughout the weekend, Sonne said. He said the event is full of grandparents with grandchildren, showing them the way things were.
“It definitely brings nostalgia back for rural living,” Sonne said.
One of the highlights of the show will be the society’s recently acquired and completely restored 1912 Kelly Truck.
“The public will be able to walk around and talk to some of the individuals who have taken the time to restore these machines,” Sonne said.
