Fall Festival (Part 2, the truck show)

On Saturday the Fall Festival had a truck show, which is like a car show but for trucks. It was held on the far north of the fair grounds, in what is normally part of the parking area for visitors. I was a bit confused when I got there because there were a number of trucks that looked like they had just pulled in from doing their runs--they did not look special. I was told that originally it was to be an antique truck show, but then it was opened up to any truck, so there were some trucks that were basically advertising their companies.

One of the modern trucks was a Ruan truck that I learned was part of the fleet of Fair Oak Farms trucks that hauls milk to Kentucky. It was outfitted with tanks for compressed natural gas.

 There were a number of older trucks there. This Mack truck was from 1971 and was next to another Mack truck that was from 1973.

A decade older was this nicely restored Mack truck from 1960.

 The Kenworth dumptruck from 1956 took a ride to the show.

 We're getting almost as old as I am with this 1951 Mack truck.

 One of the most interesting exhibits was a truck trailer, the first one built by Austin Talbert. It came with an explanatory plaque.

 Austin Talbert
Talbert Construction Equipment Company was founded in 1938 by Austin Talbert in Lyons, Illinois to provide crane rental and heavy hauling in the Chicago area.
Talbert, an experienced heavy hauler, began building trailers for his own use. Talbert became a pioneer in the development of innovative ideas. Talbert Trailers soon became widely knows as the industry leader, and trailer sales grew dramatically.

In 1957 Talbert manufacturing, Inc. was established here in Rensselaer, Indiana to meet the demand for these remarkable trailers. This plaque represents our dedication to continue the excellence set in motion by Austin Talbert over 60 year5s ago.
Dedicated September 14, 2000
The 1st Talbert Trailer
Dubbed the "Austin Carry-All" this 60 ton trailer was designed & built in 1938 by Austin Talbert in Lyons, Illinois.
The Trailer was purchased in October 1995 by the Arnold Braasch Family & refurbished at the Talbert repair facility in Francesville, Indiana.

The oldest truck I found at the truck show was this 1931 International A5 dump truck.

 There were no amenities in the cab and it did not appear that this truck has ever been restored.

However, the oldest truck at the festival was not in the truck show; it was in the Retired Iron building. The Fire Department's old engine from the 1920s was on display along with some tractors.