1/64 Farm Toy Display Lights up the Holiday Season in Small PA Town
Michael G. Henry
Each Friday before work, I stop in the small town of Zelienople for the best breakfast that $1.75 can buy.
I had heard that there was a display in an abandoned storefront window, so I decided to investigate.
To my surprise, there was indeed a very nice 1/64 farm toy display. One of the founders of pedal tractor pulling,
Wayne Cooper of Fombell, PA, informed me that his grandson and two other farm toy collecting friends had put up
the display. I was fortunate enough to come into contact with the three builders of this display to get their thoughts
and feelings on it. Nate Sawyer, Dave Shaw, and Brandon Cooper were kind enough to share their thoughts with me.
What inspired you to put up the display?
Dave: Actually, Brandon’s Grandfather, Wayne, asked Nate and me
Nate: We wanted to do a holiday scene of red and green tractors.
Brandon: I thought it might be neat to make a large farm display, rather
than a dealership, which I had done before.
What is your favorite part of the display?
Dave: It has to be the barnyard area
Nate: My favorite would be the silage pit or the plowing area or the milking parlor.
Brandon: I enjoy the logging/construction area because not too many people put that
into their displays, it's just something different.
What special meaning does the display hold to you?
Dave: I partially did this to help others see what a wonderful display can come of this hobby.
Nate: Well I don’t get to display to the public or my friends very much and here was my chance.
The only hard part was trying to find time for all of us to meet together!
Brandon: I think it's special because three different people, with three different collections, & different ideas
can work together to make a really nice final product.
Did the display attract any special attention?
Dave: Yes, several people I know walked by it, and commented
to Nate and me on how nice it was.
How many pieces / brands are represented in the display?
Dave: I would have to guess around 300 or less. There is a lot of machinery,
obviously more than any one farm needs. It was Nate's idea to keep it to
Massey Ferguson and IH, CIH, anything red. There is a lot of 4-wd in the set up
as well as older pieces like a 6388 (that's mine). I believe Nate and Brandon were
the big machinery contributors,
I was just
there to fill in gaps and lend buildings.
How long did
the display take to put up?
Brandon: It took about 3 hours to get everything where we wanted it.
As you can see from the pictures, the display had
a lot of thought and effort put into it. What
I enjoy most is that the display brings back to life the farm toy hobby in an
area that farms are becoming extinct. Brandon’s toy show in the fall was one of the first toy
shows that have been in the Mercer-Lawrence-Beaver-Butler County region since
the 1980’s. However, his farm toy
show was a huge success with people wanting to see more shows. Their display helps explain what happens on a farm for those
who do not know what actually happens on a farm.
Hopefully more people will go see their local store during the holidays
and ask to set up a display in their window.
We
Build 1/64 scale HillCo Combines
E-mail Moore's Toys at
farmtoys@ee.net
to order.
TTT
January 2004 Page 12
Back
to the index
