10-4 Magazine / August 2025 71 for the Ashland Food Bank and Shriners Transportation Fund. This year, just over $6,600 was raised. Something new at the 2025 show was a Sunday morning breakfast put on by the ladies in the fairground cafeteria. They were serving ice cream over the weekend, too. Their service started with a Friday evening ice cream social, free to those with a registered truck. Remember, it’s a reunion! And what’s a reunion without ice cream? Please don’t ask how many times I went back for more over the weekend. My ulterior motive was to spend time in the air conditioning. After all, the AC went out in my hotel room (a truck) for the night as it pulled into the parking lot (old trucks are fun). The Sunday morning breakfast helped encourage a few more people to stay through Saturday night. Part of what makes this show extra special are the memorabilia displays and model truck contest. Each takes place in its own building. Another building shelters the brass-era wooden trucks from the weather, and another houses registration and several vendors, while some additional vendors dot the outdoor grounds. This year’s model contest winners were Bryan Lorentz (Youth), Art Culbertson (Novice), and Rodney Dean (Expert). Saturday afternoon activities also include a Slow Truck Crawl where no braking is allowed! It’s a chance to see who has the slowest low gear. The 2025 winner was Ron Smoker in Earl Feller’s IH K8 tractor. The Loudest Horn went to Brad Fleming in his Mack B61. Yes, the volume is measured and recorded with a decibel meter. One of the regular participants in the model contest is Matt Uphaus of Manchester, Michigan. Matt builds incredibly detailed truck and trailer models – out of LEGO! In fact, moments after I exited my truck, Stainless Stu, he appeared with a model of it! Even
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