The Findlay Show, Where vehicle owners, re-enactors, & collectors unite.
The 2016 event marked the 29th show hosted by a coalition comprised of the Findlay Military
Association, the Ohio Motorpool and the Marlboro Volunteers. In the past few years, the weatherman has not
always been cooperative, and I'm afraid the trend continued again this year. Friday was overcast most of the
day with rain towards the evening, which continued overnight until around 9:30AM. This delayed the start a bit
on Saturday, but by 10AM things were beginning to get moving, with the vendor stalls opening up and the public filing
in. Speaking of vendors, it was a banner year. It has been confirmed there was more vendor space populated
by more vendors than ever, and the same goes for the vehicle count, as well as the public attendance. A popular
topic of conversation often overheard was the new wave of vendors selling HUMVEE and other new vehicle parts.
As one has come to expect, the vehicle turnout for this year's show was very impressive. First time attendee and
vendor, Jim Diamond from Ft. Dix, NJ brought a 1955 M170, member Bob Pierce unveiled his new Mutt restoration, and
perennial favorite Tom Price upheld tradition by filling half a city block with a vast majority of his collection, but
even he got into the new toy act displaying a fresh M38 project. Besides Tom, the other large collections of the
renowned Dick Mastin and Terry Oswald were also well represented. The Mastin display has even grown by two with
the addition of an M422 Mighty-Mite and a '54 M170.
Although not a single collection, I always look forward to seeing the Kubel Korps German vehicles and their owners. It's
a fun, tight knit group that offers a rare opportunity to see a number of authentic wartime German vehicles together at once.
Speaking of together at once, it was also a nice surprise to see not one, but three Dodge half-ton WCs, all of which were open-cab
non-winch models. Another interesting debut display was the very rare WWII M-1 Bomblift freshly restored by Andy Cabala from
Pinconning, MI. It's totally functional and was shown complete with a 500lb. Bomb. Unless you have rebuilt a Mule,
you've probably never seen what goes under the deck. Bud Bauman from Swanton, OH thought the same thing so he displayed
his early '58 M274 in the buff, minus the deck, giving all a good view.
There aren't many shows that bring all of these groups of people together in one place like the Findlay Show. Stay tuned
for more Findlay-16 pictures. Part 2 - coming soon!
