No matter how old you are, toys can make you feel young again. The Yorkton Farm Toy and Collector's show brought together a wide variety of toys of all ages, and collectors young and old.
Around 100 exhibitors took part in the event, which brought people from throughout western Canada to a packed St. Mary's Cultural Centre. Funds raised from this year's events will go to pediatric care initiatives through the Health Foundation.
Bill Coleridge, one of the event organizers, notes that every year the funds raise go to a health initiative, with a focus on kids health. The event has raised $20,000 over the years, he notes.
Coleridge says the event is a great way for like-minded people to get together and share their hobby and interests.
"For us, it's like a family reunion every year. You see people who you haven't seen for a year, and it's nice to see everyone back," Coleridge says.
The hottest booth, in a literal sense, belonged to Michael Naylor. He brought an assortment of steam engines, water pulse engines and Dinky toys, with some of the examples using designs going back to the 1790s.
The water pulse engines on his display were made with a variety of different household objects, including pie tins and herring cans. Naylor explains that they work by having a coiled copper tube filled with water, and heating it with a candle, which causes the water to propel the various toys he had on display.
Naylor says his father was a master model maker, and he inherited his interest in the hobby from him. His engines are made from a combination of salvaged parts and some he machines himself. He says it takes hours to get the engines together and working properly.
The other part of the display which he doesn't build himself are the various Dinky cars. He says he collects the Dinky models because of the amount of work and attention to detail which go into them. He notes that they often have moving parts or other details which set them apart from other styles of die cast models.
The cars themselves often have a story behind them as well. One of his cars, a green Dodge Royale, was found in a more unforgiving location than its condition would suggest.
"It was found in a back yard in Yorkton here. It was buried in a gravel pile... It's surprising what you find sometimes. I have one truck at home, it still has the $5.95 sticker on it, and it's been sitting in the sandbox for who knows how many years, because it's gone pink, and underneath it's red," Naylor says.
His most unique car is one he can't recognize, which was made in the US controlled area of Germany. The car had a wind up motor, and was found in a heating vent in Estevan in a sorry state.
"The front wheels were flat, I had to do a wheel alignment on it, and it was stuffed up with modeling clay. I had to clean everything out.".
Like all those at the show, Naylor enjoys showing his collection, and he says it's only a portion of what he has at home.
