I headed up to Minnesota for the Le Sueur County Pioneer Power 35th Swap Meet and set aside a little time to stop in and visit a few advertisers in the area. I saw Mike Tesch at Gas Tank Renu in Shakopee (800-633-TANK), Linda at Fahey Auctions in Hutchinson (www.faheysales.com), Jim at Distel Grain in Le Sueur (www.distelgrain.com), and Steve at Quayside Publishing in Minneapolis (www.quaysidepub.com). It is always nice to visit the new and existing clients, whether on the way to or at the shows and swap meets and sort of touch base, and get to know them and their business.
At this swap meet, the vendors line up and wait in line for days to grab their favorite spot on the grounds. When they open the gates and start letting in the stream of trucks, trailers, buses, RV’s, semis, anything and everything, it is seriously something to behold.
Every time I see it, I always hear someone comment on how it must be what the Oklahoma Land Rush looked like, only with a different kind of horsepower! I heard the first vehicle was in line on April 1, and the swap meet started on April 27!
There were nearly 1,000 vendors and about 12,000 people in attendance. The weather is always the big topic of conversation at the swap meet, and we got by with no snow, mud or rain (except some light rain Saturday morning) but it was pretty windy and chilly! When it’s cold, I sometimes have to go on the hunt to find the vendors taking a quick warm up break in their truck instead of standing by their trailers, and who can blame them?
Having donned a Carhart coat, gloves and long underwear, I’m ready to go searching!
Here’s a photo of Mark Schraut of Mark’s Carburetor assisting customers and answering questions at his booth.
It seems to me everyone goes to the swap meet no matter the weather, because it’s the first big swap meet after the long winter, and everyone’s ready to see what kind of old iron was dug up, what finds there are to discover and how their friends are doing.
For more info on the Swap Meet (next one is April 26-28, 2013) and also their summer show (August 24-26, 2012), visit www.pioneerpowershow.com.
I hope to see you at a show in 2012. The clubs and volunteers work hard and are so passionate about each of their shows. Any one of them would be a good choice for a fun and interesting time. Support the clubs and the vendors, they help keep this hobby chugging along!
See you down the road!