24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, P.O. Box 456 Ann Arbor, Michigan
48106
As a child of the 1950’s, Jim Monaghan boarded on the
Clarence Michel family farm in northern Michigan, which was near
the Leonard Clous property. One of the young boy’s favorite
pastimes between the hard labors of farm work was to see and hear
complexity.
Today, as Jim promotes his sixth Antique Engine Show at his
brother Tom’s Domino’s Farms, he regularly commiserates
with his former neighbor, Leonard Clous. Clous, now the show
chairman of the Northern Michigan Steam and Threshers Club, is the
chief promoter and entrepreneur for the largest steam and gas show
in the state, held late every summer in Buckley, Michigan. Among
antique engine fanciers, the Buckley Show is the hallmark of good
showmanship.
Such camaraderie and cooperation are typical of the folks who
collect and exhibit such historic memorabilia as steam traction
engines. Their enthusiasm knows an integrity matching only the
magnificent products they restore and exhibit.
Incidentally, when Jim Monaghan visited the Buckley Show in
1987, he was reunited with many old friends and neighbors including
the Michels who Jim remembers as ‘the nicest family I ever
stayed with.’
