I'm not sure this completely fits the subject line since it dates prior to the 150th in 1997, but felt like sharing it tonight.
My first participation in a "Massey Expo" was in 1993, at Georgetown, OH. This was before the Massey Collectors Association had been formed, and at that time show locations were determined by Keith Oltrogge, author of the Wild Harvest, which was back then our banner publication.
I took my Grandpa's Massey-Harris 44 GR (“Old Sam”), which I had recently restored, and which was the only Massey I had at that time. It was the first time that I had been to a Massey feature show or been around a large group of Massey collectors. As fate would have it, I wound up sitting next to Don Snyder at the Saturday evening banquet. I don't even remember who else was at our table, but have always remembered that being the first time I met Don, and the long, great friendship that was started that evening. Don was a wealth of knowledge, willing to share information, yet humble at the same time. A good man, a great friend, and played a significant role in steering me towards the focus on Massey tractors in my collection.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any good photos of being together with Don. Hopefully some of you reading this have some good photos of Don, and will add them to this discussion stream.
As you all know, Don coined our slogan:
“Old Masseys collect the nicest people.”
Indeed they do.
Cheers,
JB