LUDLOW, Vt. – This Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23-24, will be the last chance to visit the Barker Farm in the lush hills of Ludlow to experience the Autumn Round Up and Antique Engine and Machinery Show. An “old home days” style event hosted by proprietor Dan Moore, the weekend features more than just old tractors, with fresh-pressed apple cider, hand-crafted ice cream, 50-60 homemade pies made from scratch by Moore’s 80-year-old mother, and Moore’s vast collection of rare, vintage machinery and vehicles.
Moore has been collecting antique machines, tractors, trucks, and so much more since his first purchase of an antique engine in 1981, when he was 17 years old. Then, as Moore put it, “it’s like a disease,” and he kept searching for, buying, and working on the implements. His shop is literally filled to the brim with vintage oil cans, gas pumps, iconic signs, pedal tractors, and an antique wood lathe Moore uses to make baseball bats he gives away.
On display this weekend will be Moore’s unique collection of items like an antique cider press, corn grinder, ice cream maker, a horse-drawn, turn-of-the-century era rock crusher, and a Davis swing butter churn, the oldest of its kind, made in Bellows Falls, Vt. A 1936 Maytag gas powered washing machine, still operational, will be featured, as well as an extremely rare ‘hit-and-miss’ engine from about 1912, called The Abenaque, manufactured in Westminster, Vt., and worth between $30,000 – $50,000. An engine made in England that starts up using a shotgun shell and hammer is another bit of the unusual gear Moore showcases. Antique snowmobiles, made between 1943-1966, a 1923 Ford Model T that has been at Barker Farm since 1925, and a 1935 International pick-up will also be on hand.
Moore participates in shows and festivals around Vermont, New England, and beyond, and started hosting the Autumn Round Up because he thought bringing people to his machines would be easier than bringing the machines to the people. With a sly smile, Moore admits that wasn’t exactly the case.
This being the final year has Moore feeling a bit sad that it’s coming to an end, but he remarked that, “once I put everything back in the shop, it will feel good knowing I don’t have to do it all again.” The festival has become more and more work, and his helpers are “in their 80s,” said Moore.
Moore plans to continue to attend other events, such as this year’s Best of Vermont Festival, where he displayed his many Oliver tractors, and working demonstrations of equipment such as a rock crusher, wood splitter, hay press, and more.
Moore’s tractors and trucks have been featured in film, and on calendars sold all over the world. The television show American Pickers visited the farm several years ago, and bargained with Moore to purchase a 1900-era bicycle crate, and an original Vermont maple syrup can, but couldn’t get him to part with his vintage, metal Moxie sign.
The show runs both days from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. There is also free camping available at the site. For more information, contact Moore at danbarkerfarm@aol.com. Spend a fall weekend visiting the past and celebrating the history of the machine.