N.D. Farm Toy Show: A weekend of events planned next month in LaMoure

Next month the largest farm toy show in North Dakota will be just down the road from Jamestown in LaMoure, N.D.

The 27th Annual North Dakota Farm Toy Show is June 15-17 and vendors from as far away as Texas come to the prairie pothole region to showcase their unique items.

Farm toys can be as simple as something a child would play with in a sandbox, to a replica scale steam shovel with working parts.

“Some of it’s very collectable,” said Lori Aberle, show manager for the North Dakota Farm Toy Show. “We have several vendors that just deal in old stuff, and it’s very fun to have those guys and see what they bring.”

Everything from replica tractors of John Deere and International Harvester to Peterbilt semis will be on display or for sale.

But Aberle said the show is more about meeting friends and hearing stories.

“I think a lot of it is because a lot of collectors used to work on them, or it reminds them of their dads or grandpas,” she said.

It’s a family weekend filled of nostalgia, farm stories and friends, as people from across the country make the trek to LaMoure year after year.

“Hobbies are supposed to be fun and this is a fun place to work and you meet a lot of nice people,” Aberle said.

Activities are planned the whole weekend. Exhibitors set up Friday with a free 6 p.m. buffalo supper in the LaMoure school lunchroom.

Saturday starts with the farm and toy show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and children 12 and under are admitted free. A craft show also runs during that time.

The Toy Farmer Museum, located four miles east and two miles south of LaMoure, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is no admission charge.

A pedal tractor pull for children is at 1 p.m. Saturday. The day continues with a chicken barbecue by the LaMoure Lions in Sunset Park at 5 p.m. The cost varies. Saturday closes with the auction of Dwayne Erickson’s lifetime farm toy collection.

The show continues into Sunday with the craft and farm toy show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the museum open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Aberle said farm toys are part of the Americana that makes up the olden days of North Dakota. People have stories and most are more than willing to share.

“You can always strike up a conversation with anybody you walk in the gym with,” she said. “They’re very sociable and knowledgeable and there’s something there for everybody.”

Aberle said people come from all around for the lunch that’s put on by the LaMoure Laboe Teammakers.

In fact, people at the other two farm shows Toy Farmer puts on in Indianapolis and Iowa still request the LaMoure cheesecake.

“It’s a very welcoming show,” she said. “It’s not so stiff or rigorous — they just enjoy each other’s company.”

For more information call 701-883-5206.

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by email at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

Tags: diversions, toys, sh