It was that time again – time to change gears and roll down to Perris, CA for the annual SoCal ATHS event, held on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th), at the Orange Empire Railroad Museum. This local show has been happening on the first Sunday in May for many years, and only gets better. We had the pleasure to hook up with Ken Lund, who is the show coordinator, and he reflected on the good old days, saying, “What started out as a group of truck enthusiasts showing a few trucks on a football field in Riverside, CA has grown to an event celebrating over 100 years of trucking and railroad history.” And, like the title of this show report implies, this event has everything on wheels – not just trucks!
Starting with a little inland fog, it was a cool morning at first, but the sun eventually burned-through in the early afternoon, and it turned out to be a near picture-perfect day as big rigs, military vehicles, fire engines, tractors, trains, cars, pickups, motorcycles and anything else on wheels were proudly on display throughout the facility. This year, Ken said that he recorded nearly 150 trucks of all styles and generations. We got to meet up with old friends Pete Carrillo, Phil Callen and Mike Green, who was in motion early from Yuma, AZ (Mike was also featured in our “Fog Line Rewind” article in the May 2019 edition).
The big rigs were parked in a few locations, and it wouldn’t be a local truck show without 15 or so of the two-tone green Dalton trucks from Fontana, CA on display. The Klenske family is very well-known and big supporters in the ATHS world, and it had to seem like a Dalton convoy coming down the I-215 toward the show that morning.
One can only imagine what a 1913 Autocar would look like, but here it was, with the body in a raised position to show the drivetrain and suspension. This neat old red rig is a time capsule that has been in the Dunkel Bros. Machinery Moving family for three generations – since the 1970s – and was cool enough to win the Best of Show award this year.
On this pleasant Sunday afternoon in Southern California, visitors were welcome to enjoy so many attractions, including a swap meet, where folks could find that special part, or watch the Western Antique Power Associates’ collection of “hit-n-miss” engines and tractors. And how often do you get to see a 1957 Chevrolet Cameo pickup? Well, there was one here, owned by Joe and Janet Edmonds, and it won Best of Show in the Light Duty class!
With several classes, the trophies, which were all made from old truck parts to symbolize the event, were handed out to a select few at the end of the day. The Oldest Truck award went to Charles White for his 1911 Ford Model T, while the President’s Choice trophy went to Sue and Jim Golson for their beautiful red 1965 Peterbilt 351. Best Paint in the Big Rig class went to Mike Green for his 1964 Pete 351, and past cover trucker Jerry Salinas (February 2013) took home the Best 1960 & Up Stock award for his stunning maroon 1963 Peterbilt 281.
We would like to thank Ken Lund for making us feel so welcome at this local show and congratulate everyone who took home a trophy. The quality of “wheels” on display at this show is always amazing, and this year, once again, it did not disappoint. And with all these wheels in motion, show producers are already making plans for next year’s event, which is scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 3rd, 2020. Make your plans to “wheel on in” now or visit their website (www.southernca.aths.org) for more detailed information.