Corny car

It’s the little car with the rooster on the front that catches the eye.

But that item isn’t really part of Barney Pellman’s collecting passion. In fact, he’s not doing all that much collecting anymore.

Pellman, a Troy, Ohio, resident who is visiting the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association’s Swap and Sell Meet that concludes today, instead is trying to unload what remains of his collection to help support another of his projects.

Set up with a group of southwestern Ohio residents on the south side of the Tri-State grounds, Pellman’s items for sale include the aforementioned car.

More accurately, it’s a go-cart. And it’s painted to mimic the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes NASCAR vehicle that was driven by Terry Labonte in the 1990s.

Pellman, 67, picked up the go-cart just a few months ago at a garage sale near Greenville, Ohio, hoping his grandson could have some fun with it at home. But, it turns out, the car is built more for tracks and is rough to drive in on grass. So, he’s looking to pass it on to a new driver.

“It’s not a yard car,” he said. “It beats you to death out in the grass. It’s for pavement.”

The love for collecting various machinery was passed on to Pellman by a neighbor, who took him to gas engine and steam shows when he was young. Now he’s a regular at the spring and fall Tri-State swap and sell meets, where he displays some of his collection, and August’s Tri-State show, which he takes in more as a spectator.

His passion in collecting was hit-and-miss engines and old garden tractors.

He’s sold off all of his engines from the collection that once numbered about 20, including a horse-and-a-half International that he lists as his favorite. He also owned a 5,000-pound South Penn oil field engine before deciding it was too much of a hassle to transport.

One of the items Pellman has with him for sale at the swap meet is a Snapper rototiller that’s a bit more than just a garden tool. The tines can be removed and replaced with tires, complete with chains, and a snowblade that turn the tiller into a walk-behind snowplow.

“I found that at a garage sale,” he said of the piece he picked up in Pleasant Hill, Ohio. “I just couldn’t pass it up.

“That’s the odd stuff. I go for the odd stuff.”

Pellman is mostly trying to unload his items now in order to bring in some funds to help refurbish his 1951 Studebaker pickup truck. He’s had the vehicle for about 14 years and has been working on it in his retirement.

He worked early in his career in the ambulance division at Miller-Meteor. When the company was shut down, he moved on to Jackson Tube in Piqua, Ohio, working nearly 35 years in the shipping department — second shift.

“I’m not a day shift person,” he said.

What’s good about second shift?

“Just that I can have daytime to work on stuff and run around,” he added.

He’s running around even more now, spending much of his time attending shows like the ones in Jay County. Starting in 2020, he’ll have some company.

“My wife’s retiring the first of January, so I’ll probably be taking her along a lot more,” he said. “She likes the old steam engines and everything too. …

“I just pretty much go to all of them I can.”