HONESDALE, PA — The tarmac was packed with Brockways, Macks, Peterbilts and other vintage big rigs, along with a row of hot rods and customs.

It was the 11th annual American Truckers Historical Society’s (ATHS) Upper Delaware Valley Truckers antique truck show, held at the Wayne County Fairgrounds on July 16.

Gene Mohrmann of Prompton, PA, the president of the local ATHS chapter, rescued a 1989 Mack Superliner that was once used as a septic hauler. They’re known in the business as commercial vacuum trucks—and he made it into a show truck.

“It was a good truck while we had it, and after the company retired it, I bought it,” said Mohrmann, the operations manager of Wind River Environmental at Honesdale-based Koberlein Environmental Services.

Mohrmann noted that the local chapter’s first shows were held at Cherry Ridge, near the New York State Police barracks, but as the annual event grew, the group moved it to the history-rich fairgrounds.

“You get to see a lot of stuff you don’t see on the road anymore,” he said of the vintage rigs.

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A few years ago, Michael “Butzer” Feigenbutz of Obernberg, NY—a nephew of local trucker George Deckelman—picked up a 1973 Mack, once owned by Global Steel of Rochester, NY.

“We were paving the road next to Global Steel, and I found it,” he recalled. When asked why he wanted it, Feigenbutz replied, “Why not? It was there, and it was a cool built truck… it was interesting.”

Since picking up the big rig, he upgraded the engine from a 71-series diesel to a 92-series diesel, ramping up the horsepower from about 318 to an impressive 1,100.

“We hanged everything, the heartbeat, with a big fuel series, and it’s got nitrous (oxide) and propane,” said Butzer, adding that these days when not displayed at truck shows, the vintage Mack pulls its weight at truck pulls, all 1,100 ponies.

The American Truck Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history of trucks, the trucking industry and its pioneers. It publishes the award-winning Wheels of Time magazine, the collectible Show Time magazine that features every big rig registered at the annual ATHS National Convention & Truck Show, and maintains the largest repository of information about trucking in America at the Zoe James Memorial Library at its headquarters.

The ATHS is located at 10380 N. Ambassador Dr., Suite 101, Kansas City, MO 64153.

For information, email info@ATHS.org, call 816/891-900 or visit their website at ATHS.org.

To contact Upper Delaware Valley Truckers, the local ATHS chapter, call Gene Mohrmann at 570/493-5122 (cell) or visit the group’s Facebook page.