The weather was perfect for the annual spring Antique Outboard Motor Show and Swap Meet in North Webster. The event was held Saturday, May 15, at North Webster Town Park. After not having a show last year, the event returned bigger and better. All Photos by Phoebe Muthart.

By Phoebe Muthart
Staff Writer

The weather was picture perfect for the annual spring Antique Outboard Motor Show and Swap Meet in North Webster. The event was held Saturday, May 15, at the North Webster Town Park. After a year of not having a show, the event returned this year bigger and better.

The event was hosted by The Antique Outboard Motor Club.

“We will have probably had 400 to 500 people by the end of the day come to the show,” said Dave Tranter, local organizer for the spring Antique Outboard Motor Show and Swap Meet.

The event was basically a show-and-tell event, Tranter noted, with motors brought in for evaluation, display and sale. Tranter said that due to the pandemic, people had a chance to clean out their houses and garages to find old relics such as old boat motors.

“It gave people a chance to research and collect,” Tranter noted.

Outboard motor restorers, historians, collectors and enthusiasts from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Canada, and Indiana gathered for a day of activities related to their hobby. The events for the day included an exhibition of recent restoration projects, serious swapping of parts and literature, plus running old-time motors on the lake.

“The turn out has been good. We had a record numbers,” Tranter noted.

The show began in 1964. The first event was held at Mock’s Boat Livery in Syracuse and then moved to the home of Harry Brinkman in North Webster. The Antique Outboard Motor Club is part of the Michiana Outboard Boating Chapter of the Antique Outboard Motor Club Inc.

There were many antique motors brought to be sold and evaluated throughout the day. The swap area included parts, literature, related accessories and antique motors.

The national AOMCI has more than 5,000 members. It classifies an antique outboard as being manufactured prior to 1950 and a classic outboard more than 30 years old.

The group has two meetings a year — the third Saturday in May and the third Saturday in September.

After the show, The Antique Outboard Motor Club members were able to run their boats around Webster Lake.

Bob Lowden of Fort Wayne looks at items at this weekend’s Antique Outboard Motor Show and Swap Meet in North Webster.

Donna Rosowski, left, and Gabrielle Piazza relax at this weekend’s show. The event was hosted by The Antique Outboard Motor Club.

The antique outboard motor show had a record turn out for this year’s annual event at North Webster’s Community Park.

The show in North Webster drew a large crowd and several older boats, such as these.

Dave Tranter sorts through his items at this year’s show and swap meet.

Steve Roskowski takes his boat for a spin on Lake Webster.