The Buckeye Oliver Collectors spring picnic 2019 was hosted by Larry and Suzy Reilly of Norwalk and will be remembered for the weather. What a beautiful day we had, temps in the seventies with much sunshine; and what a nice well-kept farm our hosts live and work on. The hard work of the Reilly’s with son Scott and his wife Stacey really show with the appearance of the farm. But this day also had its share of members under the weather and with a great shop and a place to sit; that is pretty much where Suzy remained. Those under the weather was are hostess Suzy as she was still recovering from recent knee surgery and daughter-in-law Stacey was hobbled in a walking boot with screws and pins in her foot. Vice President Jan Huck had pulled his back, never a good thing the day before and was moving about slowly but still on his feet. Secretary Bill Yaple arrived sitting in the passenger seat of his truck with wife Jan at the wheel due to having thumb surgery on Friday before the picnic. Fortunately it was his left hand leaving him still able to take the minutes. And to top it all off Tonia Elliott found herself in the hospital on the 2nd with an appendicitis and was just released on Friday before the picnic. Once she found a comfortable place to sit that’s pretty much where she remained. Three cheers for all because all five were there. This spring picnic was a good success and all the Buckeye Oliver Collectors want to thank the Reilly family for all the preparation and hard work.
Our day started with the parts swap starting at ten and it seemed like more than ten trucks and trailers were there because there was a lot to look at under the sun. I was happy finding and buying a 550 carb. The Reilly Family has a very nice building full of Olivers including the three beauties and the 50 series from 1550 to a 1950T. John Parker trucked down his recently completed 1800 with a Cummins engine, it looks like it belongs there; it looked and sounded fine. Our picnics set a high bar when it comes to food-land that bar was nudged a little higher on this day. We had a fantastic meal with desserts to please anyone. If you left hungry – well that’s your fault. As always dinner is followed by a brief meeting and with Larry keeping us all informed of the clubs summer plans. Our summer show will be in Attica in July and plans are for the club to all come together and share a meal on Saturday evening. This is being organized by Lyn Parker. Plans are for the club to again be at the Farm Science review and a presentation was made for our club to be at a future show. The conclusion of the meeting brought an end to the day and most heading for the sunshine and warmth of the day. If you are reading this and have not been to a spring picnic, try to do so as it’s a nice time with Oliver people and honestly I can’t remember a bad picnic. Enjoy spring and God bless us all.
John Gustina
