FFA toys around at annual event

PINE PLAINS — For the 19th year, collectors and students alike hauled box after box into the Stissing Mountain Middle/High School at the crack of dawn for Pine Plains’ annual toy show, hosted by the school’s FFA chapter.

It’s an opportunity for ag-related toy collectors to buy, sell, swap and (most importantly) ogle collections from all over the area. For the past 16 years Pine Plains has offered its own limited edition tractor for sale, and serious collectors clamber to get the same serial number each year.

This year’s tractor is the John Deere 1969 4520. More than 150 were sold, which is about average.

But the toy show isn’t just about commerce. While there’s an auction of donated toys that raises money for the FFA, there’s also a children’s tractor pull that tests the leg strength of those 12 and under. And on the display side of the event, it’s often about showing off something rare and unusual. That’s exactly what Millbrook resident Jim Boice brought to his table.

Boice had unearthed a model hay barn built by his father in senior shop class in 1917. The wooden structure managed to age from 1945 until last year in his mother’s basement without any major deterioration, and survived several threats from his father to use it as kindling.

The toy show tables in the cafeteria were split down the middle, with half rented out by sellers and half used as tables for miniature farm displays, many constructed by area students. The displays were judged and awarded prizes based on attention to detail and execution.

Eleven-year-old Wassaic resident Ben Yager displayed a farm he had constructed using a variety of different buildings as inspiration. In his second year presenting, he used supplies from around the house and his dad’s woodworking shop to create his display.

“We just drove up and down roads and looked at what different farms had,� he explained. “Then I combined all the farms together to make mine.�

The toy show is right in the middle of a busy time for the FFA. Two weekends ago Pine Plains hosted district competitions, with members competing in a variety of individual and team skill areas including parliamentary procedure and public speaking. Several members moved on to the sub-states competition, which was held on the same day as the toy show in Cobleskill, N.Y. Pine Plains members who advanced will likely compete at the statewide level in April.

The Pine Plains FFA plays a big role in hosting the toy show event, its biggest fundraiser of the year, by assisting vendors and selling food. Colleen Smith, this year’s chapter president, explained that FFA members had been at school since 6:15 that morning, helping collectors set up their booths.

“I see a lot of the members getting interested in it,� the 15-year-old said of the toy show and surrounding culture, “and it’s nice to have young people creating relationships. It’s good to see that interest is passed on.�