1936 Mack Jr. Texaco tanker. ​

Classic Pete. ​

The Brockway hood ornament that was given to Archie Perkins, Doug’s dad, before they closed their doors in 1977. ​

The hood ornament for the famous Brockway truck sat on Doug’s bookshelf since his dad gave it to him so many years ago. 
Doug feels fortunate for the opportunity to grow up in the shadow of Brockway Motor Trucks in Cortland, N.Y. His father worked in an industrial laundry that serviced the plant and Doug made many trips onto the working assembly lines of these great trucks. Doug also remembers well the day Brockway closed its doors forever. “It was June 8, 1977,” he recalls. “Brockway was and remains today one of the greatest trucks ever built. For that reason I decided to build a tribute to the last of the Brockway Trucks.” 
Like the hand-built construction of the Brockway truck line, Doug’s truck was entirely handmade. He is a scratch builder and every piece is wooden, cut and fitted by hand. His shop is nothing special, equipped only with the standard saws, lathes, sanders and hand tools. There is one exception; Doug’s wheel-making jigs. “This is my own creation and has taken many years of research and development to get it right. I can set it up for any wheel from a simple 2.5-inch truck wheel to the complex heavy equipment tires seen on off-road equipment. I have varied it over time and you can see these in tracing my equipment tires and wheels back over the years,” Doug said.
The birth of Doug’s Brockway was the usual, lots of Internet research time, locating a real unit to photograph and measure as well as a call to the Brockway Truck Preservation Association http://www.brockwaytrucks.org/. “These are a great bunch of people who have a lot of fun restoring, driving and showing old Brockways,” exclaims Doug. “They even had this truck in one of their publications. The scale would match my fleet as closely as possible so I can display different pieces with it. I have made a companion drop-deck trailer for display and I like to change out equipment sometimes in my “toy room” so scale is consistent.
“Hey, I will admit there are many items that don’t match in scale, but necessity of the time dictates that. You see, I work overseas a lot and my traveling workshop is limited, but my imagination is not. I create anywhere I can.” Doug is currently in Islamabad, Pakistan, and is working on a traditional “jingle truck.”

Keegan Minard exhibits energy and creativity well beyond his youthful age of 15. When visiting with Keegan, you quickly forget that he is just a sophomore in high school. Keegan is an excellent communicator, quick of mind and full of energy. 
At this young age, Keegan has already completed several years with his own landscaping business. And in 2016, he built a high-detailed pipeline construction diorama for display at the DHS Diecast Collectibles open house. His diorama received accolades by builders with years of experience. 

Youthful roots
Keegan’s passion was launched while he was very young, as his mother, Cami, explained: “Keegan’s very first toy was a 1/16 scale tractor. This was a gift from his grandparents when Keegan was just a toddler. From that point on, Keegan always preferred toy tractors or construction equipment over other kinds of toys.”
Cami went on by commenting, “When he started talking, Keegan would jabber about tractors. When he was barely beyond a toddler, Keegan started showing interest in construction equipment. As Keegan’s walking became sturdy, I would contact the foreman at a construction site and seek permission to take him so he could walk around and climb on the big equipment. Keegan is not interested in sports like most teenagers. Naturally, we’ve supported Keegan by taking him to events that interest him. As a result, I know more about tractors and construction equipment than I ever thought possible. His stepdad’s roots are from a farming community in southwest Nebraska, so they have a lot in common.”
When visiting friends in Nebraska a few years ago, Keegan had the opportunity to drive a combine. “I was probably 12 years old when we visited friends in Nebraska. The friend took me with him when he was harvesting corn with his Challenger combine. He asked me if I wanted to drive. And so, I did. What a thrill to operate a big piece of equipment like that. I’ll never forget that experience because it was really exciting,” Keegan shared.

As Keegan began developing his landscaping business, called Forever Scapes, it became necessary to operate equipment. “I got interested in landscaping when I was about 7 years old. Maybe it was the result of my playtime in the yard. Now that I have my own landscaping business, I’ve needed to use a variety of power equipment besides shovels and rakes. I frequently use a skidsteer. There have been times when I’ve used an excavator. Operating these power units has helped me learn more about this kind of equipment. I’ve even visited construction sites where the guys will let me operate some of their heavy machinery,” Keegan indicated.

Want to read the rest of the story?  It's available in the August TT&C 2017 magazine!
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You wouldn’t think that toy trucks could change someone’s lifestyle, but in fact they have actually changed some collectors’ livelihoods. For example, Jim Brandt has been a faithful regular dealer at our annual Indianapolis National Toy Truck ’N Construction Show. His specialty is Winross models. Like many dealers, Jim started out as a collector. He started collecting Winross models in 1983, which coincidentally is when I started collecting Winross trucks. It was around this time that Winross collecting was ramping up in Pennsylvania and living in Lebanon County, Pa., it was inevitable that Jim would get hooked on them.
Jim acquired his first truck at the York Fair in York, Pa. The model was a Winross Acme Markets truck. Jim was working for Weis Markets at the time. He thought the Acme truck would be a good investment as Acme Markets was in financial trouble at that time. It was just by chance that the Acme truck was a Winross as Jim just noticed the Acme name, not who the truck was made by. Ironically Jim’s wife Donna, who works for Hershey Chocolate, noticed a Winross Hershey model on the table. It was the “Try me in Milk” model and also went home with them. That was all it took and the Brandts became Winross collectors. They only bought a handful of trucks over the first year but eventually they started adding many more trucks to their collection. 
In 1987, the Winross Collectors Club of America was formed. Jim and his dad became charter members with membership No. 28 and No. 29. Jim became a board member and is presently the club’s president. It was at this time around 1987, when Winross collecting exploded in the Lancaster, Pa., area. You almost had to experience this die-cast frenzy to understand the magnitude of it. Winross had to put on another shift of workers just to keep up with the Lancaster orders. For some reason it seemed like everybody in Pennsylvania either wanted to have a Winross truck made, wanted to buy every truck that was made or wanted to sell them. Six hundred-piece runs of trucks would presell out long before they were even produced. What this meant was that in many cases you could buy a truck and sell it the next day for a large profit. It had become an expensive hobby. Jim found that if he could buy two trucks from a run and sell one it would pay for the other. Interestingly what started as a side business to pay for his collection eventually turned into a full-time business. 
Jim had worked for Weis Markets for 30 years. Like many people in management, the hours are long and unpredictable. Jim was being sent to different stores to fill in when needed. He was getting to spend less and less time with his family working late nights and weekends. He could not even attend church on a regular basis. Finally tired of the rat race, in 2003, Jim decided to see if his part-time business could be a full-time business. With his good business sense, Jim has made it a success even with the dip in die-cast sales and prices. He has developed a loyal customer base with 10 to 15 percent of his business coming from overseas. His eBay store has been very successful and accounts for 50 percent of his business. I must say though, that it is beyond my comprehension how he can manage and track over 1,000 Winross trucks online at once. If any of you have sold on eBay you know how extremely time-consuming it can be. Along with this Jim has roughly 2,500 trucks listed on his web site www.truckcollector.com with photos of most of his inventory. He is putting in more hours now than he did at Weis Markets, but the difference is that he enjoys what he is doing and can work when he wants. Jim says he now has a great boss and loves his job. He also cannot beat the commute to work. 

A view of a construction worker directing the section of pipe being lowered into the trench box. On the left, a dump truck is raised with an open tailgate. ​