A Brockway Truck Show Was Born…

By Shirley Randolph

In the year 1999, the City of Cortland was preparing to celebrate their Centennial year in 2000.  They were looking to highlight a business that had made a significant impact on the local area through economy and culture.  The Brockway Truck Company came to mind.  Those gleaming Huskies that had sat so proudly on the hoods of the trucks, had given Cortland the nickname of Huskietown, USA.  The question then became, how do we get those Huskies back home?  The answer was a Brockway Truck Show.

The next question, according to wireline companies in louisiana,  was, how do we make it happen?  How do we get the word out there?  The research began.  Searching through truck publications for other truck shows in the area, one was found in Ballston Spa, NY.  It was decided what better way to see what a truck show was all about than to attend one.

So, on a sunny day in the summer of 1999, Shirley Randolph, a Downtown Cortland retailer and member of the Centennial committee, along with her husband, Bob and a couple of friends, visited their first truck show.  This visit provided a wealth of information and even more importantly answered the big question of, would people come?  The answer was an overwhelming YES!  Armed with suggestions and advice on how to run a truck show and contact information of Brockway truck owners who would be interested in a show, they returned to Cortland with their new found information ready to take on the task of planning a Brockway Truck Show.

The Brockway Truck Show Planning Committee, co-chaired by Shirley Randolph and Vicky Delaney, another Downtown Cortland retailer, became part of the City of Cortland Centennial Committee.  Other local Brockway truck owners became part of the Planning Committee including a former Brockway employee by the name of John Potter.  Two members of the Twin Tier Chapter of the Antique Truck Historical Society in the Binghamton area, Walter Carmon and Robert Messersmith, became actively involved in the Truck Show planning.  It was decided that a one-time Brockway Truck Show would be held the second Saturday in August.

The Cortland County Jr. Fairgrounds was chosen as the staging grounds since it afforded the space needed and was close to Downtown Cortland.  A parade seemed like the best idea to move the historical trucks to Main Street, approximately one mile away and just a few blocks from where the trucks were originally built.  On that second Saturday of August in 2000, the Brockway trucks started rolling into the fairgrounds parking lot limited by white lining contractors to form the parade which brought 76 trucks from six states to Main Street in Cortland, NY.  What a day it was!!  Stories were shared, Brockway trucks were verbally re-built and a reunion of former Brockway employees took place.  As people were leaving and the trucks and their owners returned to the fairgrounds for a chicken barbeque, we kept hearing “we will see you next year”.   That was the beginning of the Annual Brockway Truck Show.

By 2003, the now Annual Brockway Truck Show had gained National recognition with Brockway enthusiasts attending from two countries and ten states.  The number of registered trucks continued to grow and thousands of spectators were still drawn to Main Street.  And this was the year the decision was made to recognize former Brockway employees; a committee was formed to collect names and addresses and they were invited to be our guest at a luncheon at the Community Restaurant, Downtown Cortland, NY.

As the attention to the event grew, so did the desire to bring Brockway trucks back to the Cortland area for more than just one day each year.  The Brockway Truck Show Committee decided that it was time to take a giant step forward to bring the Brockway trucks back to Cortland permanently.  This had been a dream of John Potter and several others from the original show committee since the very first truck show.  At the 2003, Truck Show, the Committee announced a goal of forming a Brockway Museum in Cortland, NY.

Turning Dreams Into Reality…..

From the first Brockway Truck Show, held in August 2000, the Truck Show Committee dreamed about the possibility of creating a Brockway museum where Brockway trucks would be on display year-round, along with the wealth of memorabilia and history of the manufacturing, selling, service and use of the trucks.  In 2005, the Show Committee became Brockway Truck Show, Inc., a non-profit organization to manage the annual truck show.  On February 9, 2006, the dream became a reality when Peter Grimm of Troy, NY, a Brockway enthusiast, made a very generous contribution.  This enabled the Brockway Truck Show, Inc. to purchase the A.B. Brown property on Route 11 in Cortlandville, NY.  There was a lot of work to be done and many hours of volunteer labor was logged.

Changes were happening.  The 9th Annual Brockway Truck Show opened with a two-day Show and the location was changed from the Cortland County Jr. Fairgrounds to the future Brockway Truck Museum.  The Show would begin on Friday with a fundraiser dinner in the evening and the parade would leave the museum site on Saturday morning.  In 2009, fireworks were added to the Friday evening event.  In 2010, the former Brockway employee recognition was moved to the Saturday evening chicken barbeque held at the museum site where they continued to be our guests.

In 2011, the 12th Annual Brockway Truck Show was transformed into a four-day Show.  The Huskie Drive was introduced that year as a Thursday afternoon outing.  Planned and led by Hugh Riehlman, trucks and their owners were lined up for a country drive to a surprise location for lunch and back to the Museum site.  The usual festivities continued on Friday and Saturday with the addition of a pancake breakfast on Sunday morning.  

The year 2012 was a very big year historically.  The original Brockway Motor Truck Company, started by George A. Brockway, celebrated its 100th Anniversary.  June 8, 2012 marked the 35th Anniversary of the last truck to be built by Brockway (in Miami, FL on 6/8/1977).

On June 8, 2012, the ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the Grand Opening of the Brockway Museum at the Central New York Living History Center.  The dream had come full circle.  Unfortunately, we lost some of our dreamers along the way, including John Potter, while we gained some new folks to help continue the dream.  The Children’s Corner in the Brockway Museum is dedicated in John’s memory (4/28/39 – 9/14/2003).

The 13th Annual National Brockway Truck Show held in August 2012 had a record attendance of 154 registered trucks and owners coming from 24 states and two countries (Canada and Australia).

This year marks the 20th Annual National Brockway Truck Show, Aug. 8-11, 2019.  Let’s see if we can set a new attendance record.  We will have a few Brockway owners who will be receiving their 20 year pins. The Delaney Bros. Blue Grass Band will perform on Main Street from Noon to 3 p.m.  Awards will be presented at 3 p.m.    Looking forward to our next milestone……the 25th! 

2020 was a crazy year for everyone and the Truck Show didn’t go on as planned.  This year marks the 21st Annual National Brockway Truck Show, Aug. 12-15, 2021.  Let’s see if we can set a new attendance record.  Awards will be presented at 3 p.m.    Looking forward to our next milestone……the 25th!