When Dallastown’s Wilfred F. Markey Jr. died at age 89 in 2016, his obituary told about the well-known trucking company that he built starting in the 1950s.
But a good chunk of the obituary told of his lifelong avocation: collecting antique cars and trucks, and his restoration work on his vintage holdings after his retirement from Markey Trucking. His antiquarian interests were wide, loud and musical – steam engines, antique tractors, mechanical music machines and colorful carousels.
He was a fixture at local parades and fairs, playing his music machines and exhibiting his vehicles.
He was good at everything he did. Well, almost everything. “The only thing he was really bad at was magic,” the obituary playfully stated, “but he had a great time showing kids card tricks and making money disappear and reappear.”
His interest in old machinery has been passed down in his family, to his daughter, Sue Knaub of Dallastown, and her son, Michael Knaub, a Craley resident, for example.
And a legacy of playfulness as well. The Knaubs are among those organizing the 67th annual Steam-O-Rama, featuring vintage tractors, garden tractors and other equipment themed “Oddballs and Misfits, Lesser Known Classics.” And the Oct. 3 to Oct. 6 event on the organization’s grounds near Windsor features steam machines and other antique equipment that operates decades after their making.